ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The No. 11 Washington University in St. Louis volleyball team returned home and picked up right where they left off after the Bear Invite, securing a pair of non-conference sweeps over Hendrix and Greenville on Saturday afternoon. The Bears opened with their 3-0 win over the Warriors in the middle match of the day before wrapping up action with another 3-0 win over the Panthers.
WashU 3, Hendrix 0
Things started off slowly for both teams early in the first set between the UAA and SCAC programs. With the Warriors leading by a slim 6-5 margin, the Bears used an 8-2 run to jump ahead 13-8, giving them a lead they would not relinquish. WashU would build their lead up slowly to nine points at 23-14 with a kill by senior
Anna Freeman before a kill by first-year
Nia Jones and a bad set by the Warriors gave WashU the 1-0 lead with a 25-16 set one win.
Hendrix went on a 4-1 run to start the second set and maintained it, holding an 8-5 lead. A 5-1 stretch by WashU gave them their first lead of the second set at 10-9, and they never trailed the rest of the way. The Bears saw the lead increase to six points at 19-13 and shrink to as little as two at 20-18. However, a 3-0 run extended the lead back to five on a Warrior attack error, making it 23-18. Hendrix used their own 5-1 run to pull within one at 24-23, but a service error gave the Bears a 2-0 match lead, 25-23.
The third set saw the Bears trail for only one point at 2-1 in favor of the Warriors before taking control for the rest of the set. Hendrix tied the match at 6-6, but a 6-1 run burst WashU ahead 12-7, eventually leading by as many as eight at 22-14. After the Warriors' last point, WashU scored the final three points on kills from Jones, senior
Sam Buckley, and one more from Freeman. WashU claimed the set 25-15.
In handing the Warriors their first loss of the season, WashU led Hendrix in kills (45-34), assists (42-31), and digs (49-36).
Freeman led the offense with 11 kills, while junior
Leah Oyewole also reached double figures with 10 kills. Buckley dished out 38 assists on the 45 kills by the Bears. Both junior
Ellie Laird and first-year
Isabel Campie reached double digits in digs with 18 and 13 digs, respectively.
WashU 3, Greenville 0
Defense was the name of the game for WashU against the Panthers as the teams wrapped up action for the weekend. Greenville claimed the first point of the first set to lead by one. They saw their last lead at 3-2 before the Bears went on a 12-4 stretch to double up the Panthers 14-7. Eventually leading by nine at 22-13, WashU won the final three points of the opening set on a kill by Freeman, a Greenville attack error, and a block by senior
Eva Boling. The Bears took the set 25-14 and the match lead 1-0.
To start the second set, it appeared the Panthers would not go away quietly, holding a 5-2 lead in the early stages. However, a 10-0 run silenced the visitors. WashU slowly increased the lead to eight before the Panthers pulled within seven at 22-15. Like the first set, the Bears claimed the final three points of the set, this time with a kill from first-year
Maya DeValk, a block by Jones and DeValk, and a kill from junior
Anaia Montaque-Harrison for the 25-15 set win and a 2-0 match lead.
With WashU leading 11-8 in the third, the teams went point-for-point for the next nine points as the Bears held onto a 15-13 lead. Greenville got within one at 15-14 and 16-15 but trailed by as many as five at 24-19. A Panther service error sealed the 25-20 set three win and the match 3-0.
As a team, WashU had a slim 32-28 lead in kills. However, it was the Bears who dominated in both aces (7-0) and total blocks (28-14). The 28 total blocks were the most in a 3-0 sweep since before the 2007 season and the most in a 3-0 win since WashU tallied 26 against Rose-Hulman on Sept. 1, 2017.
Jones totaled nearly half of the Bears' total blocks with 12, including nine block assists and three solo blocks. This is a program record for total blocks in a three-set match! The 32 kills were spread out amongst 10 different Bears, while Buckley dished out assists on 28 of them.
WashU is back home next weekend when it hosts its Senior Day on Saturday, Sept. 20 against Concordia (Wis.) at 10 a.m. The Bears will honor the five seniors in the program with a special recognition prior to the start of the contest against the Falcons.The Bears will then follow up with a contest against Simpson at 3 p.m. Both matches will take place in the WashU Field House.
--------------------------------------
Elevating scholar-champions requires resources beyond the institutional budget. Through the W Club, generous alumni, parents, and friends provide unrestricted support that is essential to the extraordinary WashU student-athlete experience—and the ongoing growth and development of the department. Annual support for Athletics allows the Bears to consistently rise to national levels of competition and ensures that our student-athletes enjoy exceptional opportunities as they train, compete, and lead. To make a gift to the Annual Fund for Athletics, please visit our secure online giving form or contact the Athletics Advancement Office at (314) 935-5279 or athletics@wustl.edu.
