ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The No. 14 Washington University in St. Louis volleyball team closed out action at its annual Bear Invite with a pair of 3-0 sweeps. The Bears opened with a straight-sets win over Bowdoin before taking the win over UC Santa Cruz in the final match of the weekend.
WashU 3, Bowdoin 0
In the first-ever meeting between the Bears and Polar Bears, WashU maintained control through each set, closing out the match in three sets.
The first 10 points of the first set saw the teams trade scores, going back and forth. The Bears then used a 7-1 stretch to pull away, taking a 12-6 lead and doubling up Bowdoin. The Polar Bears struggled to catch up, getting no closer than three points at 19-16.
WashU would go on another run, this time a 6-1 stretch to close out the first set, 25-17. This included a service ace by first-year Anya Mikhailenko, a pair of kills by senior Leah Oyewole, and a block by first-year Saoirse Henderson and Naya Ohuabunwa.
The second set was close for a little longer to start before a 4-0 run by the Bears put them ahead 12-9 on a kill by sophomore Nia Jones. Leading 17-13, WashU used a 5-1 run to tie its biggest lead in a set against Bowdoin at 22-14.
However, the Polar Bears responded with a 6-2 run of their own to get back within four at 24-20. Unfortunately for the visitors from Maine, an attack error gave WashU the 25-20 set win and a 2-0 match lead.
In what became the final set, both teams used multi-point runs to stay within reach of each other for most of the set, with WashU holding a slim 18-17 lead. That is when the Bears used a 6-1 run to secure their first match points, 24-18. Bowdoin answered with three straight points of its own before a service error closed out the match 25-21 in the third.
Oyewole led all players with 12 kills while adding eight digs. Mikhailenko dished out 39 assists while senior Ellie Laird finished with 20 digs.
WashU 3, UC Santa Cruz 0
In the first matchup with the Banana Slugs in a decade, WashU completed the day sweep with a 3-0 win over UC Santa Cruz to finish the Bear Invite with a 3-1 record.
UCSC got off to a quick start in the first set, jumping out to a 4-1 and 6-3 lead. WashU capitalized on a service error and took a 9-7 lead on a kill by Mikhailenko. The Bears would stretch it out to a 13-10 lead on kills by Oyewole and Henderson before a 5-0 run by the Banana Slugs gave them the lead back at 15-13.
A 4-0 run by WashU flipped the score and gave the home team the two-point advantage at 17-15. UCSC got back within just one point at 18-17, but the Bears used a 7-0 run, including three total kills and a block by Jones and Oyewole along with a service ace by sophomore Abby Krause, to close out the set 25-17.
After trailing 2-1 in the second, the Bears pulled ahead 5-2 and again at 11-5. The lead would continue to grow to as many as nine at 18-9, thanks in part to a pair of Mikhailenko service aces. WashU would not allow the Banana Slugs to get closer than seven points while extending its lead to as many as 10, 21-11, before a UCSC service error gave the Bears a 2-0 match lead by claiming the second set 25-18.
Both teams staked claim to the lead in the early portion of the third set before going back and forth as the Banana Slugs held a 13-12 advantage. WashU quickly responded with an 8-1 run to take a 20-14 lead.
Not giving up the lead the rest of the way, a pair of kills by Oyewole closed out the match 25-19 in the third.
Krause led all players with 13 kills while Oyewole also reached double digits with 10. Mikhailenko notched her second double-double of the season with 28 assists and 11 digs. Laird once again had the most digs in the match with 21.
Overall on Sunday, both Oyewole and Krause finished with 22 kills while Mikhailenko tallied 67 assists on 76 WashU kills. The Bears also had 10 service aces from six different players. Laird closed the weekend with a team-leading 41 digs. Henderson led four WashU players with at least five blocks on the day with eight of her own; these included Jones (7), Oyewole (5), and senior Naya Ohuabunwa (5).
WashU is on the road next weekend at the East-West Classic, hosted by Emory University, on Friday, Sept. 11, and Saturday, Sept. 12. The Bears open with a pair of matches on Friday against Colby and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at 1 p.m. ET and 4 p.m. ET, respectively. They finish on Sunday against East Texas Baptist at 12 p.m. ET.
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