ST. LOUIS, Mo. - After a 23-9 season, which included taking down four top-25 opponents, the No. 9 Washington University in St. Louis volleyball team earned one of the 22 at-large berths for the NCAA Tournament. The Bears (three-seed), will travel to Mount Vernon, Iowa to compete in the eight-team regional, hosted by Cornell College.
The Bears will make their 35th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history (1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022).
Additionally, WashU will look to secure the program's 11th NCAA National Championship and first since 2009 (1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2003, 2007, 2009).
The 64-team field will begin competition on Thursday, November 16, with eight regional champions being crowned on Saturday, November 18. The Elite Eight, Final Four, and National Championship will take place in Claremont, Calif., Wednesday-Saturday, November 29-December 2.
The Bears will take on sixth-seeded St. Olaf College, Thursday, November 16 at 11:30 a.m. All regional matches will be played inside of
Small Athletic and Wellness Center.
For the first time in Cornell volleyball history, a NCAA Tournament Regional will run through Mount Vernon.
The complete first-round schedule of the Mount Vernon regional can be found below*:
(#3) WashU vs (#6) St. Olaf – 11:30 a.m.
(#2) University of Wisconsin-Whitewater vs (#7) Coe College – 2 p.m.
(#1) University of Northwestern (Minn.) vs (#8) Edgewood College – 4:30 p.m.
(#5) Millikin University vs (#4) Cornell – 7 p.m.
* All matches played on Thursday, November 16
The four winners will then advance to the regional semifinals, Friday, November 17. The semifinal matches are scheduled for 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. The regional championship will be held on Saturday, November 18 at 5 p.m.
WashU vs the Regional:
During the regular season, the Bears battled two teams in the regional: UW-Whitewater and Millikin. WashU took on UW-Whitewater, September 16 in the UW-Whitewater Invite II. The then-No. 10 Warhawks defeated WashU in four sets (25-19, 21-25, 25-22, 25-19). In the match, junior
Jasmine Sells produced a double-double with 16 kills and 14 digs, while sophomore
Sam Buckley dished out a match-high 47 assists. Defensively, junior
Elise Gilroy added a match-high 27 digs.
The Bears took on Millikin just 10 days ago in the Millikin Tri, November 4. Millikin, who was receiving votes in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll, was denied a victory by WashU. The Bears turned in a four set (25-20, 25-20, 14-25, 25-21) victory. Buckley and Sells both recorded double-doubles in the contest.
WashU Stat Leaders:
Buckley, in the Bears' 6-1 offense, has distributed 1,217 assists this season. As of November 9, Buckley ranks third in all of Division III in total assists. Buckley also ranks seventh in the nation in assists per set with 10.45.
In the 32-match season thus far, Sells has produced 423 kills to top the team. As of November 9, Sells sits tied for 29th in the nation in total kills. First-year
Leah Oyewole (279 kills), junior
Zoe Foster (222 kills), and senior
Lily Steinbach (201 kills) round out the top five offensive threats.
Junior
Elise Gilroy leads the Bears in two categories: digs (514) and service aces (40).
Sells (363 digs), Buckley (344 digs), senior
Alden Standley (279 digs), and first-year
Ellie Laird (272) complete the top-five dig leaders for the Bears.
Laird is tied with Gilroy for the team lead with 40 service aces. Buckley (37), Standley (25), and Sells (22) top the team in the aces category.
Foster has recorded 69 rejections to lead the team, while Steinbach sits in a close second with 63 blocks.
WashU Lands Five on UAA Honors List:
In a University Athletic Association release yesterday, the conference announced that five Bears were selected for UAA honors. Buckley and Sells earned a spot on the All-UAA First Team, while Gilroy, Oyewole, and Steinbach found themselves on the honorable mention list.
Scouting St. Olaf (Six-Seed):
The Oles earned an at-large bid out of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). St. Olaf dropped the MIAC championship match in five-sets to Gustavus Adolphus College. St. Olaf will make their 12th national tournament appearance.
St. Olaf enters the tournament with an overall record of 21-9 (7-4 MIAC).
The Oles and Bears have five common opponents (Otterbein, Hope, Webster, Simpson, and Saint Benedict). Both programs defeated Otterbein, Webster, and Simpson, while both programs lost to Hope. St. Olaf defeated Saint Benedict in straight sets, while the Bears dropped a five-set match to Saint Benedict.
After the MIAC tournament, Catherine Moore and Selena Rodriguez were named to the nine-player Volleyball All-Playoff Team.
Moore leads the Oles with 381 kills, while Rodriguez leads St. Olaf with 614 digs.
Scouting Northwestern (Minn.) (One-Seed):
The Eagles, the top seed in the Mount Vernon region, are coming off the program's fifth-straight Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) title. Northwestern swept Wisconsin-Superior (25-11, 25-13, 25-18) to claim the league's automatic bid into the tournament.
The Eagles enter the tournament with a record of 29-4 (14-0 UMAC) and are currently ranked fifth by the AVCA.
