Eric Chalifour | Student Life

Sophomore Meghan Byrne competes against Webster University on Wednesday, Oct. 26. In addition to their 3-0 victory against Webster, the Bears defeated all four of their other rivals on Oct. 28 and 29 to capture the Halloween Classic title.

The No. 3 Bears took the 2011 Halloween Classic, sweeping all four teams it faced—Concordia University and No. 4 Eastern University on Friday, and Hanover College and College of Mount St. Joseph on Saturday.

Along with a 3-0 win over Webster University on Wednesday evening, the Bears have strung together five straight 3-0 victories after suffering their first loss of the season, a 3-2 defeat at the hands of rival Emory University, on Oct. 16.

“It was really important,” junior Kelly Pang said of bouncing back. “Obviously, it was a tough loss, and it slowed us down a little bit, but I feel like we’re kind of picking up some speed, getting our momentum back and hanging tough.”

The highlight of the weekend, for multiple reasons, was the Bears’ 3-0 (25-18, 27-25, 25-23) victory over Eastern, which came into the match with a record of 28-1. Against one of its strongest opponents of the season, Wash. U. was up to the task offensively and defensively.

The team hit .346 on the match, capped by a third set in which it tallied 20 kills and only four errors on 37 attempts—good for a .432 hitting percentage. Its efforts were headed by junior Drew Hargrave (13 kills) and seniors Lauren Budde and Kristen Thomas (10 kills each), and they were set by junior Marilee Fisher’s 45 assists.

The team’s back row shined as well, as Pang’s 20 digs were a team high out of 53 total digs in the match. Budde tallied 10, and senior Tricia Brandt had eight.

The efforts from all sides of the court allowed Wash. U. to survive two close sets in the second and third sets and to give the Bears one of their bigger wins of the season.

“It was great to have another challenge so close to the previous loss, to see if we thought we were able to win in three, and it was just a great confidence builder for us,” Pang said.

The game also took place on the team’s Senior Night, and the squad’s four seniors—Budde, Brandt, Thomas and Brittany Mikottis—were honored before the match. The team’s Class of 2012 has compiled a record of 130-16 over the past four seasons to go with a UAA Championship in 2009 and a national championship in 2009.

“It’s been awesome,” Budde said of the last four seasons. “It’s a great culture on and off the floor in terms of relationships with the girls. Not only do we play together, we’re best friends, and we do a lot of things off the court, and I think that translates to our good chemistry on the court.”

The team’s other three matches of the weekend did not provide as much of a challenge, as the Bears never allowed more than 19 points in any set against Concordia (25-13, 25-11, 25-15), Hanover (25-18, 25-19, 25-18), or Mount St. Joseph (25-15, 25-16, 25-11).

For the weekend, Budde’s 48 kills were a team-high, as were Fisher’s 143 assists and Pang’s 70 digs.

“I think it’s great that we ended our regular season play on such a great note, and now in doing so well, obviously we know the little things that we need to work on next week in terms of getting better before conference and before regionals,” Budde said.

Brandt (32 digs) and sophomores Meghan Byrne (41 kills, .413 hitting percentage) and Kaia Schwartz (22 kills, 7 blocks, .463 hitting) were named to the all-tournament team.

The Bears will head on the road next weekend to New York, N.Y., for the University Athletic Association championship and will begin play on Friday against Carnegie Mellon University.

While there is a good chance that Wash. U. will get a chance to exact revenge on Emory, the team continues to prepare for everything the weekend can bring.

“Next weekend is a brand new season. We need to take it as one game at a time, one point at a time,” Budde said. “Everybody’s going to be out to get us, just like teams have been all year. We have to bring our ‘A’ game, every game, every point.

Wash. U. and CMU will face off at noon EST on Friday.

Sahil Patel | Student Life

Freshman middle hitter Evan Engel (right) blocks the kill attempt by Saint Louis University’s Mike Robertson during the first set of Wednesday night’s match. The match marked the first time the Washington University men’s club volleyball team played in the WU Field House.

The men’s club volleyball team took part in an exhibition matchup against the Saint Louis University men’s club team on Wednesday night, marking the first time a club team has played in the Washington University Field House.

The match was organized by club co-president Ryan Verner as part of an attempt to get the club team’s name out to the Wash. U. and St. Louis communities.

“With the exhibition, my hope is to show students the high level that our club team has reached and get them interested in the team,” said Verner, a junior.

The leaders of the club, including Verner and senior co-president Juan Manfredi, have been working for months to get the Wash. U. men’s volleyball program some publicity in the St. Louis area.

“We’ve always thought that Wash. U. would be a great place—and is a great place—for volleyball,” Manfredi said. “There’s definitely a culture for it, with the girls’ team doing so well, and we kind of want to show people that the guys’ team is pretty good, and we want to get them excited about the men’s team doing well.”

