Lexington, Ky., Sept. 1, 2018 – The No. 10-ranked Washington University in St. Louis volleyball team fell against No. 25 Berry and Hope, falling to Berry and Hope 3-2 at Transylvania University.

WashU is 1-2 after the opening weekend of play. The Bears recorded 11 blocks in both contests as well as producing five double digit kill performances led by senior Julianne Malek's 27 total.

Match 1: No. 25 Berry 3 – No. 10 WashU 2

Set 1: WashU 25 – Berry 23

The Bears took command of the first set, running up a 14-5 lead. WashU's attack came from a variety of sources as Malek, junior Hannah Turner, senior Ifeoma Ufondu, senior Lauren Martin, junior Leila King and sophomore Tricia Brown produced kills on the run. The Vikings closed the gap and tied the match at 23-all before kills by Malek and Turner closed out the set.

Set 2: WashU 25 – Berry 17

Malek and Turner recorded back-to-back solo blocks to cap a 4-0 start of the second set. Berry was unable to rally closer than a two-point gap. Junior setter Chloe Stile assisted King's kill to give the Bears a 2-0 lead in the match.

Set 3: Berry 25 – WashU 20

Berry held the lead for most of the third set until a kill from Brown evened the score at 16-16. She provided one more equalizer in the set but the Vikings scored four of the final five points to claim their first set.

Set 4: Berry 25 – WashU 21

The Vikings carried that momentum in the fourth set, working their way to a 9-0 lead before WashU scored its first point on a service error. Junior Zoe Baxter helped the Bears pull within two points on an 8-0 run. Freshmen Michaela Bach and Samantha Kaiser helped WashU's run with three assists, two kills and a block.

Set 5: Berry 15 – WashU 12

Berry scored the first three points of the set, prior the WashU pulling even several times which included an 11-11 tie. Malek and Bach combined on the block to even the score for the final time. The Vikings scored a 15-12 final set victory to claim the match.

Match 2: Hope 3 – No. 10 WashU 2

Set 1: WashU 25 – Hope 15

WashU relied on a heavy load of kills from Ufondu to quickly jump ahead of Hope and claim the first set victory. Ufondu totaled four kills in the set, while Malek tallied two of the final five points.

Set 2: Hope 29 – WashU 27

King had a solo block which put the Bears on the brink of claiming set two, 25-24 but Hope responded with an equalizer. The Flying Dutch scored five of the next seven points to even the match at one set apiece.

Set 3: WashU 25 – Hope 19

Malek provided the Bears with a spark in the middle of the set to help overcome a Hope lead. On a 5-1 run, Malek recorded three kills to push the Bears ahead 13-12. WashU closed out the set on a 9-3 run with Brown's kill ending the set in the Red & Green's favor.

Set 4: Hope 27 – WashU 25

Kills from Malek, Brown and Turner helped WashU to a 4-2 lead. The Flying Dutch turned the four-point deficit to a three-point advantage following a 7-0 run in the middle, 17-14. However, the Bears scored five unanswered points of their own to close within two points of taking the set, 23-21. WashU edged closer on a block by Malek and Kaiser but Hope scored five of the following six points for the win.

Set 5: Hope 15 – WashU 7

A kill from Ufondu temporarily gave WashU a 5-4 lead in the final set. The Flying Dutch responded with eight unanswered points and took the match victory with a 15-7 fifth set win.

Up Next: WashU will travel to Bloomington, Ill. for its next contest on Wednesday, Sept. 5 at 5 p.m. against No. 13 Illinois Wesleyan. Be sure to stay up to date on all your Bears scores and awards by following @WashUBears on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.