PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Playing in the final UAA Round Robin on the season, the No. 8 Washington University in St. Louis volleyball team went the distance, twice in a pair of 3-2 wins over No. 15 Chicago and RV Carnegie Mellon on Sunday in the Steel City. With the wins, the Bears improve to 23-4 overall and 5-2 in the UAA.
WashU 3, Chicago 2
The first set with the Maroons saw WashU lead by as many as eight points midway through the opening set. Chicago began to chip away and got within four on three different occasions, but a kill from graduate Lily Steinbach on set point gave the Bears the 1-0 lead.
The Maroons would take the lead early at 5-4 and never trail the rest of the second set. Despite leading by as many as four, Chicago couldn't keep WashU from tying the score at 17-17. The Maroons leveled the match on their second set point, 25-23.
The third set saw the Bears jump ahead early, but an 18-5 stretch by Chicago saw a lead that WashU couldn't overcome as the Maroons claimed a 2-1 match lead with a 25-17 set three win.
In what looked like could be a repeat of the third, Chicago took a 19-13 lead midway through the fourth set. However an 8-2 run by the Bears tied the score up at 21-21. After a WashU service error, a kill by Steinbach, a pair of service aces by senior Elise Gilroy, and a Maroon attack error saw the Bears level the match up at 2-2 with a 25-22 set four win.
In the deciding set, WashU would go on 3-1 run to push their lead up to 8-6. However, a 3-0 by Chicago saw them take their last lead of the contest. Five-straight points by the Bears gave them a match point at 14-10. A service error by Chicago allowed WashU to complete the comeback 15-11.
Steinbach and junior Anna Freeman each had the team-high in kills with 11. Junior Sam Buckley finished the contest with the match-high in assists, dishing out 39. Senior Zoe Foster set a new career-high in total blocks with 11 to lead the Bears.
WashU 3, Carnegie Mellon 2
WashU was once again forced to go the distance in its second five-setter of the day against the Tartans. CMU claimed the first set before the Bears bounced back with wins in sets two and three before closing out the match in the fifth with another comeback, 15-13.
An early WashU lead in the first set was quickly erased by the Tartans as the hosts would claim the lead at 11-10 and never trail only once more at 23-22 in favor of the Bears. CMU scored the final three points of the set for the 25-23 set one win.
The second set saw both teams take leads throughout with CMU holding onto a three-point advantage at 22-19. A 5-1 saw WashU get a set point at 24-23. However, it was a kill by Steinbach and sophomore Leah Oyewole that closed it out, 26-24 to tie the match up at one set apiece.
A 9-1 run halfway through the third saw the Bears take a 17-12 lead. The Tartans chipped saw and got within one at 20-19 but once again WashU closed out a set on its second opportunity with a 25-22 set three win.
CMU did not go away quietly in the fourth set, taking an early lead before stretching it out and holding on for the 25-19 set four win and leveling the match at 2-2.
The Tartans continued where they left off in the fourth to start the fifth and deciding set by taking a 7-3 lead early. They would keep their lead at 11-7 before 3-0 run by the Bears pulled WashU within one. Trailing 12-10 the Bears scored the next three points to take a 13-12 lead. CMU tied the set up one more time at 13-13 before a kill by Oyewole and a block by Buckley saw WashU complete the comeback, 15-13, for its second, five-set thrilling win in a row.
Oyewole set a new career-high in the match with 22 kills on .500 hitting, to lead the Bears.
Gilroy also set a career-record with 33 digs to lead the defensive effort for WashU. She was one of four Bears to reach double-figures.
Buckley was one assist off her career-high of 63 in the win over the Tartans.
WashU completed its UAA regular season with the wins and will have just one match this week when they pay a visit to Illinois Wesleyan on Thursday, Oct. 31. The match with the Titans gets underway at 7 p.m.
