NEW YORK, N.Y. – The No. 10 Washington University in St. Louis volleyball team picked up a pair of conference wins on Sunday at the UAA Round Robin #2. WashU swept Case Western Reserve, 3-0, before getting the 3-1 win over No. 13 Chicago to wrap up the day's action. The Round Robin was hosted by New York University.
WashU 3, CWRU 0
After dropping the first point of the set, WashU took the next three to jump ahead 3-1. It was a lead they would not give up that set. Despite going back and forth, WashU would maintain its lead 7-6 early on.
However, a 4-0 run, capped by a kill from sophomore Abby Krause, and eventually a 10-0 run, capped by a service ace from first-year Anya Mikhailenko, saw the Bears control the set 21-8. WashU had its first set point at 24-13, but the Spartans saved three before a kill from senior Leah Oyewole closed out the set, 25-16.
The momentum carried over to start as WashU claimed the first three points of the second set. CWRU responded with its biggest run of the match, six unanswered points, to take a 6-3 lead. The teams would trade leads with the score tied at both 7-7 and 13-13.
A 6-1 run by the Bears saw them take a 19-14 lead. After trading the next three points, WashU took the final five points of the set, with a kill from senior Naya Ohuabunwa as the finisher in the 25-16 set-two win.
The Bears jumped out early in the third, leading 5-1. After some back and forth, WashU used an 8-1 run to put the match out of reach, 14-5. Eventually, CWRU would save a pair of match points, but a service error helped the Bears pick up their first win of the day, 3-0.
Ohuabunwa led WashU with nine kills on a .412 attack percentage. Mikhailenko had the match high in assists with 26. First-year Emma McGough had a balanced match with four kills and four blocks.
As a team, the Bears led in kills (34-27), aces (12-3), blocks (9-2), assists (31-25) and digs (32-28).
WashU 3, Chicago 1
In a top-15 matchup, Chicago jumped out early with the first five points of the first set. WashU quickly chipped away and eventually tied the match at 8-8 on a block by sophomore Nia Jones. After the Maroons regained the lead, WashU used a series of small runs to jump ahead 16-12.
The Bears extended their lead to as many as five, 20-15. Chicago would use small runs of its own to get back in and save three match points before winning the final three points of the set, 27-25, to take the match lead, 1-0.
WashU answered in a big way to start the second set, taking six of the first seven points and building a lead of as many as nine at 13-4. After the Maroons pulled back within three at 15-12, the Bears used a 9-1 run to get their first set point, 24-13.
Chicago saved three before a kill from Jones leveled the match 1-1 with a 25-16 set-two win.
Another strong start saw the Bears quickly take control. Leading 8-7, WashU used a 5-0 run, a 2-0 quick spot, and a 6-0 run to take a 10-point lead, 21-11. The teams traded the next three points before kills from Oyewole and Jones, along with a Chicago attack error, gave WashU the 2-1 match lead after winning the third set, 25-13.
Neither team could pull ahead early in the fourth set, with WashU holding a slim 10-8 lead before a pair of Maroon points tied the match at 10-10. After a Bears timeout, WashU scored the next seven straight points to take a lead it did not give up, 17-10.
Despite Chicago chipping away and getting back within two, 21-19, WashU would claim the match on its second match point on a kill from Oyewole, 25-21.
Oyewole had the match high in kills with 16. Senior Anaia Montaque-Harrison came in and had a season-high 11 kills on a .500 attack percentage. Mikhailenko dished out 42 assists. Four Bears reached double-digit digs, led by senior Ellie Laird's 18 digs. Sophomore Isabel Campie, Krause, and Mikhailenko each added 13 digs in the win.
The Bears had the edge over the Maroons in kills (58-48), aces (6-4), blocks (12-5), assists (51-48) and digs (67-65).
WashU is back home for its lone contest next week on Thursday, Oct. 15, when it hosts Webster. Match time is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start. The contest is also the team's Faculty & Staff Appreciation Game.
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