ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Behind a balanced offensive effort, the No. 7 Washington University in St. Louis volleyball team swept Webster University (25-12, 25-21, 25-22), in straight sets, Wednesday, Sept. 13 inside Grant Gymnasium. In total, 12 Bears recorded at least one kill as WashU extended its win streak to four. With the win, WashU's record upped to 7-1, while Webster's record slid to 2-5. 

 

The Bears welcomed the statistical advantage in kills (41-24), aces (7-3), assists (37-24), and hitting percentage (.227-.100). 

 

Offensively, junior McKenzie Washington tied a season-high with nine kills. First-year Leah Oyewole produced seven kills, while sophomore Aaliyaa Genat generated a career-high with six kills. 

 

Sophomore Sam Buckley earned a match-high 28 assists, while junior Elise Gilroy dished out five assists.  

 

Defensively, Gilroy tabbed a match-high 16 digs.  

 

With the score tied at 7-7 in the opening set, Buckley notched a kill to give the Bears the 8-7 cushion. A three-point run pushed the advantage to 11-7. In the run, senior Lily Steinbach tallied a kill along with back-to-back Gorlok errors. Kills from junior Zoe Foster and Oyewole gave WashU the 15-9 lead to warrant a Webster timeout. Later in the set, the Bears manufactured another three-point run to welcome a 20-11 lead. The run was highlighted by a sophomore Eva Boling kill. To end the set, Washington took advantage of an overpass and deposited a kill in front of the 10-foot line to claim the first set, 25-12. 

 

The second set saw back-and-forth action as the score stood at 10-10. Later in the set, a Webster ace cut the deficit to 15-14, with WashU clinging to a one-point lead. Back-to-back Bear miscues tied the set at 16 all. However, a timely three-point WashU run gave the Bears a 19-16 advantage as the Webster coach motioned for a timeout. The Bears did not relinquish the second set lead as Washington, once again, recorded the set-ending kill by a score of 25-21. 

 

Looking for a sweep, WashU manufactured the 10-7 cushion. The Bears utilized a three-point run on a senior Paris Nix kill, a Webster attack error, and a Nix ace to push the advantage to 13-7. A first-year Clair Redmon kill, followed by an ace from junior Jordan Sandberg extended WashU's cushion by a score of 20-16. After a Webster timeout, Genat recorded a kill to give the Bears a 21-16 lead. However, three straight points by the Gorloks cut the deficit to 21-19. Back-to-back aces by Nix pushed the Bear cushion to 23-19. A Webster service error ended the match as WashU took the third set, 25-22. 

 

WashU will trek to Whitewater, Wis. to compete in the UW-Whitewater Invite II, Friday-Saturday, Sept. 15-16. The Bears will tangle with College of Saint Benedict, Friday at 7 p.m., before squaring off with No. 16 Transylvania University and No. 10 UW-Whitewater on Saturday. The tournament central page can be found here.