Volleyball Sweeps Harris-Stowe and Culver-Stockton on Thursday Night
BOX 1 | BOX 2 | PHOTO GALLERY
St. Louis, Mo., September 1, 2011 – The No. 3 Washington University in St. Louis volleyball team opened the 2011 season by picking up a pair of 3-0 wins over Harris-Stowe State University (25-5, 25-6, 25-10) and Culver-Stockton College (25-18, 25-7, 25-14) on Thursday night at the Washington University Field House in St. Louis, Mo.
The Bears hit .562 in the 25-5 opening-set win over Harris-Stowe, with senior outside hitter Kristen Thomas pacing the offense with five kills. Sophomore outside hitter Meghan Byrne scored on all three of her swings in the second set, and sophomore right side Emily Tulloch led the team with four kills in the third-set victory.
The Bears nearly set a school record by serving up 25 aces against Harris-Stowe, with senior middle hitter Lauren Budde (11) and junior setter Marilee Fisher (six) posting new career highs in the process. The 25 aces fell one shy of the team’s all-time record of 26, set against Simpson College during the 1993 season.
Washington U. found some trouble against Culver-Stockton early on before breaking a 13-13 tie with a 3-0 scoring burst. Junior libero Kelly Pang made an incredible pass off a Wildcat serve that hit the top of the net, leading to a Thomas kill, followed by Budde and Thomas hooking up for a block and Fisher recording an ace to put the Bears up by three. Budde registered six kills in the opening-set win with junior outside hitter Drew Hargrave adding five.
The Bears jumped on Culver-Stockton early in the second, winning the first 13 points of the set on the way to a 25-7 win, but found themselves facing their largest deficit of the match when the Wildcats jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the third.
Behind a strong serving run from Byrne, Washington University strung together an 8-0 run to regain the momentum and finish off the sweep. Byrne recorded a pair of aces during the stretch and finished the third frame with four kills.
Hargrave became the first player to post double-digit kills this season, recording 13 while hitting .450 against Culver-Stockton. Budde finished the match with nine kills, seven digs, six block assists and three aces, while Fisher notched 33 assists and five blocks.
Washington University (2-0) returns to action this weekend when it hosts the Bears Classic from Saturday-Sunday, Sept. 3-4, at the Washington University Field House in St. Louis, Mo.
The Bears will welcome Carroll University, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, DePauw University and the University of Texas-Dallas for the two-day tournament, and will face Carroll on Saturday at 5:15 p.m., and DePauw at 7:30 p.m.