No. 1 Volleball Completes Washington University Classic with Perfect 4-0 Record
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St. Louis, Mo., September 5, 2010 – The No. 1 Washington University in St. Louis volleyball team finished the Washington University Classic with a perfect 4-0 record following victories over Simpson College, 3-1 (25-18, 26-28, 25-15, 25-15) and DePauw University, 3-1 (25-9, 25-16, 24-26, 25-13), on Sunday, Sept. 5, at the Washington University Field House in St. Louis, Mo.
Washington University had three student-athletes named to the WU Classic All-Tournament Team: junior middle hitter Lauren Budde, sophomore setter Marilee Fisher and sophomore libero Kelly Pang.
Budde, a six-rotation middle hitter, finished the tournament with a team-high 56 kills, hitting .298 and averaging 4.00 kills per set. She also was second on the team with 45 digs and recorded a team-high 11 total blocks. Running the offense, Fisher averaged 12.38 assists per set, tallying 161 over the four matches. She also had 29 digs and seven total blocks.
Pang was superb defensively, corralling 86 digs, an average of 6.14 per set, in addition to recording 30 digs in the Bears’ 3-1 win over the University of Wisconsin-Platteville on Saturday night.
Five kills each from junior Kristen Thomas and senior Marya Kaminski propelled the Bears to a 25-18 win in the opening set against Simpson on Sunday morning. The second set did not go as smoothly for the Red and Green who trailed by as many as eight points, 17-9, before coming all the way back to tie the frame at 24-24. Washington University struggled with serve-receive in the second set, committing an uncharacteristic six reception errors to go along with three serving errors.
A 6-0 run coming out of a timeout saw the Bears pull within two points in the second, 17-15, but Simpson responded by taking the next three points to rebuild a five-point advantage. Washington U. went on to win nine of the next 14 points, and tied the set on a Storm attack error, but Simpson did hold on for the 28-26 win. After a slow start to the match, Budde was dominant in that second-set loss, tallying nine kills on 15 swings.
Having nearly completed the big comeback in the second set, Washington U. grabbed an early 8-0 lead in the third, en route to a 10-going win and a 2-1 lead in the match. The fourth set progressed similarly, with the Bears leading early and winning by 10 points. Sophomore Drew Hargrave hit .462 over the final two sets, with seven kills.
Budde finished with 16 kills, 16 digs and four total blocks against Simpson, while Pang tallied 21 digs and freshman defensive specialist Tanya Marvi recorded 13.
Washington U. picked up big wins in three sets against DePauw in the afternoon contest, but dropped a close third set, 26-24. The Bears trailed by five points midway through the third, 17-12, and came all the way back to tie the set at 24-24 on a play that featured a pair of athletic digs from Pang and a kill from Thomas. However, the comeback was never completed with DePauw rebounding to take the next two points and extend the match.
Once the fourth set was underway, Budde took over once again. She had seven kills on 10 swings in the fourth, also picking up seven digs as the Bears clinched the match with a 25-13 win.
Budde had a team-best 17 kills against DePauw, committing no errors on the attack and hitting .630. Hargrave also reached double digits in kills, registering 14, Fisher tallied 51 assists and Pang led the defense with 24 digs.
Washington U. (6-0) returns to action next weekend, when it hosts the Washington University/Asics National Invitational tournament at the WU Field House in St. Louis, Mo.
The WU/Asics National Invitational annually hosts several top-ranked teams from around the nation. This year, the Bears welcome No. 7 Carthage College, No. 10 Ohio Northern University, No. 11 Wittenberg University and No. 19 St. Olaf College. Washington U. opens tournament play on Friday afternoon against St. Olaf at 5:30 p.m.