From Washington University Athletics
The Washington University in St. Louis volleyball team won a road nonconference match Tuesday evening as it defeated Greenville College 3-0 in the H.J. Long Gymnasium.
The Bears (9-6 Overall) utilized a strong attack posting 41 kills compared to 16 errors for a hitting percentage of .255, cooling the Panthers (9-2 Overall) squad which had won nine matches in a row. The Red & Green also dominated at the net, finishing the match with 15 blocks. Ifeoma Ufondu was the lone Bear to reach double figures in kills, posting 12 during the contest.
WashU 3 – Greenville 0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-20)
The Bears jumped out to an early lead behind the powerful attack of sophomore Ufondu. She tallied three kills during an opening 15-6 run in the first set. The Panthers followed the opening run went on an 11-7 run of its own before Juliane Malek ended the streak with a kill. The Bears led 23-17 after the kill before two Panthers' errors ended the first set.
During the second set, WashU fell behind early prior to a Loren Shin ace which put the Bears ahead 9-7. Malek's spike from the middle put WashU ahead by two again on a great feed from University Athletic Association (UAA) Athlete of the Week, Chloe Stile. Stile then fed Caroline Dupont, recently named the Sports Imports/American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III Athlete of the Week, who responded with a powerful swing. Dupont's kill put the Bears up by four points in the second set, 13-9.
The Panthers tightened up the score towards the tail end of the second set, pulling within two points but a well crafted Stile attack put the Bears back in control at 23-20. Amanda Palucki finished the second set by placing the ball in the far corner and the 25-21 win.
Rexi Sheredy led the Bears back at the service line from a four-point deficit to tie things up in the third frame. Fellow seniors Palucki and Dupont added kills during the stretch to knot things up at 14-all. A Panther timeout was answered with a Dupont kill after a dig from Sheredy. WashU and Greenville traded points back and forth until the Bears pulled away from the 18-18 tie. Ufondu and Stile kills paired with a Natalie Stephanus ace to put the Bears within one point of a three set sweep. WashU would wait one more point until Sheredy's attack deflected off the defense into the stands.
Stile finished the match with 34 assists, setting up Ufondu, Dupont, Palucki and Malek frequently as each member of the quartet finished the match with a hitting percentage at .300 or better. Dupont, Palucki and Malek combined for 22 kills.
Defensively the Bears were led by both Dupont and Malek. The duo totaled nine blocks with Dupont adding three in the solo fashion. Shin led the Bears with 10 digs while Zoe Baxter finished a close second with nine.