The NYU women's volleyball team had a successful roadtrip this weekend, finishing 2-1 in California.
The weekend was a homecoming for many Violets. Nine NYU players hail from the Golden State.
Head coach Jolie Ward said the Violets' familiarity with California helped them in the game.
"There was a California home court advantage for our California team," she joked.
The first match was on Friday against Pomona-Pitzer College. The Violets won the first set, 25-15, but dropped the second set, 18-25. In the last two sets, the Violets came back to win the match, with 25-19 and 25-17 scores.
Newport Beach native and freshman Sarah Buckingham played a vital role for the Violets in the last two sets. Buckingham had the final four kills in the third set, bringing the NYU lead to 2-1. She then added another four kills in the fourth set, finishing with a match-high of 19.
Sophomore captain Hope Bogle also contributed on offense with 43 assists. Fresno native and junior Kaylee Schanda had 24 digs to lead the defense. The Violets only had four errors in the first set, while the Sagehens had nine.
On Saturday morning, NYU played the University of Redlands. The Violets won the first two sets, 26-22 and 25-18 as they stepped it up in the final minutes of both sets to finish off the Bulldogs.
In the third set, the Bulldogs took advantage of the Violets' match-low hitting percentage of .050 to win, 25-21. The Violets recuperated and went into the fourth set strong, finishing the game 25-14.
Sophomore Alex Mao had a solid performance, picking up 14 kills, 11 digs and two service aces. Buckingham led all players with 17 kills. Additional contributions came from freshman Allie Williams, who had 11 kills and three block assists, while Bogle added 49 offensive assists.
"We had strong performances from our outside hitters, Alex Mao and Sarah Buckingham," Ward said. "Our center, Hope Bogle, led the team."
That afternoon, the Violets faced 14th-ranked Cal-Lutheran University. The Violets lost in straight sets (25-21, 25-20, 26-16). In the last set, the Regals had five fewer errors than the Violets.
Bogle had 18 assists, four digs and two service aces. Sophomore Jenn Korte had seven kills and senior Captain Kolby Warren contributed another three kills.
"This weekend was a great weekend all around for us," Mao, a Los Angeles native, said. "A lot of things we had been working on this season suddenly clicked, and we were really playing like a team. With the majority of our team from California, there was a sense of comfort being back home and having our family there."
The Violets have a record of 17-12 and are ranked third in the New York region, according to the first release of NCAA regional rankings.
"This weekend got us prepared for the last games of the season," Ward said.
Next weekend, the women's volleyball team will attend the New York State Challenge hosted by the University of Rochester. The Violets will play St. Lawrence University, Nazareth College, Rochester Institute of Technology and SUNY Fredonia.
