No. 1 Volleyball Closes Bears Classic with Sweeps of Monmouth, Westminster
MONMOUTH BOX
WESTMINSTER BOX
St. Louis, Mo., October 6, 2012 – The No. 1-ranked Washington University in St. Louis volleyball team improved to 21-1 with sweeps of Monmouth College (Ill.) (25-11, 25-18, 25-15) and Westminster College (Mo.) (25-14, 25-19, 25-19) on Saturday afternoon at the WU Field House during the Bears Classic.
Four Washington U. players were named to the all-tournament team – senior outside hitter Drew Hargrave, junior defensive specialist Tanya Marvi, senior libero Kelly Pang and freshman setter Cassie Wang. They were joined on the all-tournament team by Alex Berry of Westminster and Liz Ihnen of Central College.
#1 Washington U. 3, Monmouth 0
Washington U. came out on fire in the first set against Monmouth, hitting .682 (16-1-22) in the set, including seven kills on eight swings for Hargrave. The Bears held a 9-8 lead before a four-point serving run by freshman outside hitter Nkiru Udenze and a seven-point run that included two aces by Marvi put Washington U. ahead 22-9. An ace by Pang ended the set, 25-11, in favor of the Bears.
The Bears trailed 10-6 in the second set, before scoring six-straight points to take a 12-10 lead. The run included two kills by Hargrave, and a pair of block assists by junior middle hitter Kaia Schwartz. Monmouth played close with the Bears until a four-point run pushed Washington U.’s lead to 19-13. The Bears controlled from there, earning the 25-18 second-set win. Marvi opened the third set by serving eight-straight points, giving Washington U. an 8-0 lead. The Bears maintained the lead throughout the remainder of the match, sealing the win with a 25-15 victory in the final set.
As a team, the Bears hit .369 in the match (40-9-84), including a team-high 13 kills by Hargrave who hit .600 (13-1-20). Wang finished with 17 assists, while senior setter Marilee Fisher tallied 14 assists in the first set. Marvi recorded four aces and seven digs, and Pang posted a team-high 13 digs. Schwartz had five block assists, leading the Bears to nine team blocks in the match.
#1 Washington U. 3, Westminster 0
The Bears steadily pulled away in the opening set against Westminster, cruising to the 25-14 win. Freshman right-side hitter Allison Zastrow highlighted Washington U.’s attack in the first set, recording seven kills on 10 attacks. In the second set, Westminster led 12-14, before Hargrave got a pair of kills and an ace serve to put the Bears ahead 16-14. The Bluejays trimmed the lead to one twice more in the set, but two kills by Hargrave, an ace by senior defensive specialist Meg Buker and a kill by Schwartz gave the Bears the 25-19 win in the second set.
In the third set, Westminster again played closely with Washington U., tying the score at 16-16. A kill by sophomore outside hitter Kathleen Brennan and a solo block by Brennan, followed by an ace by junior right-side hitter Tessa Blood and a kill by Wang, gave the Bears a 20-16 lead. Washington U. closed the match with a 25-19 win in the third set.
Washington U. had 13 different players register kills in the match, led by Hargraves eight terminations. Zastrow and Udenze added seven each. Wang finished with a season-high 28 assists, while Fisher added 15 in one set of action. Marvi led the Bears defensively with 18 digs.
Washington University (21-1, 3-0 UAA) returns to University Athletic Association (UAA) action next week with four matches at the second UAA Round Robin on Saturday-Sunday, Oct. 13-14, in Pittsburgh. The Bears are scheduled to take on No. 13 University of Chicago at 12:30 (ET) and New York University at 2:30 (ET) on Saturday afternoon. Washington U. will then face Carnegie Mellon University at 10 a.m. (ET) and No. 6 Emory University at 2 p.m. (ET) on Sunday.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. has swept its last eight opponents, and 18 of the Bears’ 21 wins this season have been in three sets … Washington U. improved to 4-0 all-time against Monmouth, and 8-0 all-time against Westminster … The Bears are now 433-48 (.900) in matches at the WU Field House since 1985 … Pang improved her Washington University career digs record to 2,246.