From Washington University Athletics
The No. 13-ranked Washington University in St. Louis volleyball team defeated New York University in the University Athletic Association (UAA) Quarterfinal match but dropped a four set match to second seeded and No. 10-ranked University of Chicago in Rochester, N.Y Friday afternoon.
WashU has a 24-7 record after the first two rounds of UAA Championship play while NYU fell to 17-15 and Chicago improved to 28-3. The Bears held the Violets to a .093 hitting percentage, while producing a .232 clip on the attack. WashU followed the match with a .170 clip and held the Maroons to a .185 mark.
The Bears will play fourth seeded Carnegie Mellon University in the third place match of the UAA Championship weekend on Saturday, Nov. 3 at 10 a.m. (ET) in the Palestra arena.
Senior middle hitter Julianne Malek was the lone Bears attacker to record double figure kills in both matches with 10 against NYU and 11 against Chicago, reaching double figures for the 21sttime this season. The Woodlands, Texas-native has 995 kills in her career.
Junior libero Zoe Baxter totaled 42 during the matches with 10 versus NYU and a match-high 32 against Chicago. She moved into fourth place all-time in career-digs with a current total of 1,664 bypassing Anne Quenette (1991-94).
Senior outside hitter Ifeoma Ufondu continued to ascend the WashU career kills list with 25 total, including 17 against Chicago. She is tied in 21st place with 1,104 kills with Dianne Stites (1987-90).
Match 1: WashU 3 – NYU 0
Set 1: WashU 25 – NYU 19
Sophomore outside hitter Tricia Brown led WashU with four kills and Malek added three. Freshman Caitlin Lorenz got a hand in three blocks as well for the Bears who pulled away after a 9-9 stalemate.
Ufondu and Malek combined for a block to help WashU pull ahead from the neutral score and begin a 13-3 run. NYU closed the gap but was unable to exceed 20 points collectively and the Bears closed out the match with two Violet errors.
Set 2: WashU 25 – NYU 21
NYU held the score within a few points for the majority of the match before the Bears pulled away at the end winning by four, 25-21. Back-to-back kills by Lorenz and junior right side hitter Hannah Turner gave WashU its largest lead of the match, 22-17.
Ufondu ended the set with a solid strike as sophomore Kirby Knapp assisted on the play. Ufondu finished with a set-high five kills without tallying an error in the process.
Set 3: WashU 25 – NYU 18
The Violets claimed a 6-4 lead early on but WashU scored the following five points to pull ahead 9-6, a lead it would not relinquish. The Bears had three runs which it scored four or more consecutive points and pulled ahead by double figures, 22-10. NYU closed the gap but Turner ended the match with a well placed attack to clinch the third set 25-21.
Match 2: Chicago 3 – WashU 1
Set 1: Chicago 25 – WashU 23
WashU and Chicago's attacks were both solid in the first set of play, with the Maroons narrowly edging the Bears in hitting percentage, .261 to .250 and kills 17 to 15. Ufondu was flawless in the first frame posting five kills on seven attempts and also adding a block assist.
Chicago held a 19-15 edge but the Bears climbed back from the four point gap to take a 23-20 lead on a kill by Lorenz. The Maroons responded with the final five points in a row to claim the first set.
Set 2: WashU 25 – Chicago 20
The second frame was also neck-in-neck for the majority of the action but WashU held a four point advantage when Lorenz's attack found open court, 21-17. Chicago responded with three straight points but WashU closed out the frame with the final four points. Ufondu scored two of the final three points by the Bears. Baxter recorded 10 digs in the set which proved to be the difference in the teams totals, WashU finished with 24 to Chicago's 14.
Set 3: Chicago 25 – WashU 12
WashU held an early lead but several long runs by the Maroons proved too much. Chicago claimed the set 25-12 and hit .464.
Set 4: Chicago 25 – WashU 22
Malek had two kills in the opening seven points of the set to help WashU claim a 5-2 advantage. Chicago slowly chipped away at the lead and then traded leads several times with WashU in the middle of the frame but the Bears final lead came on a kill by Brown, 18-17. The Maroons doubled the Bears points down the final stretch, 8-4, to claim the set and a chance for the UAA Championship on Saturday against No. 11 Emory.