ST. LOUIS, Mo. – One of the best ways to honor your seniors is to win on Senior Day. That is just what the No. 7 Washington University in St. Louis volleyball team did on Saturday by picking up a pair of wins over Concordia (Wis.) and Simpson at the Field House.

Prior to the contest with Concordia, WashU honored its five seniors with a special ceremony. The senior class includes Tori Taylor, Anna Freeman, Sam Buckley, Eva Boling, and Anna Hodell.

WashU 3, Concordia 1

Wanting to start things off on the right foot for their seniors, the Bears jumped out to an early 7-2 lead in the first set against the Falcons. They continued to extend it up to a nine-point lead at 14-5 before Concordia pulled within five on a 4-0 run. The Falcons continued to chip away and got within three at 17-14, but a 7-1 stretch by WashU gave them a set point. A kill by Freeman closed out the set 25-16.

The second set saw several small runs by both teams, but it was a late 3-0 run by the Falcons that gave them four set points, which they converted on the fourth to level the match with a 25-23 set two win.

It was all WashU in the third set as the Bears jumped out early and didn't look back. The runs by WashU could not be answered by Concordia in the set as a kill by junior Naya Ohuabunwa secured the set 25-20 on the first set point for the Bears.

It was 4-0 before anyone knew it in favor of WashU to start the fourth set, and in another blink of an eye, it was 11-3 in the Bears' favor. A 4-0 run by WashU pushed the lead up to as many as 11 at 15-4 and 16-5. This time Concordia answered with a 6-0 stretch to get within five. WashU answered with its own 6-1 run to retake a double-digit lead at 22-12. Back-to-back kills by Boling and Freeman.

WashU led the Falcons in kills (59-48), aces (8-6), blocks (12-7), assists (58-46), and digs (84-73).

Junior Leah Oyewole led three Bears in double-digit kills with 17. Freeman finished the match with 15, and Ohuabunwa had 11 kills.

Buckley guided the offense with 52 assists while junior Ellie Laird directed the defense with 25 digs. She was one of three in double figures as first-year Avery Reed had 17 digs and first-year Isabel Campie finished with 13.

WashU 3, Simpson 2

The determination of the WashU volleyball team shined through in the second match of the day against Simpson as the Bears came from behind a 2-1 deficit to take the deciding fifth set in extra points.

The first set was much like the first match of the day, with WashU slowly using runs to increase their lead. This included a 5-0 run to take a 12-5 lead over the Storm. Simpson could not pull any closer than four points the rest of the set as WashU claimed the final three points for a 25-18 set one win.

Set two began with both teams playing evenly as the scoreboard read 10-10. The Storm then used a 4-0 run and a 5-1 run to pull ahead 20-14 on the Bears. Both teams split the next 10 points evenly as Simpson claimed the set 25-19 and tied the match 1-1.

For most of the third set, it looked like WashU would take a 2-1 lead. However, a late push by the Storm tied the set at 19-19 before they completed the comeback in the set, winning 25-23 and putting themselves one set away from the upset.

Knowing their perfect home record was at stake, the Bears defense once again came alive in the fourth set. With the score tied at 11-11, a 9-4 stretch by WashU saw them pull ahead for good. After the Storm saved one set point, a kill by first-year Nia Jones tied the match at 2-2 with a 25-20 set four win.

Neither team could find the points to pull away from the other in the deciding fifth set. When Simpson took an 11-9 lead, the biggest lead of the set for either team, the Bears responded with a 5-1 run to take their own two-point advantage, with two match points.

A 3-0 run by the Storm gave them their first match point at 15-14. However, the Bears answered with their own 3-0 run with a kill by Freeman and a kill and block by Boling, giving WashU the 17-15 set five win.

The Bears led the Storm in kills (71-57), aces (9-8), assists (67-52), and digs (79-70).

Both Freeman and Oyewole finished with 19 kills to lead the offense, while Boling added 16 kills of her own, and Jones tallied 11 kills.

Freeman had her first double-double of the season as she also finished with 10 digs. She was one of four Bears in double-figure digs as Campie (21 digs), Laird (19 digs), and Reed (12 digs) all added to the defensive effort.

WashU kicks off the first of three UAA Round Robins next weekend when it travels to Atlanta to take on three conference opponents. The Bears first face off against RV NYU on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 11 a.m. ET and follow up with a 3 p.m. ET contest against Rochester. They close out the weekend on Sunday, Sept. 28 with a 12 p.m. ET match against RV Chicago.

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