CLEVELAND, Ohio – Playing back-to-back is tough. Doing so in the challenging UAA is that much harder, as the No. 10 Washington University in St. Louis volleyball team experienced on Sunday. The Bears split a pair of matches at Round Robin #2, hosted by Case Western Reserve.
WashU opened with a 3-1 win over RV Carnegie Mellon before dropping a 3-1 decision to the host Spartans. After Sunday, the Bears moved to 16-4 on the season and 3-2 in the UAA.
WashU 3, CMU 1
It was a quick start for the Bears against Carnegie Mellon, jumping out to a 9-1 lead early in the first set. WashU saw that lead expand once more, up to nine at 15-6 before the Tartans began to chip away at their deficit. They eventually were able to pull within four to end a 3-0 run, 24-20, but a kill by junior
Naya Ohuabunwa sealed the first set in favor of the Bears.
The beginning of the second set was much closer than the first until the Bears led 11-10 and went on a 7-0 run to pull ahead by eight. It appeared that they would take a two-set lead when they were ahead 21-15, but CMU followed with a 10-1 scoring run, including the final eight points to pull the match even, 1-1.
The third set returned to the pattern of the first as the Bears pulled out to a 10-2 lead to get things started. Albeit sooner than the first set, the Tartans were able to pull within four at 20-16. This time, though, it was the reverse of the second set as WashU scored the final five points of the third set, starting with a kill by senior
Eva Boling and concluding with a block by Ohuabunwa, 25-16.
CMU played evenly to start, even taking a 5-3 lead to start the fourth set. The teams would trade no more than two points in a row before WashU, trailing 13-12, went on a 4-0 run to take a three-point lead, 16-13. The Bears used another 4-0 stretch to jump ahead 21-15 before closing out the set and match with a pair of kills by senior
Anna Freeman, 25-17.
As a team, WashU led in kills (52-42), aces (9-5), blocks (12-10), and assists (51-38).
Freeman led the Bears with 18 kills, while senior
Sam Buckley led the team in assists (49) and aces (4). Junior
Ellie Laird tied the match-high in digs with 20.
CWRU 3, WashU 1
WashU picked up where it left off against CMU, only this time it was against Case Western Reserve.
The Bears would take a small lead early over the Spartans in the first set before going on a 9-1 run to pull away, 14-7. CWRU responded with their own 6-1 run to pull within two at 16-14. Eventually, the Spartans got within just one at 17-16, but they could not overcome a pair of three unanswered point stretches by WashU as the Bears went ahead 24-20. A kill by Boling closed out the first set 25-20 as WashU took the 1-0 match lead.
It was a reversal of the first set to start the second, in which the Spartans, already ahead by four, 15-11, went on an 8-1 run to take a 23-12 lead. CWRU would get a set point at 24-12, but WashU saved the first set point with a kill by junior
Leah Oyewole. However, they could not save the second as the Spartans tied the match 25-13, leaving it 1-1 overall.
In the third set, WashU responded much like the first, keeping control as the Bears put themselves ahead 7-6. But, like the second set, CWRU used an 11-1 stretch to take a nine-point lead, 17-8. WashU would save three set points with kills by first-year
Nia Jones, a Spartan attack error, and a service ace by first-year
Abby Krause before CWRU claimed the third set, 25-18, and took a 2-1 match lead.
The start of the fourth looked in favor of the Spartans as they took an 8-1 lead. Down by seven, 10-3, WashU used a 9-1 stretch to take the lead, 12-11. With the Bears leading by two at 14-12, the teams began going point-for-point before a 3-0 run by the home team put them ahead by one, 19-18. Eventually, the Spartans would see a match point at 24-23, but back-to-back points by WashU earned the Bears a set point, 25-24. This time, CWRU saved the set point and then claimed the match 27-25, winning 3-1.
Freeman finished the day with 39 kills after collecting 21 against the Spartans. Once again, Buckley led the team in assists with 43, and Laird led the Bears with 24 digs.
WashU is off next weekend before returning to the Field House for its final regular-season home match on Tuesday, Oct. 21. The Bears will face off against Illinois Wesleyan, who is currently ranked No. 7 in the AVCA poll. The match is dedicated to The Hidden Opponent (THO) and mental health awareness. The first serve with the Titans is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
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