ST. LOUIS, Mo. - On senior day, the No. 12 Washington University in St. Louis volleyball team wrapped up a flurry of action, Saturday, October 14 by hosting the WashU Invite. The second day of action saw a straight set sweep over Simpson College (25-19, 25-12, 25-19) and a four-set victory over Illinois Wesleyan University (25-21, 23-25, 25-16, 25-16). The Bears' record jumped to 17-6 with the two victories.  

 

With the two wins, head coach Vanessa Walby is just two wins away from her 400th career victory. 

 

Before the first match of the day, the volleyball program recognized its senior class, which featured Alden Standley, Paris Nix, and Lily Steinbach. 

 

In the first match against the Storm, WashU enjoyed the statistical advantages in kills (38-32), aces (9-5), blocks (5-4), assists (36-30), and attacking percentage (.309-.121). 

 

Junior Lucy Davis torched a team-high 11 kills. Junior Jasmine Sells added nine kills, while Steinbach was credited with six kills. 

 

Sophomore Sam Buckley notched a match-high 32 assists for the Bears. 

 

On the defensive side of the ball, junior Elise Gilroy corralled a team-high 11 digs, while Standley contributed nine digs. 

 

The Bears quickly snagged the 6-0 set one lead. The run saw kills from Sells, first-year Leah Oyewole, and Davis. With WashU up by four, 17-13, three straight Storm miscues pushed the Bears' advantage to seven, 20-13. However, Simpson then recorded the next five points to trim their deficit to just two, 21-19. WashU responded with a four-point run to take the first set, 25-19.  

 

Simpson held the slim, 6-4, cushion in the second. The Bears were able to generate a six-point rally to erase the deficit and generate the 10-6 lead. During the run, Steinbach dialed up a kill and Sells and Steinbach each teamed up for two rejections. Later in the frame, the Bears held the lead, 13-10. With a three-point advantage, WashU then recorded the next eight points to open up the 21-10 lead. Davis solidified the second set victory with a kill as the set ended by a final score of 25-12. 

 

WashU found itself up six, 16-10, in the third. The Storm produced seven in a row and took the lead, 17-16. The Bears responded with a six-point run to re-take the lead, 22-17. The advantage was too much to overcome as WashU swept Simpon with a third set victory, 25-19, on a Nix ace. 

 

Behind Sells' 16th double-double of the season, the Bears took the night cap over the Titans in four sets. Sells posted a team-high 14 kills and polished off her double-double with 11 digs.  

 

Oyewole landed a dozen kills, while junior Zoe Foster topped double-digits with 10 kills. 

 

Buckley dished out a match-high 46 assists in the victory. 

 

Continuing her solid defensive play, Gilroy notched a match-high 22 digs. 

 

WashU held the statistical advantage in kills (55-52), assists (51-48), and digs (72-69).  

 

In the opening frame, the Titans utilized a six-point run to generate the early, 9-6, lead. In the middle of the set, WashU recorded a four-point run to open up a two-point advantage, 14-12. With the set tied at 15-15, the Bears earned a five-point rally to secure the five-point, 20-15, cushion. WashU won the first set, 25-21, on a powerful Sells kill. 

 

The second set saw some back-and-forth action as the set stood even at 15-15. A Titan attack error later in the set knotted the score at 23-23. Back-to-back Illinois Wesleyan points pushed the Titans to a second set, 25-23, victory. 

 

In the pivotal third set, WashU opened up the 11-7 advantage with the help of a five-point rally. Another five-point run towards the end of the set gave the Bears a substantial, 19-11, cushion. An IWU attack error ended the third as WashU won the set, 25-16. 

 

The Bears doubled-up the Titans in the fourth, 16-8. With the eight-point lead in hand, WashU never relinquished the advantage and took the fourth set comfortably by a final score of 25-18.  
 

WashU will be back in action on Sunday, October 22 for a pair of matches. The Bears are set to make the trek to Waltham, Mass. for the third and final UAA Round Robin. WashU will tangle with University of Rochester at 9 a.m., followed by No. 5 Emory University at 1 p.m. The Round Robin will be hosted by Brandeis University.