Setter Sam Buckley had 35 assists in WashU’s win over Westminster on Wednesday. (Photo: Primo Greenway)

NCAA Volleyball1234Final
Westminster (10-13)16152512(1)
#8 WashU (16-4)25252325(3)

CLAYTON, MO — Playing for the first time in a week, the No. 8 Washington University in St. Louis volleyball team got to host a match for the first time this season inside the WashU Field House on Wednesday night. The Bears used the opportunity to take down the Westminster Blue Jays, three sets to one, to improve to 16-4 overall on the season.

Westminster opened the match with three-straight points before a 5-0 run by WashU put the home team ahead 5-3. Another 3-0 stretch by the Blue Jays gave them the lead again, 6-5. Just like before the Bears scored five unanswered points and 10 of the next 12 points to nearly double up the visitors 15-8. The run saw kills by senior Lucy Davis, senior Zoe Foster, sophomore Leah Oyewole, and a pair of service aces by Davis.

Westminster pulled within five at 21-16, but four-straight points by WashU gave them the 1-0 match lead with a 25-16 set one win.

The second set looked to be all Bears. After WashU score the first three points and had a 3-1 lead, the home team took a commanding 13-1 advantage. The Bears would lead by as many as 14 points on two occasions before the Blue Jays tried to chip away at the lead. Ahead by nine, WashU got the benefit of a service error by Westminster to take a 2-0 match lead after claiming the second set, 25-15.

Not wanting to go away quickly, the Blue Jays claimed the third set, 25-23 after keeping the Bears at bay for most of the set. Westminster had the first set point at 24-22, but a kill by graduate Isabella Lipacis got WashU within one. However, a Blue Jay kill pulled the visitors within a set, 2-1.

There was not a 10-0 run by the Bears in the fourth set, but several smaller runs, including a pair of 5-0 and one 6-0 run as WashU earned a 23-9 lead. The Blue Jays scored three of the final five points, but it was kills by graduate Lauren McCurley and junior Eva Boling the closed out the set 25-12, and the match 3-1.

Twelve different Bears recorded at least two kills on the night, led by McCurley’s and senior McKenzie Washington’s seven.

Junior Sam Buckley had the match-high in assists with 35 and shared the match-high in digs, with 17, with senior Elise Gilroy, for her seventh double-double of the season.

McCurley was one of 10 WashU players to tally a block, leading the way with six.

The Bears will be back in action Sunday as they host the UAA Round Robin #2 this weekend. WashU takes on Brandeis at 10 a.m., before facing off against No. 23 NYU at 2 p.m. All the Bears’ matches will take place at the WashU Field House.

2024 WASHU BEARS WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE

DateTimeAtOpponentLocationTournament
October 13, 2024 (Sunday)10 a.m.HomeBrandeisWashU Field HouseUAA Round Robin #2
October 13, 2024 (Sunday)2 p.m.Home#23 New York UniversityWashU Field HouseUAA Round Robin #2
October 16, 2024 (Wednesday)7 p.m.HomeRose-HulmanWashU Field House
October 19, 2024 (Saturday)10:30 a.m.HomeNorth ParkWashU Field HouseWashU Tri
October 19, 2024 (Saturday)3:30 p.m.HomeWisconsin-Stevens PointWashU Field HouseWashU Tri
October 27, 2024 (Sunday)11 a.m.NeutralUniversity of ChicagoPittsburgh, Pa. / Wiegand GymnasiumUAA Round Robin #3
October 27, 2024 (Sunday)1 p.m.AwayCarnegie MellonPittsburgh, Pa. / Wiegand GymnasiumUAA Round Robin #3
October 31, 2024 (Thursday)7 p.m.AwayIllinois WesleyanBloomington, Ill. / Shirk Center
November 6, 2024 (Wednesday)7 p.m.AwayGreenvilleGreenville, Ill. / H.J. Long Gymnasium
November 9, 2024 (Saturday)10:30 a.m.HomeDePauwWashU Field HouseWashU Tri
November 9, 2024 (Saturday)3:30 p.m.HomeMillikinWashU Field HouseWashU Tri
November 15, 2024 (Friday)TBANeutralUAA ChampionshipsRochester, N.Y. / Louis Alexander PalestraUAA Championships