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ST. LOUIS, Mo. – With preseason practices underway under the direction of Vanessa Walby who has been at the helm of since 2014, the No. 11 Washington University in St. Louis volleyball team looks to take that next step after reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament a year ago.
WashU finished the 2024 season with a 29-7 overall record including a 5-2 record in the UAA. The Bears reached the finals of the UAA Tournament before earning an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament.
The 2025 season kicks off at home with the annual Bear Invite on Friday, August 29 and Saturday, August 30. WashU welcomes Bluffton, Carthage, Loras, Webster, and Willamette to the Athletic Center. Coach Walby's team starts things off at 5 p.m. on Friday with a contest against Willamette followed by a contest against Loras at 7 p.m. to close out the first day. Day two on Saturday sees the Bears open against Bluffton at 10 a.m. followed by a match break before taking on Carthage to close out action at 3 p.m. All of WashU's matches will take place in the Field House. Complete tournament information can be found here.
WashU then hits the road for the Marty Petersen Invitational hosted by Wisconsin-Oshkosh. The Bears take on the host Titans on Friday, Sept. 7 at 2 p.m. The next day WashU faces its first nationally-ranked opponent when it takes on No. 15 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at 12:30 p.m. The team then immediately follows up with RV Wisconsin-Stevens Point at 3 p.m. to wrap up the weekend.
The Bears return to the Field House for a four-game homestand, beginning on Saturday, Sept. 13 when they host Hendrix at 1 p.m. Once again, they will immediately turn around and take on Greenville at 3:30 p.m.
The next Saturday, Sept. 20, WashU will take on Concordia (Wis.) at 10 a.m. Prior to the contest, the Bears will honor its four seniors Eva Boling, Sam Buckley, Anna Freeman, and Tori Taylor with a special recognition. The team will also take on Simpson at 3 p.m. to finish play for the afternoon.
The UAA Round Robin #1 will take place the next weekend in Atlanta where WashU takes on No. 23Â NYU at 11 a.m. ET in their first conference match of the season. They will also face Rochester at 3 p.m. ET. The Bears' third match of the weekend will be on Sunday at 12 p.m. ET when they take on No. 20 Chicago.
The next weekend WashU travels back to Wisconsin for a weekend set of contests at Wis.-Stevens Point. The Bears begin with a 5 p.m. match on Friday, Oct. 3 against Augsburg before facing RV Gustavus Adolphus at 7 p.m. The team wraps up the two day of matches with a contest against the Blugolds of Wis.-Eau Claire on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 12 p.m.
In their first mid-week contest of the season, the Bears travel to cross-town opponent Webster on Wednesday, Oct. 8 for a 7 p.m. contest.
The second UAA Round Robin follows just a few days later in Cleveland. RV Carnegie Mellon is the first opponent on Sunday, Oct. 12 at 12 p.m. ET. WashU also faces No. 25 Case Western Reserve at 2 p.m. ET.
The Bears' final home contest of the regular season takes place on Tuesday, Oct. 21 when they host No. 19 Illinois Wesleyan. On Friday, Oct. 24 WashU will pay a visit to North Central for a 7 p.m. contest in the lone action of the weekend.
With just two weeks before the UAA Tournament, the Bears travel to Chicago on Sunday, Oct. 26 for the final UAA Round Robin where they take on Brandeis at 10 a.m. ET before a quick break and facing defending UAA champion No. 5 Emory at 2 p.m. ET.
In their final regular season action, the team visits Greenville for a contest on Wednesday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. The final two matches be in Decatur, Ill., where WashU faces De Pauw on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 1 p.m. and host No. 12 Millikin at 3 p.m.
The UAA Tournament will take place the next weekend on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 15-16 in Boston with an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament on the line.
While the Bears graduated some key components to their 2024 campaign, they also return several players that started and played as part of the rotation.
WashU will be led by returning Second Team All-American Buckley, who was also named the UAA Player of the Year. She produced 33 30+ assists performances, 18 40+ assist performances, seven 50+ assist performances, and two 60+ assist performances. She finished the season with 10.90 assists per set while recording 11 double-doubles.
Buckley will be guiding a deep set of setters as she is joined by sophomores Eileen Chavez and Alex Pantano along with first-year Isabel Campie.
Another returning starter is junior Leah Oyewole, who was Second Team All-UAA a year ago. She was second in the team in kills with 332 and third in blocks with 69. Joining her on the right side is classmate Naya Ohuabunwa, Taylor, and first-year Maya DeValk.
Freeman, who finished the 2024 season with 88 kills, nine aces and 21 blocks, will lead a very deep set (no pun intended) of outside hitters. She is accompanied by junior Anaia Montaque-Harrison, sophomores Ela Bartu and Emma Quast, along with first-years Alexandria Tookes and Abby Krause.
The Bears will have three strong up-front middle blockers in Boling along with junior Megan Manaj and first-year Nia Jones.
The back row defense will be led by junior Ellie Laird who was fourth on the team in assists with 22 and digs with 312 a year ago. She also led the team in aces with 52 while playing in 36 matches. Sophomore Baylor McInturff and first-year Avery Reed should see some time in the back row.
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Where to Follow: FloSports (video) | washubears.com (live stats)
All WashU volleyball games will be streamed on FloSports with live stats available on washubears.com. In June it was announced that the UAA and FloSports entered an exclusive, five-year media rights agreement to stream all UAA competition.
FloSports – How do I sign up?
By signing up with the UAA and WashU landing page, subscribers using an email that does not have a previous Flo account will receive a discounted subscription cost of $19.99 a month or $107.88 a year ($8.99/month). Subscribers who register with a UAA member institution .edu email address (@wustl.edu) will also receive a further discounted monthly rate of $9.99 or $71.88 a year ($5.99/month). In addition to all UAA and WashU contests, the subscription also provides access to the entire FloCollege library of 40,000 events across 25 different sports. The link to access the discounted rate can be found here or at the link below. The subscription also provides access to the entire FloSports library of 40,000 events across 25 different sports. SIGN UP HERE
FloSports Mobile App
In addition to being accessible on any desktop, laptop, tablet or web browser, FloSports is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play or Roku and Amazon Fire TV.
