OSHKOSH, Wis. – Essentially, a new season begins in the NCAA Tournament, and the No. 21 Washington University in St. Louis volleyball team is starting 1-0 after picking up a 3-0 sweep for the second-straight season over the College of Saint Benedict in the First Round as WashU advances to the Round of 32 on Friday.
Runs by both teams started the opening set with the Bears and Bennies trading 5-0 runs as the match began. However, it was another 5-0 push by WashU that gave them the lead for good in the first set. Leading by four at 16-12, the Bears picked up another four unanswered points to jump ahead 20-12. Capitalizing on their second set point, WashU used a kill by senior
Anna Freeman to take the 1-0 match lead with a 25-16 set one win.
Once again, the Bears jumped ahead early, taking a 9-5 lead. This time, it was CSB who answered with a deep run of seven unanswered points to take their first lead of the set, 12-9. The Bennies kept that lead until they were ahead 14-11. They would then see WashU use a 6-0 run to retake the lead by three, 17-14.
The Bears extended their lead up to five at 20-15, but again CSB answered with a 5-0 run of their own to tie the score. With the score 22-22, a race to three started and ended quickly as WashU used a kill and block by first-year
Nia Jones and a kill by Freeman to close out the second set, 25-22, and take a 2-0 match lead.
The Bennies, who reversed swept the MIAC championship match to earn their tournament bid, looked to do the same to start the third set against WashU. They started off by taking a 9-5 lead before the Bears began to chip away and eventually tie the score at 12-12. After a quick CSB point, WashU regained the lead and pushed ahead on a 7-1 run for a 19-14 lead. The Bennies got within one at 21-20 after a 3-0 run, but the Bears scored the final four points of the match, capped by a pair of kills from Freeman for the 25-20 set three win.
First-year
Abby Krause had the match-high 12 kills, while senior
Sam Buckley led in assists (31), and junior
Ellie Laird led in digs (20). Buckley also reached double-digit digs (16) for her 11th double-double of the season.
WashU will take on the winner of the Dubuque vs. Cornell College match in the second round, tomorrow, Friday, Nov. 21 at 4:30 p.m.
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