Atlanta Ga., October 17^th, 2021 – The Washington University in St. Louis volleyball team capped off the UAA Round Robin #3 with two victories on Sunday afternoon in Atlanta on the campus of Emory University.

The Bears defeated Case Western Reserve 3-1 (25-19, 25-20, 20-25, 25-17) and Carnegie Mellon 3-2 (25-18, 26-24, 18-25, 18-25, 15-11).

With the two wins, WashU improves to 13-7 on the season and is now 4-3 in UAA play.

Senior Michaela Bach and sophomore Faith Phillips had career days in the victories. Bach finished the day with 50 kills, marking a career-high 26 kills (the most in a single-match since 2018) in the Bears' five-set thriller over Carnegie Mellon.

Phillips posted 94 assists in total, with a career-high 53 and a career-high 20 digs against Carnegie Mellon.

WashU vs. Case Western

Statistically, the Bears posted 56 kills in the win, as they tallied 17 alone in the second set. CWRU was held to only 32 kills and also committed 24 errors.

Michaela Bach finished with 24 kills on 45 total attacks for a .467 percentage. The senior also led WashU with five service aces in the victory.

Alaina Bohrer tacked on 11 kills with nine digs, while Caitlin Lorenz and Jasmine Sells each finished with nine and seven kills apiece.

Faith Phillips led the Bears with 41 assists and Taryn Gurbach added 18 digs. Elise Gilroy tallied 13 digs with two service aces.

In the opening set, WashU ripped off nine straight points, including three service aces, to take an 11-3 lead. The Spartans tied up the set at 14-14, but the Bears had exceptional play up front from Bach and Bohrer on back-to-back kills to quickly pull back ahead.

WashU never trailed throughout the remainder of the set and a service ace from Taryn Gurbach gave the Bears the first set.

In the second frame, the Bears got off to another fantastic start and built a 16-8 lead. With 17 kills in the set, WashU was able to maintain their lead.

CWRU cut the lead down to 18-21, but WashU won five of the final six points in the set. Another service ace, this time from Faith Phillips, gave WashU a 2-0 set edge. 

The Spartans had their best set in the third, marking 11 kills and a .417 hitting percentage. WashU trailed 14-13, but CWRU pulled ahead 22-16. A late rally from the Bears cut the lead down to three at 22-19, but it would not be enough as the Spartans finished off the set off a service error.

WashU rebounded in the fourth set and never trailed in the entirety of the set. Case tied it up at 15-15 and the Bears responded with seven straight points to put the set out of reach to clinch the match.

WashU vs. Carnegie Mellon

The Bears got the job done yet again at the net with a season-high 70 kills. The 70 kills in a single-match are the most since the 2016 season.

Bach's 26 kills led way, as Jasmine Sells and Alaina Bohrer both provided an extra boost with 15 and 14 kills, respectively.

Faith Phillips' 53 assists and 20 digs led the Bears as they finished with 79 digs as a team. Gurbach registered 19 digs, while Bohrer had 14 and Bach notched 11.

Additionally, WashU had eight block assists, as Caitlin Lorenz posted three block assists up front.

Winning the opening set was crucial and WashU did just that as they claimed a 25-18 win with 14 kills in the set for a .423 hitting percentage. The Bears led by seven multiple times at 17-10, 21-14 and then a service ace from Phillips sealed the set at 25-18.

The second set was a see-saw battle which saw WashU finish with 20 kills, the most they have posted in an individual set this season. The Bears closed out the frame winning the final two points off kills from Bohrer and Sells.

WashU had a tough third set and committed 13 errors. The Bears were unable to complete a 3-0 sweep as they fell behind 18-11 and were unable to ultimately catch CMU in the set. 

In the fourth, the Bears struggled again with seven errors and a .122 hitting percentage. Carnegie Mellon finished the set with 13 kills and only two errors, as WashU trailed the entire set and fell behind 14-5 out of the gate.

However, WashU had a great final set as they recorded 13 kills and zero errors. The Bears built an 8-4 advantage and kept Carnegie Mellon from closing in on the lead and prevented CMU from cutting the lead any closer than two points at 11-9.

Bach finished off the match with a kill at the net to give the Bears a 15-11 set victory.

WashU returns to the Field House on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. against Illinois College.