ST. LOUIS, Mo. – It is going to be a busy weekend for the WashU volleyball team as they prepare to host the 2024 East-West Battle. The event will feature eight of the top programs, including five former national championship programs, in Division III with five nationally ranked teams and two who are receiving votes in the lates AVCA Coaches' Poll.

The Bears, currently ranked No. 16 in the country, will also be hosting their Alumnae Weekend with several activities planned. Registration is set for 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 6, before the Bears take on Cal Lutheran at 7 p.m. Following WashU's 10:30 a.m. match against No. 5 Trinity (TX) on Saturday, Sept. 7, there will be a lunch and team social at 12:30 p.m. followed by a facility tour at 2 p.m. and a 3 p.m. happy hour/tailgate before the Bears take on (RV) Tufts at 4:30 p.m.

In addition to WashU and its opponents, other teams competing on campus this weekend include, No. 9 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, (RV) Colorado College, No. 6 Emory, and No. 4 Johns Hopkins.

Here is a quick peak at each team heading into the weekend:

WashU –

The Bears move up a spot in this week's AVCA Coaches' Poll to No. 16 after opening the season 1-2 with a win over Coe at the 2024 Kathryne Pals Legacy Invitational, hosted by the University of Northwestern. WashU returns AVCA All-America Honorable Mentions Sam Buckley and Jasmine Sells, who also received AVCA All-Region 8 First Team honors. All five All-UAA honorees also return to the court this season. Buckley and Sells were both named to the first team while Elise Gilroy, Leah Oyewole and Lily Steinbach received honorable mentions. The Bears finished the 2023 season with a 24-10 overall record, earning an at-large spot in the NCAA Tournament. WashU opened with a 3-0 sweep of St. Olaf before falling to UW-Whitewater in the second round.

Cal Lutheran  –

The Regals make the trip to St. Louis with a 2-0 record to begin the 2024 season with wins over Union College and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. CLU returns their top blocker from a season ago in fifth-year Kira Mortensen, who finished with 96 total blocks. She also finished third on the team in kills with 183. Sophomore Tarin Rueckert, ranked second on the team in kills (186) and blocks (48), is also back for her second season. The Regals finished the 2023 season with an overall record of 10-16.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps –

The No. 9 Athenas are 2-1 in the early portion of the 2024 season with wins over Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and Wisconsin-River Falls. Georgia McGovern, a First Team All-American in 2023, returns to the team as the Athenas' primary setter after tallying 1,195 assists and 149 kills a season ago, helping her earn CSC Academic All-American honors. CMS went 26-6, knocking off top-seeded UW-Oshkosh in the NCAA Tournament before falling to Hope in five sets.

Colorado College –

The Tigers of Colorado College are receiving votes in the latest AVCA Coaches' Poll and are 1-3 on the season with a 3-2 win over #19 Transylvania. Junior Carolyn Dormady returns to the lineup this season after leading the team in kills (331) a year ago. While having a new primary setter, the Tigers return their top libero in Meghan Gannon who scooped up 556 digs (4.92 per set). Colorado College advanced to the SCAC Championship match in 2023 before falling to then-No. 13 Trinity (TX), finishing the season 18-11.

Emory –

The No. 6 Eagles come into the weekend with a 3-0 record with wins over Greensboro, Huntington, and Piedmont. EU returns three All-Americans including First Team selection senior Deborah Hong who finished the 2023 with 582 digs, averaging 5.49 per set. Junior Alana Dawson and senior Madison Cail also return for the Eagles after picking up Third Team and Honorable Mentions selections by the AVCA. EU finished the season 26-3, reaching the regional final in 2023, falling to Trinity (TX).

Johns Hopkins –

The No. 4 Blue Jays are off to a 2-1 start to the 2024 season with a pair of wins over William Paterson and Christopher Newport. JHU returns a pair of All-Americans in senior Simrin Carlsen and junior Helena Swaak. Carlsen finished the 2023 season with 464 kills, 4.64 kills per set and a .295 hitting percentage while Swaak dished out 1,231 assists, averaging 10.99 per set. The Blue Jays advanced to the Elite 8 a year ago to Hope in five sets after being down 2-0, finishing the season 28-5.

Trinity –

The No. 5 Tigers are undefeated to start the 2024 season with a 3-0 record with wins over SUNY-Cortland, No. 25 East Texas Baptist, and the College of St. Benedict (MN). TU has one returning All-American from a season ago with fifth year Mackenzie Logan back in uniform. She finished the season with 374 kills while hitting .244 for the season. Logan also tallied 116 digs and 32 blocks to help her earn Second Team All-American honors. The Tigers finished 31-5 in 2023 after falling to top-seeded Juniata in the NCAA quarterfinals.

Tufts –

The Jumbos, who are receiving votes in the latest AVCA Coaches' poll, opened up the 2024 season with a 3-0 sweep of Worcester Polytechnic Institute on Tuesday. Tufts returns sophomore Emma Heckman who was third on the team last season with 189 kills while classmate Rianna Liu is back after dishing out 333 assists, second best on the team. Last season the Jumbos fell in the NESCAC quarterfinals before earning an At-Large bid to the NCAA Tournament where they fell to Eastern in the first round in five sets.

The tournament will take place in the Varsity Gym and the Sumers Rec Center. Below is the complete schedule for the weekend:
 

Friday, Sept. 6 Schedule