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POTSDAM, N.Y. -- Nazareth's women's volleyball team fell to New York University in three sets in its NCAA Tournament first-round on Friday evening. The scores of the match were 25-15, 25-20, 25-21. The eight-team New York Regional is being hosted by Clarkson. Junior Kassandra Buseck finished with a team-high nine kills to lead the Golden Flyers.

With the loss, Nazareth closes the season with a 29-9 overall record. The Golden Flyers finished the season with victories in 14 of their final 17 matches, including Friday's first-round contest. The Violets improve to 28-7 overall and advance to the second-round match on Saturday.

In addition to the kills from Buseck, sophomore Jennifer Hicks had seven kills and junior Olivia Harrigan contributed five kills. Juniors Maria Allocco and Chelsea Beecher, who entered the match ranking second and third in total kills, respectively, were held to three combined kills by NYU's formidable defense. Freshman Madi Wickens tallied a team-high 18 assists as directed Nazareth's offensive attack.

Defensively, Beecher finished with a match-high 13 digs, followed by freshman Maureen Thayer, who recorded 10 digs, and Wickens, who added nine digs. Hicks was a presence at the net, amassing a solo block and four assisted blocks. Beecher and Buseck also had two assisted blocks apiece.

Allie Williams recorded a match-high11 kills for the Violets, followed by Sonya Bray, who added eight kills. Emily Moore, who had 21 assists, and Katie Robinson, who had 15 assists, teamed to direct NYU's offense. Cassidy Jourdan finished with a team-high 11 digs.

In the first set, Nazareth allowed the Violets to score the first five points of the match, which included two aces, two kills, and a Golden Flyers' attack error. NYU built its lead to 14 points, 21-7, before Nazareth outscored the Violets 8-4 to close the set. The Golden Flyers finished with nine hitting errors during the set.

Similar to the first set, Nazareth also surrendered the first five points of the second set. The Violets converted four kills on the opening four points, then added an ace by Moore. The Golden Flyers, however, cut their deficit with six of the next seven points to tie the set at six points apiece. During the run, Buseck had a kill and teamed with Hicks for a block. Nazareth also forced NYU into four errors.

After trading points, the Violets went on a 7-2 scoring run to claim a 14-9 lead. The Golden Flyers rallied again to tie the set 16-16 before taking the lead 18-17 and 19-18. A ball handling error by NYU provided Nazareth with its first lead, then a kill by Harrigan gave the Golden Flyers their second lead. The Violets responded to the second Nazareth lead with six consecutive points to take a 24-19 lead. After an NYU service error, the Violets finished the set with a kill by Nicole Frias. Frias had five kills on six attempts with zero errors during the second set.

The Golden Flyers took an early 1-0 edge in the third set following an NYU attack error, however the Violets scored the next five points. Nazareth answered with a 7-1 scoring run to take an 8-6 lead. Hicks and Buseck each had two kills during the run while Hicks also added a solo block. The teams remained within two or or three points of each other until back-to-back NYU errors gave Nazareth a 16-12 lead. Following a timeout, the Violets responded with another scoring run to reclaim their lead. The 6-0 scoring run provided NYU with an 18-16 edge.

The Golden Flyers tied the match, 19-19, on a kill by Buseck, and a kill by Harrigan on the next point provided Nazareth with a one-point lead. The Violets, however, put together another quick 4-0 scoring run to take a 23-20 lead. The Golden Flyers recorded the next point on an NYU hitting error before the Violets tallied the final two points.