The No. 4-ranked Washington University in St. Louis volleyball team earned a pair of sweeps over Brandeis University and New York University in its first two conference matches of the season at the University Athletic Association (UAA) Round Robin hosted by Emory University Saturday afternoon.

Washington U. defeated Brandeis 25-11, 25-15, 25-11, before topping NYU 25-23, 25-20, 25-17. Washington U. (20-2) finishes play at the first UAA Round Robin by taking on last year's conference champion, the University of Chicago. First serve is scheduled for Noon (ET) Sunday.

Washington U. 3, Brandeis 0

The Bears served a season-high 12 aces and limited Brandeis to a -.169 attack percentage to earn the sweep. Sophomore Caroline Dupont got a kill to give Washington U. and early 3-2 lead in the first set, sparking a 10-0 run behind the serving of senior Lauren Yung, including a pair of aces. The teams traded serving errors to make the score 13-3 in favor of the Bears, Dupont served an 8-0 run that included four aces, to push Washington U.'s lead to 20-3. A block by Dupont and junior Nkiru Udenze gave the Bears set point at 24-8. Brandeis was able to string together three straight points to make it 24-11 before a kill by Udenze gave Washington U. the 25-11 win in the opening set. 

Washington U. built an early 6-1 lead in the second set, only to have Brandeis rally to tie at 6-6. The Bears answered with a 6-0 run that included another ace by Dupont to regain a 12-6 lead. Washington U. stretched its lead to as much as 23-10, before finishing with the 25-15 win in the second set. In the third set, sophomore Corey Salzer served six straight points as Washington U. built a 9-3 lead. Brandeis pulled to within 10-6, before sophomore Emmy Koppe got a kill on an overpass and freshman Emily Richardson got kills on back-to-back tips. A block by Dupont and Udenze extended the Bears' lead to 24-10, before Dupont put away her seventh kill of the match to end the third set with a 25-11 win for the Bears.

Dupont, Udenze and sophomore Alex Sheredy each recorded seven kills to lead the Bears offensively. Dupont also tallied a career-high five ace serves and six blocks. Junior Cassie Wang had 13 assists and three aces, while senior Lindsay Juriga added 10 assists. Freshman Kalehua Katagiri recorded a team-best 11 digs, while Sheredy added six.

Washington U. 3, New York 0

Defense was the key for the Bears in the first set against New York, with Katagiri collecting 11 digs in the set. NYU took the early lead in the match, and maintained the lead to a 16-12 advantage. A short tip by junior Allison Zastrow gave the Bears a side-out. Sophomore Amanda Palucki and junior Jackie Nelligan teamed up for a block, and another block by Nelligan and Sheredy cut the Violets' lead to 16-15. A kill down the line by Palucki tied the score, and Nelligan followed with a kill off an overpass to give the Bears their first lead since a 3-2 advantage early. After a tip by the Bears went off the antenna to tie the score, Palucki got another kill to spark a 5-1 run that gave Washington U. a 22-18 lead. NYU got to within 22-20, but a serving error made it 23-20 in favor of the Bears before the Violets answered with three straight points to tie the score at 23-23. After a timeout by the Bears, NYU had attacking errors on back-to-back points to give Washington U. a 25-23 win in the first set. 

Washington U. pushed the tempo to begin the second set, and the Bears quickly built a 7-2 behind two kills each by Dupont and Udenze. NYU rallied to within 12-10, but a kill by Dupont off a quick set from Juriga sparked a 7-1 run that extended the Bears' lead to 19-11. After a 5-0 run by the Violets and a timeout by Washington U., another kill by Dupont ended the run. Nelligan and Sheredy followed with a block and Dupont recorded an ace serve to make the score 22-16 in favor of Washington U. The Violets got as close as four points, but Washington U. finished the set with a 25-20 win to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

The Bears held an early 4-3 lead in the third set before a kill by Zastrow started a 5-0 run to extend the Bears' lead to 9-3. Washington U. maintained its lead to a 17-13 advantage. A block by Palucki and Nelligan, followed by kills by Palucki, Zastrow and Nelligan extended the Bears' lead to 21-13. The teams traded points and a kill by Zastrow ended the match as the Bears won set three 25-17.

Udenze had a team-high 11 kills, while Zastrow and Dupont finished with nine kills each. Katagiri finished with 29 digs to lead the Bears defensively, while Juriga recorded her third double-double of the season with 15 assists and 10 digs. Wang tallied 15 assists, nine digs and two aces in the match.

Bear Notebook:  Washington U. leads the all-time series against Brandeis 38-0 … The Bears lead the all-time series against New York 41-2 … Washington U. improved to 16-0 this season when taking a 2-0 lead in the match … The 29 digs against NYU was Katagiri's seventh 20-plus dig performance of the season.