St. Louis, Mo., September 1, 2021 – The Washington University in St. Louis volleyball team got its much-anticipated 2021 season underway on Wednesday evening with a season-opener win over Fontbonne (25-10, 25-23, 25-19). The Bears are now 1-0 on the season heading into a competitive weekend at the Bear Invite.

WashU was led by senior Michaela Bach with 14 kills while junior Alaina Bohrer had eight on the day. Sophomore Alden Standley finished with a team-high 19 assists and senior Caitlin Lorenz had seven digs. The Bears outhit their opponent .221 to .011.

Set 1: 25-10
The Bears got off to a hot start in the opening set, limiting Fontbonne to just 10 points. WashU notched the first four points and continued to get stronger as the set went on.

Bach notched four kills during the set, including the Bears' first point of the day. Lorenz and Bohrer each registered two kills while Bohrer and Bach also recorded a block.

The Bears' 25-10 win was the biggest lead of the match. WashU went on an 8-1 run to close out the set.

Bach registered back-to-back kills to start the run and Bohrer added one to give the Bears a 21-9 edge. A pair of kills from Bach and Abby Li and a block from Bohrer pushed WashU to the opening-set win.

Set 2: 25-23
The second and third sets proved to be more even, with Fontbonne taking its first lead of the day in the second set. The Griffins held a four-point lead, twice, for their largest of the day.

After a kill from Fontbonne's Hannah Gallagher gave the Griffins a 15-11 edge, the Bears recorded five-straight points to pull ahead, 16-15. Kills from Bach, Bohrer and Lily Steinbach and a service ace from Li gave WashU momentum in the second half of the set.

The rest of the match continued to be neck-and-neck and was tied multiple times. A kill from Bohrer pushed the Bears to a 24-23 lead and ultimately led to the second-set victory.

Set 3: 25-19
The third set started out close, ending up tied 2-2 before the Bears scored six-straight including three kills from Bach to take an 8-2 edge.

The Griffins closed the gap to three points but WashU continued to push and built up a seven-point, 16-9, advantage on a kill from first-year Jasmine Sells.

Ultimately, WashU went on to take its largest lead of the set, 23-13. Another kill from Sells followed by a block from Sells and Paris Nix stretched the lead to 10 points.

Sells, who saw action in the final set of the day, recorded three kills, including the final point of the match.

WashU is back in action this weekend with the Bear Invite. The Bears will host Carroll (Wis.), UW-Eau Claire, Lewis & Clark, UT-Dallas, Webster and Centre.

WashU will play Carroll at 6 p.m. on Friday followed by a match against UW-Eau Claire at 8 p.m. The Bears will then close out the tournament on Saturday with a 2:30 p.m. match against Lewis & Clark and a 4:30 p.m. match against UT-Dallas.