WHITEWATER, Wis. - After dropping the first two sets to College of Saint Benedict, the No. 7 Washington University in St. Louis volleyball team won the next two sets, but fell in the fifth (22-25, 22-25, 25-21, 25-20, 13-15) to halt the program's four-match win streak, Saturday, Sept. 15. With the setback, WashU's record now sits at 7-2, while CSB's record climbed to 7-3.
The Bennies notched the statistical advantage in kills (71-67), blocks (7-6), and assists (67-64), while WashU held the advantage in aces (11-10) and digs (83-71).
Junior
Jasmine Sells garnered her sixth double-double of the season as she posted 18 kills and 18 digs. Sophomore
Sam Buckley recorded her fifth double-double of the 2023 campaign with her 50 assist, 19 dig performance.
WashU held the 7-5 advantage early in the opening set. However, the Bennies went on a six-point run to snag the 11-7 cushion. Later in the frame, Oyewole garnered a kill to cut the deficit to 16-11. First-year
Ellie Laird then produced back-to-back aces to complete a three-point Bear run as the score stood at 16-13, in favor of the Bennies. With WashU trailing by four later in the set, Foster and Sells deposited back-to-back kills to warrant a CSB timeout with the Bennies out in front, 17-15.
After the timeout, Oyewole garnered two straight powerful kills to even the score at 17-17. A senior Lily Steinback kill gave the Bears its first lead, 19-18, since the score stood at 7-6. The Bennies called their final timeout of the set with the score tied at 22-22. CSB tallied the final three points to take set one by a final score of 25-22.
In the second set, after back-and-forth action, the Bennies generated a 14-10 lead. Oyewole secured a kill to cut the deficit to 14-11. After a WashU attack error pushed the CSB advantage to 15-11, head coach
Vanessa Walby motioned for a timeout. A few points after the timeout, the Bears assembled a three-point run as the Bennies held the slim, 17-15, lead. In the run, senior
Alden Standley notched a kill, sophomore
Aaliyaa Genat and Foster teamed up for a rejection, and junior
Elise Gilroy welcomed an ace.
A CSB attack error evened the frame at 19-19. In the ensuing rally, Foster dialed up a kill to give the Bears the one-point advantage, 20-19. However, the Bennies took the lead, 22-20, on a three-point run to warrant a WashU timeout. CSB went on to grab the second set by a score of 25-22.
WashU jumped out to the quick, 5-1, lead early in the third as CSB took its first timeout of the set. Buckley stepped up to the service line and produced an ace to push WashU's advantage to five, 13-8. Later in frame, the Bears put together a four-point run to expand their lead by a score of 18-10. With the Bennies vying for a comeback, Foster produced the set-ending kill to thwart the CSB comeback efforts. WashU took the third set, 25-21.
With the score tied at five in the fourth, WashU was on the receiving end of two CSB attack errors and a Gilory ace to stake a three-point cushion, 8-5. However, the Bennies erased the deficit at took the lead, 14-11, with the help of a four-point run. Later in the set, a thunderous Foster kill tied the fourth set at 20-20. Another Foster kill gave the Bears the slim, 21-20, as the Bennies called a timeout. The pause in action did little to slow down the WashU attack as the Bears won the fourth set, on a six-point run, 25-20. Laird secured the set-ending point on an ace.
In the fifth and decisive set, a well-timed block by Buckly and Steinbach broke the 6-6 tie to generate a 7-6 lead. A CSB attack error then pushed the lead to two, 8-6, as the Bennies took a timeout. With the nail-biting action ensuing, WashU welcomed back-to-back points to snag the 11-8 advantage. Grant then earned a kill to give the Bears the slim, 12-10, lead. The Bennies tallied the next two points to knot the fifth at 12-12. In the end, CSB won the fifth by a score of 15-13 to halt WashU's winning streak at four.
The Bears will remain in Whitewater, Wis. to complete play in the UW-Whitewater Invite II. WashU is set to take on No. 16 Transylvania University and host, No. 10 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, tomorrow, Sept. 16. Matches are set for 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.
