GREENVILLE, Ill. – After more than a week off from matches, the No. 14 Washington University in St. Louis volleyball team looked to continue its push towards the postseason when they traveled to Greenville for a mid-week matchup with the Panthers. However, it was GU who would earn a season split with WashU as the Panthers claimed a 3-2 win over the Bears on Wednesday evening.
WashU jumped out to an early lead in the opening set, 10-5, and never looked back. The Panthers would not get any closer than 12-9 before a kill by junior
Naya Ohuabunwa started a 5-0 run by the Bears that saw the visitors take an eight-point lead, 17-9. The teams then traded points back and forth, each going on a small 3-0 run before WashU claimed the first set on its first chance with a Panther attack error, 25-16.
The second set was about as close as you can make it, including going into extra points. Neither team was able to gain an insurmountable lead, with Greenville taking the largest at 17-14 before the Bears responded with a 6-2 stretch to take the lead back, 20-19. GU had the first set point before WashU took the next two points for its own set point, 25-24. However, it was the Panthers who claimed four of the next five points to level the match at a set apiece, 28-26.
WashU saw a 5-1 lead to start the third set before Greenville used runs of its own to not just pull even, but ahead for a 16-14 lead midway through. The small stretches of points by the Panthers in the latter half of the set saw Greenville claim the match lead on its third opportunity with a kill, 25-21.
Greenville had the chance to start the fourth set to pull away, but WashU slowly and then quickly chipped away at the Panthers' lead. Trailing 4-3 quickly turned into a 7-5 lead. The Bears then, in succession, used a 4-0, then a 3-0, then a 2-0 set of runs to take a 16-8 lead. GU immediately responded with a 6-0 stretch to pull back within two, but WashU then extended its lead back to four, 19-15. The Panthers once again responded to tie the set multiple times at the end, but a two-point lead at 24-22 in favor of WashU could only be saved once before a block error forced a deciding fifth set, 25-23.
Trailing 2-0, GU answered the opening points with a 6-0 run and took a five-point lead, 8-3, when the teams changed ends of the court. The Panthers slowly extended their lead up to seven and then used a kill on their second match point to win the deciding set, 15-8.
Junior
Leah Oyewole led all with a match-high 23 kills, with first-year
Nia Jones (11) and Ohuabunwa (10) also reaching double figures. Junior
Sam Buckley added 60 assists to her already more than 5,000 career totals.
Junior
Ellie Laird led all with 21 digs, while first-year
Abby Krause also reached double digits with 17 digs.
WashU will close out the regular season on the road on Saturday, Nov. 8, when it travels to Decatur, Ill., for a tri-match with DePauw and host Millikin. The Bears face off with the Tigers at 1 p.m. before closing out the weekend at 3 p.m. against the Big Blue.
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