From Washington University Athletics
The No. 17-ranked Washington University in St. Louis volleyball program honored its three senior members during the Active Ankle Invitational, which the Bears opened with a 3-0 win over the University of Dubuque and followed with a 3-1 loss against No. 8 University of Texas at Dallas Friday evening in the Field House.
The Bears (16-9 Overall) held the Spartans of Dubuque (13-14 Overall) to a hitting average of .078 in the straight sets victory while keeping the score close to the Comets of Dallas (22-1) for the first three sets until dropping the fourth with a 10-point gap.
Match 1: WashU 3 – Dubuque 0 (25-20, 25-13, 25-17)
The Bears dominant effort was distributed throughout much of the roster as 15 Bears saw action on the court. WashU totaled 41 kills compared to Dubuques 27, and also finished with a large discrepancy in digs (60-40).
Sophomore Julianne Malek attacked the ball at a highly efficient rate, totaling 10 kills on 17 attempts (.529 hitting percentage). Senior Rexi Sheredy was not far behind totaling nine kills on 18 hits (.500).
Freshman Chloe Stile finished the match with 33 kills while fellow setter sophomore Savannah Zhang played multiple sets and contributed four assists.
The senior duo of Caroline Dupont and Amanada Palucki were formidable at the net. The duo combined for nine or the Bears 12 block assists. Freshman Zoe Baxter led the team with digs, totaling 21 in the contest. Sheredy added 11 too.
During the first set, WashU closed out a close score down the stretch behind kills from Sheredy, Ifeoma Ufondu and the game point from Malek.
The Bears cruised to an early 8-2 lead in the second set. The Spartans went on a 7-1 run to even things up at 9-all but WashU proceeded to score 16 of the next 20 points, winning the set 25-13.
Dubuque held a 10-6 advantage in the third set but a kill from Abby Selcho helped turn the momentum. WashU evened the score at 13-13 on an ace from Sheredy and continued to tack on points, totaling a 21-13 advantage. Malek once again closed the set, with a match point kill set up by Zhang.
Match 2: UT Dallas 3 – WashU 1 (21-25, 25-21, 21-25, 15-25)
Prior to the match, WashU honored its three senior members in Caroline Dupont, Amanda Palucki and Rexi Sheredy. The trio has had a significant impact on the success of the Bears in their four year careers. Dupont, Palucki and Sheredy combined for 24 of the Bears 46 kills against Texas-Dallas.
Dupont led the team with 12 kills, while Selcho's impressive seven kills on 12 attempts led the Bears in efficiency (.583). WashU finished with less errors than the Comets, but Texas-Dallas outscored the Bears in kills 61-46.
Sheredy led the Bears with 23 digs on the night while sophomore Loren Shin added nine. Dupont contributed on six blocks while Malek, Palucki and Selcho each assisted on three others.
WashU jumped ahead in the first set, 5-2, on kills from Dupont, Ufondu and Palucki. The nationally ranked teams kept the score within two points of each other down the stretch until the Comets scored the final five points.
In the second set, the Bears rallied from a 14-7 deficit. Clutch service from Baxter, Stile, Sheredy and Dupont put the Bears within a single point of evening the games at on apiece. However a Michelle Toro kill momentarily postponed things until Malek finished her fourth set of the day with a kill. In fact, Malek closed out all four set victories by the Bears Friday evening.
The third set was tightly contested as well. Multiple kills from Palucki helped the Bears out to a 5-2 advantage. The Comets followed with an eight point run to retake the lead. The Bears closed the gap on well placed hits from Ufondu and Dupont. The kills brought the Bears within two points, 21-19 but Texas-Dallas scored four of the next six to take the set and match lead.
WashU attempted a rally in the fourth set, trimming the Comets lead from eight to five points but Dallas proved too much while securing the set and match 25-15.