The New York University women's volleyball team exceeded even its own high expectations for the 2009 season, posting its best record since 2006 en route to an NCAA Division III Volleyball Championship appearance. The Violets finished with a 29-10 record, the seventh 20-win season of head coach Ed Caesar's career. 

NYU won their first six matches in 2009 and 13 of their first 14. The team produced first-place finishes at the NYU Labor Day Invitational, the Rochester Institute of Technology Invitational and the New York State Regional Challenge.

At the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship in Chicago, IL, NYU made quick work of rivals University of Rochester and Case Western Reserve University in the first two matches. In the semifinals, however, the Violets were stopped by eventual national champion Washington University. The team settled for fourth place after taking a setback from host University of Chicago in the third-place match.

After barely missing an invitation to the NCAA Championship in 2008 - instead, the Violets won the Eastern College Athletic Association Metro/Upstate Tournament Championship – NYU received an at-large bid in 2009. As hosts of a regional bracket, the top-seeded Violets surged past Polytechnic University of NYU before falling to Christopher Newport University in the second round.

"We were worried about our experience level coming into the tournament and it definitely showed tonight," Caesar said after the Violets' NCAA loss. "The key thing at this point is to not focus on what we didn't do right tonight, but what we did right throughout the season."

Individually, freshman middle blocker Kendyl Dunn made an immediate impact on the team. She led the Violets with 511 kills, the team's fourth-highest single-season output during the rally-scoring era, and in total blocks (105). A three-time UAA Athlete of the Week, Dunn received tournament MVP honors at RIT, MIT and at the New York State Regional Challenge. She was named American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Second Team All-American, AVCA All-New York Region, First Team All-UAA, Rookie of the Year in the UAA, and Freshman of the Year in the AVCA New York Region.

Junior Rachel Sawyer was a stalwart at libero, leading the team in service aces (68) and serve percentage (.917). She also holds team records for digs in a game (42), season (475) and career (1,311).

Sophomore captain Elizabeth Dick, an outside hitter who was second on the team in digs (435) and kills (331), notched Second Team All-UAA honors.

Sophomore setter Mina Baban led the team with 1,247 set assists, the fifth-highest total in school history. She rose to second place on the career set assists list with 2,190. For her strong play, Baban was named Second Team All-UAA and Second Team AVCA All-New York Region Team. She was also selected as an Honorable Mention All-American.

In addition to all of their on-court accomplishments, five Violets earned UAA Fall Sport All-Academic honors.