Strong Serving Leads No. 2 Washington U. Volleyball to Wins Over Eureka, DePauw
EUREKA BOX SCORE
DEPAUW BOX SCORE
St. Louis, Mo., Sept. 1, 2012 – The No. 2-ranked Washington University in St. Louis volleyball team recorded 23 service aces, including nine by senior libero Kelly Pang, in a pair of three-set wins over Eureka College and DePauw University at the Labor Day Classic on Saturday at the WU Field House.
The Bears put together a dominating performance to sweep Eureka. Washington U. recorded 14 aces in the match, including six by Pang. The Bears jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first set behind three-straight aces by senior setter Marilee Fisher. From there, it was all Washington U., as the Bears earned the 25-6 first-set win.
In the second set, Eureka took a 3-2 lead early. Following a sideout, Pang served 17-straight points for the Bears, including four aces, to make it 20-3. A kill by junior middle hitter Kaia Schwartz ended the set, 25-5. Eureka took advantage of four hitting errors by Washington U. early in the third set as the Bears led, 9-8, before going on a 9-1 run to take control. The Red Devils got to within 23-14 before a pair of kills by Schwartz sealed the win, 25-14.
Schwartz had a team-high nine kills, while hitting .438 in the match. Freshman outside hitter Anna Hunter and sophomore right-side hitter Lindsay Juriga each finished with four kills. Freshman setter Cassie Wang recorded 19 assists. Pang finished with a team-best eight digs and six ace serves, while freshman defensive specialist Anna Bryniarski added seven digs.
In the final match of the evening, Washington U. held off DePauw University to win 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-12). The Bears jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first set, and extended the lead to 20-12. DePauw battled back to make it 23-17. Washington U. had a set-point opportunity at 24-18, but the Tigers got a sideout and two aces to make it 24-21 before a kill by freshman right-side hitter Allison Zastrow ended the set for the Bears, 25-21.
The teams battled back and forth through the first half of the second set before a kill by senior outside hitter Drew Hargrave gave the Bears the lead for good at 15-14. An ace serve by junior defensive specialist Tanya Marvi made it 16-14. After the Tigers cut the lead to 16-15, Fisher served three points in a row, including an ace, to give Washington U. a four-point lead. The Bears finished the set with kills by Zastrow and Fisher to win 25-19.
Washington U. recorded five ace serves in the final set against DePauw, including aces by Fisher and Pang that gave the Bears an early 5-1 lead. Leading 10-6, Washington U. went on a 7-1 run, which included six points served by Marvi, to open up a 17-7 lead. The Tigers rallied to within 17-10 before a sideout and two aces by Pang made it a 10-point lead for the Bears again. A kill by freshman middle hitter Jackie Nelligan, followed by back-to-back blocks by Nelligan and Fisher, and then Nelligan and junior outside hitter Meghan Byrne, gave Washington U. the 25-12 win in the third set to finish off the match.
Junior middle hitter Emily Tulloch paced the Bears’ offensively with a career-high 11 kills on 17 swings, while also recording two solo blocks. Tulloch has now hit above .520 in all four matches this season for Washington U. Hargrave finished with eight kills, while Zastrow added seven. Fisher tallied 29 assists, and Pang recorded double-digit digs (19) for the third time this season to lead the Bears defensively. Marvi also finished in double digits for digs with 11.
Washington University (4-0) is set to face Cornell College and Dominican University on the second day of the Labor Day Classic on Sunday at the WU Field House. The Bears take on Cornell at 12:15 p.m., followed by the final match of the tournament against Dominican at 2:30. Cornell won both of its matches on Saturday, sweeping Eureka and Dominican. In addition to its loss to Cornell, Dominican defeated DePauw, 3-1, during Saturday’s action.