Bears Sweep Rochester and Case Western at UAA Tournament

BOX 1 | BOX 2

Chicago, Ill., November 6, 2009 – Led by sophomore middle hitter Lauren Budde, the No. 3 Washington University in St. Louis volleyball team picked up 3-0 wins over the University of Rochester (25-15, 25-13, 25-13) and Case Western Reserve University (25-17, 25-21, 25-14) on the first day of the 2009 University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship tournament, held at the Gerald Ratner Athletics Center in Chicago, Ill.

With the pair of wins on Friday, the Bears are now one win away from a berth in the UAA Championship match. Washington U. will face New York University on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 12 p.m., and a win would mean a 3-0 record in tournament pool play and a chance to compete for this year’s conference championship. The reigning UAA Champions, Washington University has won 19 UAA volleyball titles in school history.

Budde led the WU offense in both of Friday’s wins, as she was the only student-athlete to tally double-digit kills in either match. She notched 16 kills to go along with a .536 hitting percentage against Rochester, and followed that up with a 13-kill performance against Case Western Reserve.

Washington U. used seven kills from Budde and three more from freshman setter Meg Buker to top Rochester by 10 points in the opening set. Budde chipped in four more kills and freshman Drew Hargrave added three as the Red and Green hit .381 and defeated Rochester by 12 points in the second set. Washington U. struggled to find their offensive rhythm in the third and led Rochester just 22-21 late in the frame. However, Budde’s 16th kill provided the Bears with some separation and Rochester errors led to the two-point win.

Freshman libero Kelly Pang picked up 25 digs against the Yellowjackets, while Budde had 12 and senior Laura Brazeal finished with nine. Buker tallied 26 assists, four kills and four digs in the Bears’ three-set win.

The Washington University offense steadily improved throughout the match with Case Western. The Bears hit just .111 in the first set, but that attack percentage increased to .257 in the second, and .378 in the third. Tallying only 11 kills in the opening frame, Washington U. used aces from Brazeal and Pang, in addition to three team blocks, including two solo efforts from Hargrave, to put away the Spartans.

The Bears’ offense started to click in the second, when senior middle hitter Erin Albers connected for four kills to lead the Red and Green to a four-point win. The third set opened as the most competitive of the match, with Case Western Reserve holding an 11-9 lead well into the action.

Washington University ended any suspense with a 12-1 scoring run. The Bears were back in the lead following a double block by junior Marya Kaminski and Budde, and a strong service run by Pang kept the Spartan offense on its heels.

Budde recorded her second double-double of the day, with 13 kills and a team-high 12 digs against Case Western. Albers added nine kills and Hargrave hit .400 with seven kills.