NAPERVILLE, Ill. – In its start to a busy weekend, the No. 13 Washington University in St. Louis volleyball team visited North Central for a midday contest on Friday afternoon in Naperville. The teams split the first two sets before the Cardinals claimed the third and fourth sets for a 3-1 win over the Bears at Gregory Arena.
WashU now sits at 16-6 overall heading into the UAA Round Robin #3 on Sunday.
The Cardinals got things started in the first set by holding onto an 8-7 lead. North Central then went on a 7-1 stretch to go up by seven, 15-8. The Bears got back within three on a pair of occasions, including 23-20, but NCC took the last two points for a 1-0 match lead, 25-20.
The beginning of the second set was a reversal from the first, with WashU jumping out to a 9-7 lead. A trio of 3-0 runs in the middle of the set saw the Bears go up 19-10. After the Cardinals got within seven, 19-12, a 6-0 run by WashU, started by a kill from junior
Leah Oyewole and capped by a kill from first-year
Abby Krause, finished off the set and leveled the match at 1-1 with a 25-12 set two win.
The momentum of the Bears continued to start the third set as WashU took a 7-1 lead. The Cardinals tried to chip away, but the Bears kept them at a distance, 17-11. NCC responded to their six-point deficit with a 7-1 run to level the set at 18-18. The Cardinals took their first lead at 20-19, and then the teams went back and forth with the score tied at 23-23. A pair of NCC kills saw the Cardinals go up 2-1 with the 25-23 set three win.
Once again WashU put themselves ahead to start and throughout most of the fourth set, 17-12. NCC responded heavily once again, this time with an 11-2 run to go up by four, 23-19. For the second set in a row, the Cardinals made good on their first set point to win the match 3-1 after winning the fourth set, 25-20.
Oyewole and junior
Naya Ohuabunwa both reached double-figure kills with 18 and 10, respectively. Out of the 53 kills by the Bears on the afternoon, senior
Sam Buckley dished out assists on 44 of them.
Junior
Ellie Laird finished with the match-high in digs with 22.
WashU stays in the Chicago area as the Bears will compete at the University of Chicago on Sunday in the UAA Round Robin #3 on Sunday, Oct. 26. WashU first faces off against Brandeis at 10 a.m. before a break. The Bears will then close out the weekend with a 2 p.m. match against No. 12 Emory.
