ATLANTA, Ga. - After dropping its University Athletic Association quarterfinal match to three-seed Case Western Reserve University, the No. 9 Washington University in St. Louis volleyball team got back on track in the night cap against seven-seed Brandeis University, Friday, November 10. WashU is set to play for fifth-place tomorrow morning.  

 

The Bears fell in straight sets to CWRU (25-23, 25-19, 25-12), then swept Brandeis (25-15, 25-17, 25-17). After today's action, the Bears' record sits at 23-8. 

 

 

In the first match of the day, WashU fell in straight sets to sixth-seeded Case Western Reserve. 

 

Junior Jasmine Sells recorded her 20th double-double of the season with 14 digs and 10 kills.  

 

Junior Zoe Foster landed eight kills, while first-year Leah Oyewole grabbed seven kills. 

 

Sophomore Sam Buckley dished out a match-high 31 assists in the setback. 

 

Defensively, junior Elise Gilroy notched a match-high 17 digs, while senior Alden Standley finished the match with 10 digs.  

 

The Spartans held the statistical advantages in kills (45-35), blocks (10-2), assists (44-35), and digs (66-56). 

 

In the opening frame, WashU took the early 4-0 lead that saw three Sells kills and one Foster kill. The Bears then pushed their early advantage to seven, 10-3, on a senior Lily Steinbach rejection. However, the Spartans generated a six-point run to trim the deficit to just one as the score stood 10-9, in favor of the Bears.  

 

Later in the set, Case Western evened the score at 16-16. The Spartans later took the five-point, 24-19, lead. WashU fought off four straight set points, but a CWRU kill ended the first set, 25-23, as the Spartans took the 1-0 set advantage. 

 

In the second set, similar to the first, WashU held the early, 6-2, advantage. WashU secured a six-point run to generate the early cushion. The Bears then doubled up CWRU, 10-5, on a junior McKenzie Washington kill. Case Western produced a five-point run to even the score at 11-11. With WashU in front, 18-15, CWRU garnered a nine-point run flip the script and take the commanding, 24-18 lead. The Spartans took the second set by a final score of 25-19. 

 

Case Western raced out to the 16-7 lead as WashU signaled for a timeout. The Bears could not shake off the early deficit and dropped the third set by a score of 25-12. 

 

 

In the night cap against seventh-seeded Brandeis, WashU got back on track with a straight set sweep. 

 

Sells paced WashU's offensive efforts by collecting 12 kills, a match-high. Junior Lucy Davis also topped double-digits, with 11, while Oyewole secured nine kills. 

 

Buckley registered a match-high 34 assists. 

 

On the defensive side of the ball, Gilroy was credited with a team-high nine digs, while Sells added eight. 

 

WashU held the statistical advantages in every major category, kills (41-26), aces (4-3), blocks (5-4), assists (38-26), digs (36-33), and hitting percentage (.301-.100). 

 

In the first set of the match, with the Bears down one, 4-3, WashU turned in a four-point run to grab the 7-4 advantage. In the run, three different Bears deposited a kill. Later in the frame, a first-year Ellie Laird ace put WashU in front by seven, 13-6. A Judges attack error capped off a Bear five-point run to secure the commanding 19-9 cushion. With WashU at set point, 24-15, Sells ended the set with a thunderous kill as the Bears won the first set, 25-15. 

 

The start of the second set saw both teams generate four-point runs. Brandeis grabbed the first four points, then the Bears answered with a four-point run to even the score at 4-4. With back-and-forth action ensuing, Oyewole dialed up a kill to knot the set at 14-all. WashU gained its momentum with a timely five-point rally to earn the 20-15 advantage. The run saw three Judges miscues and two Foster kills. With WashU out in front by three, 20-17, the Bears did not allow Brandeis to score again. WashU ended the set on another five-point run to take the second by a final score of 25-17. A Brandeis attack error proved to be the set-ending point. 

 

The Bears turned in a quick five-point lead, 7-2, in the third on a Gilroy ace. Foster then dialed up a kill to double-up Brandeis, 10-5. The Judges landed an ace to cut WashU's lead to two, 14-12. Back-to-back kills from Davis and Sells pushed the Bears' cushion back to five, 17-13. After WashU rattled off several points, the Bears held the comfortable 24-17 advantage. Davis generated the set-ending kill as WashU won the third, 25-17. 

 

WashU will take on the winner of the University of Rochester (eight-seed) and Carnegie Mellon University (four-seed) match, tomorrow, Saturday, November 11, for fifth-place. First serve is scheduled for 10 a.m. EST.