ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The No. 6 Washington University in St. Louis volleyball team wrapped up the portion of their schedule on Sunday by hosting the UAA Round Robin #3. The Bears opened the day with a sweep of Rochester, 3-0, before securing the #2 seed in the UAA Tournament with a 3-1 win over No. 5 Carnegie Mellon.
With the wins, WashU is now 18-3 overall and 6-1 in the UAA.
WashU 3, Rochester 0
After a few quick back-and-forth points to start the first set against the Yellowjackets, the Bears went on a 10-0 run to pull ahead 13-2. WashU then used a pair of 3-0 runs to jump ahead 20-5. Rochester responded with a 3-0 run of their own, but four straight points by the Bears gave them set point at 24-8 on a block by senior
Leah Oyewole and sophomore
Nia Jones.
WashU closed out the set 25-10 on a Rochester attack error.
The second set saw WashU lead from start to finish with the first three points before building it up to 13-5 after another pair of 4-0 runs, capped by a kill from Oyewole. After a pair of Yellowjackets points, the Bears had a 5-0 run to go up by 12, 19-7.
The teams then went point for point over the next six points as WashU led 21-11. A kill by Jones started another run of points and was capped by the first Bears' set point as senior
Naya Ohuabunwa closed it out 25-11 with a kill.
A much closer third set saw the Bears jump out early 9-3 before Rochester answered with an 8-1 run to take the lead, 11-10. WashU would regain the lead and build it up to three on a pair of occasions, including 19-16.
A kill by Oyewole would give the Bears a match point, but after Rochester saved one, first-year
Anya Mikhailenko got a kill to close it out 25-21.
Junior
Emma Quast led all players with 10 kills and a .400 attack percentage. Both senior
Ellie Laird and sophomore
Isabel Campie reached double-digit digs with 15 and 14, respectively. Mikhailenko finished the match with 30 assists.
WashU 3, CMU 1
WashU trailed only for two points to start the first set with the Tartans before taking the lead for good, leading 8-3. CMU would pull back within four at 16-12 before the Bears pulled away for good on a 5-0 run, capped by a block by first-year
Emma McGough and Ohuabunwa, 21-12.
Despite the Tartans chipping away, WashU took the set on its first set point on a service ace from McGough, 25-19.
CMU used a strong start to jump ahead 8-2 early in the second set. With the Tartans leading 12-9, WashU went on a 5-0 run and, just three points later, another 3-0 run to take the lead 16-15. However, the visitors from Pittsburgh would retake the lead, 21-19.
Unfortunately for CMU, WashU scored the next four points to jump ahead 23-21. Leading 23-22, WashU took a 2-0 match lead with back-to-back kills from sophomore
Abby Krause and Mikhailenko, 25-22.
Much of the third set played out like the second but in reverse, culminating in the Tartans scoring five of the final six points as CMU claimed the set 25-22 to send the match to a fourth set.
WashU would return to their form from the first two sets as they took a quick 6-2 lead to start the fourth set. Eventually, the Tartans would pull even and then ahead 12-10 about midway through the set. Trailing 15-12, the Bears used a 5-0 spurt to regain the lead, 17-15.
CMU would tie the set at 20-20 before three quick points, including a pair of kills by Oyewole, saw WashU within two points of the match. The Tartans would tie it at 23-23 before WashU earned a match point at 24-23. CMU would save two match points before a McGough kill and a Tartan attack error clinched the 3-1 win over a top-five team, 27-25.
Oyewole finished with 19 kills in the four-set match and a .417 attack percentage. Not far behind her was McGough with 14 kills on a .429 attack percentage. Laird had the match high in digs with 24.
Mikhailenko recorded her 14th double-double with 47 assists and 11 digs.
As a team, the Bears led in kills (59-49), blocks (9-3), assists (55-44), and digs (62-58).
WashU is on the road next Saturday, Oct. 31, when they take part in the Illinois Wesleyan Classic. They open against No. 14 Wis.-Eau Claire at 12:30 p.m. before taking on No. 1 IWU at 3 p.m.
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