CHICAGO – As the host of the University Athletic Association (UAA) Round Robin #1, the University of Chicago volleyball team lost its opener to New York University before bouncing back with a sweep of University of Rochester on Saturday.

The No. 13-ranked Maroons moved to 6-3 on the season.

NYU 3, UChicago 2

The Violets led wire-to-wire in set one (25-19) and utilized a mid-match push in the following set to take a commanding 2-0 lead (25-17). A sweep was not in the cards though. A 7-2 closing run gave the Maroons the third set 25-19. Then the home team closed strong again with a 10-2 streak that helped secure a 25-18 win in the fourth.

The match went to a deciding fifth set, where the Maroons held match points at 14-12. But NYU came up with a pair of kills to extend it to extra points and the teams exchanged back and forth. Three-straight kills from Haley Holz ultimately ended the bout in NYU's favor, 20-18.

The team hitting percentage was nearly identical (.195 for UChicago, .193 for NYU). The Maroons held the advantage in blocks (13-8) while the Violets produced more service aces (8-6).

Sophomore Ella Mao paced the offense with 16 kills while also posting a .343 hitting percentage and eight digs. Junior Ellie Alden accumulated nine kills, six blocks and a .389 hitting percentage. Senior Audra Berg collected five kills and made a career-high eight blocks defensively. Sophomore setter Maya Patel finished with 35 assists, two aces and 12 digs. Senior libero Temilade Adekoya concluded with 13 digs and five assists.

UChicago 3, Rochester 0

The Maroons shook off the tough loss later that afternoon by breezing past Rochester in three sets. UChicago only trailed twice all match, with both instances coming in the opening points of the set.

The home side pulled away late in set one (25-12), then went on an 11-1 run early in the second set to put it out of reach (25-15). The sweep came in the third by a 25-19 final.

Rochester had no answer for UChicago's defense, which limited the Yellowjackets to a .028 hitting percentage. The Maroons hit .220 as a team with seven blocks and nine aces.

Mao was again the kills leader with 11 kills. She also served up four aces and set a new career best with 19 digs. First-year Maggie McInerney spiked 10 kills with an efficient .476 hitting percentage. Patel dished out 29 assists to go with two aces and five digs. Berg added five more blocks to her ledger and scored five kills. Adekoya contributed 15 digs.

NEXT MATCH:

• Sunday, Sept. 19 @ 12:00 PM – Washington University – St. Louis at UChicago