Greencastle, Ind. – The No. 7 Washington University in St. Louis volleyball team closed out the 2022 regular season on Saturday, splitting its two matches against No. 23 Transylvania and DePauw at Neal Fieldhouse in Greencastle, Ind. 
 
The Bears fell 3-0 (27-25, 25-18, 25-23) to Transy but bounced back with a 3-0 sweep over DePauw (25-19, 25-17, 25-21). 
 
WashU concludes the regular season with a record of 27-4, as the Bears notched their 15th 3-0 victory on the year. 
 
Heading into the UAA Championship Tournament next weekend at NYU, WashU will be the No. 2 seed and will match up with No. 7 seed Rochester on November 4 at noon EST. 
 
WashU vs Transy 
The opening match of the day for the Bears featured two nationally-ranked teams as the first set went back-and-forth down to the wire. 
 
With eight ties and three lead changes in the opening frame, the Bears maintained a 12-9 lead. 
 
WashU stayed out in front and held on to a 22-19 lead following a hitting error from the Pioneers late in the set. 
 
Transylvania erased a three-point deficit and knotted things up at 24-24 as the set continued on. The Bears claimed the ensuing point after a kill up front from Lily Steinbach, but Transy would win the next three points in a row to take the set. 
 
WashU got off to a quick start in the second, winning nine of the first 13 points for a 9-4 lead and later stayed out in front at 12-7. 
 
However, Transy would win 10 of the next 12 points and were back in front at 17-14, as the Bears were unable to regain the lead in the set. 
 
The Pioneers would end the set on an 8-4 run to win the frame 25-18 for a 2-0 lead.
 
The Bears struggled in the second half of the set and managed only nine kills for the entirety of the set. 
 
WashU looked to fight back in the third set and matched its first set totals in kills with 14. 
 
In the set there were a total of nine scoring ties and five lead changes as it was another back-and-forth grind. 
 
A 5-2 scoring run from the Bears gave WashU its largest lead of the set at 13-9, but not before Transy fired back with a 6-1 run to take a 15-14 lead. 
 
Despite facing another deficit, WU responded on an 8-4 scoring run, winning six points off kills as they inched closer to forcing a fourth set with a 23-19 lead. 
 
Once again, Transy finished the set on a strong note and claimed the final six points to win the set and match at 25-23. 
 
Jasmine Sells led WashU with 11 kills, while Michaela Bach added a double-double of 10 kills and 11 digs along with two blocks. 
 
Lane Bohrer chipped in with seven kills and eight digs. 
 
Faith Phillips led the Bears with 32 assists and added a season-high 12 digs. 
 
Defensively, Taryn Gurbach led WU with 23 digs and currently holds 971 career digs, just 29 away from 1,000. In addition, it's the fifth time this season Gurbach has achieved at least 20 kills in a single match. 
 
WashU vs DePauw 
Against DePauw, the Bears came out with a strong effort early in the opening set. 
 
Thanks to 44 total team kills, led behind 12 from Jasmine Sells, WashU posted 18 kills in the opening set with an impressive .405 hitting mark. 
 
WashU shook off an 8-6 deficit by using a 13-6 scoring run over the next 19 points for a 19-14 advantage. 
 
The Bears continued to attack up front and extended their lead out to 23-17 before a kill from Lily Steinbach sealed the opening set in favor of WashU (25-19). 
 
In the second, WU totaled 15 kills and only five hitting errors. After building an early 5-2 lead, DePauw retook the lead at 8-6 moments later.
 
However, WashU answered right back with a 9-3 run to go back on top at 15-11. The Bears would not trail for the remainder of the set and pushed their lead out to 23-15 for their largest margin of the day. 
 
The Bears won the final two points of the set leading 23-17 following a kill from Sells and a ball handling error from DePauw for a 2-0 lead. 
 
To close out the match, WashU jumped ahead 7-3 through the first 10 points of the set, before pulling ahead further at 13-7. 
 
WU finished the set with only 11 kills and nine hitting errors but never trailed in the frame despite a late rally from DePauw. 
After the Tigers reduced the lead down to 18-15, WashU won the next five points as they looked to finish off the set. 
 
Once again, DePauw chipped away and won six of the next seven points before an attack error at 24-21 gave WashU the set and match. 
 
Along with Sells' 12 kills, Lane Bohrer finished with nine kills and nine digs and Michaela Bach added five kills. 
 
Faith Phillips posted a double-double with a team-best 31 assists and a season-high 12 digs, while Taryn Gurbach led the Bears with 15 digs defensively.