Northwestern and WashU have six common opponents (UW-Whitewater, UW-Oshkosh, Transylvania, New York, North Park, and Saint Benedict). Both programs defeated North Park, while both were defeated by UW-Oshkosh. The Eagles took down UW-Whitewater, Transylvania, New York, and Saint Benedict, while WashU dropped its matches to those four programs.
The Eagles landed six athletes on the UMAC Volleyball Awards, including Player of the Year (Abby Glanzer), Co-Defensive Player of the Year (Marylyn Schroyer), and Coach of the Year (Beth Wilmeth).
Scouting UW-Whitewater (Two-Seed):
After giving UW-Oshkosh their first loss of the season, UW-Whitewater claimed the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Warhawks swept Oshkosh (25-23, 25-20, 25-22), for the program's 18th WIAC title.
The Warhawks closed out the regular season with a 26-4 (6-1 WIAC) record and currently hold the No. 6 ranking in DIII.
Whitewater and WashU have six common opponents (Saint Benedict, Transylvania, Millikin, North Park, Hope, and Oshkosh). Both teams defeated Millikin and lost to Hope. WashU took down North Park, while the Warhawks lost in five to NPU. Whitewater topped Saint Benedict, Transylvania, and Oshkosh.
The Warhawks swept all three WIAC specialty awards and totaled five on the league honors list. Jenna Weinfurt (Offensive Player of the Year), Morgan Jensen (Defensive Player of the Year), and Aubrie Krzus (Newcomer of the Year) grabbed the specialty awards. Kirsten Anderson (first team) and Hannah Proctor (all-sportsmanship) found a spot on the WIAC honors list.
Scouting Cornell (Four-Seed):
The No. 25 Rams, who swept Illinois College (29-27, 25-17, 25-21), grabbed the Midwest Conference's (MWC) automatic bid. Cornell is set to dance in the tournament for the 10th time in program history.
Cornell enters the tournament with an overall record of 22-7 (8-0 MWC).
The Rams and Bears have three common opponents (Chicago, UW-Whitewater, and Simpson). Both teams posted the same results with wins against Chicago and Simpson and a loss to UW-Whitewater.
Cornell landed five to the MWC all-conference list with Ilah Perez-Johnson earning the player of the year selection. Clare Green (first team), Grace Marti (second team), Ella Becker (second team), and Kiana Manson (second team) secured league honors.
Perez-Johnson leads the Rams with 381 kills while Ella Becker tops the Rams with 436 digs.
Scouting Millikin (Five-Seed):
The Big Blue fell to Carthage College in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) semifinal, in five sets, and earned one of the 22 at-large berths into the tournament.
Millikin is currently riding a two-match losing skid, owns a record of 22-11 (7-1 CCIW).
The Big Blue and WashU have nine common opponents (New York, Oshkosh, Otterbein, Fontbonne, North Park, Whitewater, Illinois Wesleyan, Chicago, and DePauw). Both teams defeated Fontbonne, IWU, and DePauw, while both fell to NYU, Oshkosh, and Whitewater. WashU took down Otterbein, North Park, and Chicago, while MU dropped all three matches to those teams.
Three Millikin players were named to the CCIW All-Conference, including Kailee Itzenhuiser (first team), Sophia Howell (first team), and Addison Oyer (second team).
Itzenhuiser leads the Big Blue with 442 kills, Alyssa Frederking has dished out a team-high 696 assists, and Howell has earned 557 digs.
Scouting Coe (Seven-Seed):
The Kohawks took down the University of Dubuque in the American Rivers Conference (ARC) championship to earn the league's automatic bid to the tournament. Coe won the match in four sets (21-25, 25-16, 25-14, 25-13).
Coe, who swept the ARC tournament with wins over Loras, Nebraska Wesleyan, and Dubuque, enter the NCAA Tournament on a three-match win streak and boast an overall record of 21-11 (6-2 ARC).
Coe and WashU have three common opponents (Whitewater, Fontbonne, and Simpson). Both programs notched the same results, with wins over Fontbonne and Simpson, and a loss against Whitewater.
Additionally, Coe swept St. Olaf (25-15, 25-22, 25-19) on September 15.
Grace Lueken tops the Kohawks with 299 kills, while Maddy Maahs leads the team with 1,158 assists on the year.
Scouting Edgewood (Eight-Seed):
Edgewood, for the second time since making the transition to NCAA Division III, heard its name called for big dance. The Eagles also went to the NCAA Tournament in 2011. Edgewood took down Aurora in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) championship, in a five-set thriller (25-16, 25-12, 17-25, 22-25, 16-14).
The Eagles, who are on a four-match winning streak, own a record of 23-10 (12-1 NACC).
Edgewood and the Bears have three common opponents (Whitewater, North Park, and Oshkosh). The Eagles dropped all three matches, while WashU swept NPU.
Edgewood landed four athletes in the All-NACC list, with Abigail Hoffmann, Abbey Falk, and Ashley Bruehlman named to the first team. Jennacy Wille notched honorable mention. Head coach Paul Schlomer and staff were named Coaching Staff of the Year.
Bruehlman leads the way with 366 kills, while Wille tops the team with 511 digs.
WashU and St. Olaf will square off with each other for the 10th time in program history on Thursday, with the Bears owning the 8-1 series record. The two last met on the hardwood in 2010.