While one of the long-term goals of the club is to make men’s volleyball a varsity sport at the University, restrictions such as Title IX, balancing the number of men’s and women’s teams, make that goal difficult. So Verner looked to make improvements that he could actively pursue.

“Over the summer, I started to branch out with our players and our club name, making us more of a presence in the St. Louis volleyball community,” he said. “Our guys played in local sand and grass tournaments and local open gyms to get the community behind our team and make connections.”

The community outreach efforts seem to be paying off, as more male students in the area are including the men’s club volleyball team as a reason to come to Wash. U.

“We’re getting top-flight talent to come to Wash. U. without a varsity program,” Manfredi said. “If there were a varsity program here, we could draw good players from all over the country, and we could keep good players from St. Louis, [which] is actually one of the hotbeds of high school volleyball in the Midwest.”

Those efforts continued on the Wash. U. campus in the fall, as the club took a number of measures to get its name out on campus. It worked with Chi Omega for the Chi Omega Classic in September and is hosting a tournament on the intramural fields in the spring.

Sean Curtis, director of club and intramural sports at Wash. U., noted the progress the club has made.

“What I see is a more organized effort to let the students on campus know that there’s an opportunity if they wish to play men’s volleyball,” Curtis said. “The group is gaining momentum, getting stronger, more organized, to the point where they’re going to play a match in [the Field House].”

The Wednesday’s match just shows how much the club—which now consists of an “A” squad that travels to competitions and a “B” squad of lower-level or less experienced players—has progressed in recent years.

“We’ve been progressing in every dimension. My freshman year, sometimes practices would be me and four other guys kind of messing around with the ball for an hour and a half or so,” Manfredi, the team’s lone four-year veteran, said. “Every year we slowly improved. We’ve got more players, players that are actually committed. We have a coach for the first time this year, which is a big step forward.”

The team recognizes that the ultimate goal of becoming a varsity sports team here at Wash. U. may not be achieved any time soon, if ever. But with the NCAA adding national championships for Division III men’s volleyball this year, it continues to be a possibility.

“Every year, the barriers for that are going down,” Manfredi said.

But whether or not that becomes a reality any time soon, the team looks to be well on its way to making its presence known all across campus and in the St. Louis community.

“We want the student body and the community to get together and make the game bigger here,” Verner said. “If we succeed in that but still fail to get the varsity team, we’ve still accomplished a lot.”

Matt Mitgang | Student Life

Junior setter Marilee Fisher sets the ball for sophomore Kaia Schwartz in a match against Christopher Newport University on Sept. 10. The No. 2 Bears swept rival No. 9 Juniata College and three other schools at the Molten Colorado College Invitational to bring their record to 14-0. Fisher, along with junior Kelly Pang and senior Lauren Budde, was named to the All-Tournament team.

The No. 2 Bears went to Colorado Springs, Colo., and swept all four teams in the Molten Colorado College Invitational, including a win against longtime rival No. 9 Juniata College on Friday night.

With the wins, the team runs its record to 14-0 and now holds the record for the best start in school history, having won its first 42 sets of the year.

“Our team chemistry is definitely coming together,” junior Lauren Budde said. “It’s getting better and better every game, and that is a big stride.”

Wash. U. improved its winning streak against Juniata to four straight matches, dating back to the 2009 season. But while the previous three were all close matches, the Red and Green left no room for suspense in Friday night’s contest (25-16, 25-13, 25-18), as they never trailed at any point in any of the match’s three sets.

“As the Washington University/Juniata match is the most storied rivalry in Division III volleyball, our players stepped on the court prepared to play from the onset,” head coach Rich Luenemann said.

Offensively, the team was firing on all cylinders. The Bears hit .417 on the match, with junior Drew Hargrave and senior Lauren Budde combining for 23 kills on 40 attempts with only one error. Sophomore Meghan Byrne also hit 10 kills and three aces.

On defense, the Bears picked up contributions up front and in the back row. Junior Kelly Pang’s 23 digs were the most of the team’s 50, and Budde and sophomore Megan Odenthal blocked well, with Budde tallying four block assists and Odenthal getting a solo block and two more block assists.

“We performed really well,” Budde said. “We really limited errors, and that definitely helped us pull ahead and make the score one sided.”

After facing Juniata, the Bears handed No. 12 Colorado College its first loss of the season, taking a 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 26-24) win over the Tigers. They prevailed in the third set despite needing extra points in a set for the first time all season.

Wash. U. worked around a mediocre hitting game, as they hit a season-worst .146 on the match. Budde led the team again with 13 kills, while freshman Lindsay Juriga landed six kills on only nine attempts.

