POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – Freshman outside hitter Olivia Lewandowski recorded 11 kills for a .688 hitting percentage to lead New York University to a 3-0 (25-15, 25-14, 25-15) victory over Vassar College in non-conference action at Kenyon Gym on Friday. The win moves the Violets to 21-1 on the season, while the Brewers are now 7-11 overall.

In addition to Lewandowski, NYU saw sophomore middle blocker Ella Weider notch nine kills with one error on 18 total attacks for a .444 hitting percentage. She also added two block assists and three digs. Senior captain and middle blocker Abby Ausmus was dominant on the block, recording a game-best five block assists, while also recording two service aces and seven digs. Junior setter Nicole Dao recorded 22 assists, while junior outside hitter Haley Holz had seven kills with three block assists and nine digs.

For Vassar, rookie outside hitter Hailey Hayes recorded eight kills with three service aces and five digs. Senior utility and captain Sara Ehnstrom posted seven kills with just two errors on 16 total attempts for a .313 hitting percentage, while also recording a service ace and eight digs. Senior setter and captain Madison Wilson added 17 assists with 10 digs, while rookie outside hitter Morgan Miller and sophomore hitter Ava Casalino each added a block assist.

First set action saw a kill from Hayes pull Vassar even by a 2-2 margin, but an 8-0 run which included two kills from Weider, put the Violets up by a 10-2 margin. Facing a 20-10 deficit late, the Brewers capitalized on an NYU error along with back-to-back kills from Hayes to make it 20-13.  Despite a kill from Ehnstrom to make it 22-15, the visitors rattled off three straight points for the opening set victory.

Second set opened with the Brewers leading as a service ace from Ehnstrom, coupled with consecutive Hayes kills gave Vassar a 5-2 advantage. A five-point swing saw NYU regain the lead (7-5), but an error by the visitors, along with a Hayes ace tied things back up (7-all). Down 14-9, the Brewers used a pair of kills by freshman hitter Julia Hale to make it 14-12, but another 6-0 swing helped NYU regain a commanding 22-13 lead that they would not relinquish enroute to the 25-14 set win.

In what proved to be the final set of the game, the Brewers opened strong, using a 5-1 scoring run to take a 9-5 edge. Leading the way in that stretch were two kills each from Hayes and Ehnstrom. Vassar held an 11-6 lead, but the Violets rebounded with four point run of their own, pulling to within two (12-10), before rallying with six straight points to grab a 16-12 edge in the set. Vassar got a late kill from Wilson, but the Violets proved too much with four of the final five points to win the match.

Vassar returns to action tomorrow when it hosts Montclair State at 3pm in Kenyon Gym. Prior to the match, the Brewers will honor its five members of the Class of 2022 for Senior Day. NYU is also in action on Saturday, traveling to Ithaca, NY to take on SUNY Brockport (1:30pm) and the host Bombers (4pm) in tri-match action.