Senior setter Vicki Blood dumps the ball over the net against Greenville College in the Field House on Tuesday night. The Red and Green went on to win the match in three games. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

The fifth-ranked Washington University women’s volleyball team demolished unranked Harris-Stowe State University and unranked Greenville College in a succession of two quick and impressive matches. The Bears beat Harris-Stowe (25-12, 25-9, 25-14), and after an hour-long break, they defeated Greenville (25-17, 25-20, 25-9) on Tuesday.

The three sets against Harris-Stowe each followed the same pattern. The Bears grabbed the lead early and slowly but surely increased it throughout the game.

“We came out pretty strong,” junior tri-captain Marya Kaminski said. “We played our game really well, we’ve been practicing all of pre-season, and I think we executed the plays that we practiced…up to par. Obviously there are things to improve, but yeah, I think we started the season off really well.”

Notably, sophomore Kristen Thomas made 16 kills during the three sets against Harris-Stowe, hitting a .520. Freshman Marilee Fisher came up with 11 set assists, and senior Laura Brazeal also brought her skills to court, making 12 digs.

“It took everyone for the win,” Thomas said. “I definitely wouldn’t have gotten that many kills if it wasn’t for the passes or our setter…I was really proud of everyone.”

The win was never in doubt, and the Bears walked away hitting a blistering .366.

Greenville College proved to be a tougher opponent.

The first two sets were relatively close, but the Red and Green pulled through, gaining confidence and shutting down Greenville in the final set.

Thomas once again led the Bears in kills, scoring 11 points during the match. Sophomore Erin Kasson followed close behind with eight kills. Kasson also aced six serves and made five digs, matching her career high.

“Erin Kasson was cranking on her jump serves, which proves to be disheartening for an opponent’s passing system,” head coach Rich Luenemann said.

Additionally, senior Vicki Blood had 26 assists; freshman Kelly Pang made 11 digs, and sophomore Lauren Budde walked away with 8 kills, 2 assists and 9 digs. The team total percentage was .284. Last season’s average team percentage was .277.

The next volleyball tournament is the Bears Classic, a home tournament this Friday and Saturday against Millikin University, Hope College and Augustana College.
“We can only get better,” Kaminski said. “We have plays that we didn’t even run during that game, because we didn’t need to…we have really good chances of being first this year.”

Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton—seen here speaking at the dedication of the Danforth University Center—was selected as the commencement speaker for Harris-Stowe State University. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

Harris-Stowe State University announced that Washington University Chancellor Mark Wrighton will give its commencement speech this year and receive an honorary degree from its institution.

Harris-Stowe is a historically black college located in downtown St. Louis and boasts over 150 years of history. It is the only historically black college in the region.

The decision to have Wrighton serve as commencement speaker was personally initiated by Harris-Stowe President Henry Givens.

“I believe that he is just the right person to address our 2009 graduating class. I know personally from being around him that he will have a great message that [the students] will be able to remember far into the future,” Givens said. “He is just the right person for this particular class for this time.”

Givens has been a personal friend of Wrighton since Wrighton’s arrival at the University in 1995. Upon arriving in the area, Wrighton wished to visit Harris-Stowe and expressed interest in collaborating with the nearby institution, which is only a few miles from the Danforth Campus.

Givens received an honorary doctorate of humanities from the University in 2007.

Givens said he has known for years that Wrighton would make a great speaker for Harris-Stowe.

“Some universities go outside of the community [to find commencement speakers], but this year I said I wanted to stay in this area,” he said. “I think he is a great man and great speaker.”

Givens also commended Wrighton for his work at the University.

“When you look at what he’s done at Wash. U., Wrighton is a great educator and great university administrator, and I admire him greatly because he is one of the great university administrators, and fortunately we have him here in St. Louis,” Givens said.

Wrighton has been involved with the Black Repertory Theater, a program started by a University student. The program is currently the nation’s largest professional African-American theater company.

“[Wrighton] and his wife have taken a great interest in it and supported it and expanded many of the programs for minority students over recent years,” Givens said.

Wrighton has given other commencement addresses, most notably at his alma mater, Florida State University. In an interview with Student Life, Wrighton said that his speech at Harris-Stowe will focus on the significance of an education and using that education to benefit society.

“I will be emphasizing the importance of preparing members of the minority community with higher education experiences, because our country will be more diverse in the future. They are part of a population group that will be very important in the next 30 or 40 years,” Wrighton said.

The Board of Regents at Harris-Stowe is responsible for the choice of the commencement speaker. Givens said the board members are thrilled about this year’s choice.

“They all know about the surrounding universities. We are all connected, and we all have collaborations. All the board members are aware of the great things [Wrighton has] done for the University and for this community in general,” Givens said.

According to Givens, many Harris-Stowe graduates go on to acquire advanced degrees from the University.

Harris-Stowe has had a diversified group of commencement speakers in the past, ranging from the Rev. Jesse Jackson to former Sen. John Danforth.

Despite the contentment of Harris-Stowe administrators in their choice, some University students remain perplexed by the decision.

“The idea of recent commencement speeches has been to encourage public service and go out into the community,” sophomore Jay Gross said. “While Wrighton may bring a positive message to a local community, I think they would benefit from having someone outside of the St. Louis community or someone within the St. Louis community who’s out there in the field every day.”

For Wrighton, the opportunity to speak at Harris-Stowe is another opportunity for higher-education institutions in the state of Missouri to form interactive relationships.

“We have collaborated in our efforts to strengthen investment in the state of Missouri, and as much as we are private and they are public, I think when we speak about the importance of higher education that we can make an important difference,” Wrighton said.