Sophomore Lauren Budde spikes the ball as freshman Marilee Fisher looks on in a 3-0 sweep of No. 1 Juniata College on Sept.18. (Paul Goedeke|Student Life)

In a match that will be remembered for years to come, the No. 7 Washington University women’s volleyball team upset the national No. 1-ranked Juniata College Eagles.

The Bears defeated the Eagles in straight sets (28-26, 41-39, 27-25) on Friday night in the marquee matchup of the Teri Clemens Invitational at the Wash. U. Field House.

The win was the team’s first over Juniata since 2005.

“I’m in a little bit of disbelief,” junior captain Marya Kaminski said. “We came out and we wanted to play them really bad. We wanted to win, and we executed. We did it.”

Sophomores Erin Kasson and Lauren Budde each had 12 kills for the Bears, while freshman Marilee Fisher had a stellar game, registering 44 of the team’s 57 assists.

“I can’t even explain it,” Fisher said after the game. “We’ve all just worked our butts off to do our best and do our jobs. It’s just so much fun.”

The game was highlighted by a marathon second set in which the Bears—who were out of substitutions by the end of the set—fought off an incredible 13 set point chances from the Eagles before finally taking advantage of their fifth set point opportunity—and 41^st point of the set in total—to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

“We weathered it. We made it,” head coach Rich Luenemann said after the game. “Incredible match. Incredible opponent.”

The Bears continue in the Teri Clemens Invitational on Saturday as they take on No. 18 La Verne at 10:00 a.m., followed by No. 6 St. Thomas at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both games will be at the Wash. U. Field House.
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Full story and expanded coverage of the tournament on Monday.