But it was the back row that pulled the Bears through this one, as Pang (16 digs), Budde (15), and junior Tricia Brandt (11) made up the majority of the team’s 62 digs.

“They matched up really well against our offense and so they were able to pick up some balls a lot of teams aren’t able to pick up,” junior Marilee Fisher said. “Their team was able to hit around our block, but our defense adjusted and just got a bunch of really amazing plays.”

Saturday’s first match led to a milestone for the Bears’ leading hitter, as Budde tallied her 1,000th career kill in the second set en route to a 3-0 win (25-20, 25-17, 25-19) against No. 15 Concordia College. Her 14 kills led the team in the match, as did her one solo block and four block assists. Sophomore Kaia Schwartz also hit six-for-12 with no errors.

“It’s a great accomplishment and I definitely haven’t taken it for granted,” Budde said. “I couldn’t accomplish it without my teammates’ help.”

Luenemann opened up the bench in the final match of the tournament, as 16 players made it onto the court in the team’s 3-0 victory (25-10, 25-22, 25-10) over Endicott College. Three players—Budde, Hargrave and senior Kristen Thomas—picked up eight kills in the match. Sophomore Tanya Marvi’s eight digs were a team high, followed by junior Meg Buker’s seven. The team hit .393 on the match.

Budde (with a team-high 46 kills on the weekend) was named the Invitational’s most outstanding player, and Pang (62 digs) and Fisher (131 assists) joined her on the All-Tournament team.

“I knew we had a lot of returning talent, but I‘m not sure I knew we’d develop it this thoroughly and this quickly,” Fisher said. “I can’t wait to see where the rest of the season takes us.”

After a weekend off, Wash. U. will host the first University Athletic Association Round Robin of the 2011 season. The Bears will take on Carnegie Mellon University, Brandeis University and New York University.

Matt Mitgang | Student Life

Senior captain Lauren Budde sends a ball over the net against No. 6 Christopher Newport University. The Bears defeated CNU in straight sets on Saturday.

From there, the Bears took over the match and ended the set the way they ended every set of the weekend—with a victory.

“The whole time throughout the match, we always expected to win,” junior Kelly Pang said. “There were no doubts in our minds.”

Behind an incredible 82 digs from the team’s back row, the No. 2 Bears rallied in the set and went on to beat CNU 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-20) to finish off a 4-0 weekend and win the WU/Asics National Invitational.

“I’m really proud of us as a team,” Pang, who registered 30 digs in the final match, said. “This is obviously a higher field of competition this weekend and I’m glad how we responded, and I think it says a lot, especially when we were down at times and were able to come back.”

The win came hours after a 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-11) victory over No. 20 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, and the day after 3-0 wins against Ohio Northern University (25-14, 25-15, 25-19) and No. 8 Carthage College (25-13, 25-21, 25-20).

Facing three ranked teams, Wash. U. swept the tournament without dropping a set for the second straight year.

“We came in, and we competed, and at times we took them out of their play,” Luenemann said. “We were in our system and they were not in their system.”

Against CNU, the team weathered some struggles and a .191 hitting percentage to push its season record to 10-0. Senior Lauren Budde led the way up front for the Bears, recording 12 kills, and sophomore Meghan Byrne followed her with 10. With sophomore outside hitters Megan Odenthal and Tessa Blood out with injuries, freshman Lindsay Juriga stepped in and tallied eight kills.

“Lindsay was awesome,” junior Drew Hargrave said. “She really had to step up this weekend…and I thought her hitting was amazing. She never gets frazzled as a freshman.”

However, the defensive players were the heroes in the match. Senior Tricia Brandt picked up 17 digs, Budde had 11 and every Wash. U. player in the match dug at least one ball.

Earlier in the day, the team made quick work of Whitewater, as Budde again took control by hitting 14 for 18 (.778) with no errors. Hargrave matched Budde’s 14 kills as well.

On Friday, the Bears opened up the tournament without much difficulty against Ohio Northern. Budde (15 kills) and Hargrave (11) again paced the team offensively, and junior Marilee Fisher’s 38 assists were a high for her on the weekend. Brandt’s 15 digs were a team high on the match.

Sophomore Kaia Schwartz put forth a strong effort, with four kills (.400 percentage) and four total blocks.

Friday’s late match was the fourth time Wash. U. and Carthage had squared off since November of 2009, and all four times Carthage was ranked 13th or higher and was in the top 10 three times. But this match had the same result as the previous three, as the Bears won without allowing a set to the Lady Reds. The match was similar to Saturday’s final game; the team hit a season-low .186, but the defense, whose 62 digs were a season high before Saturday, carried the team.

Budde, who had double-digit kills in every match and ended with 54 total for the tournament, was named to the all-tournament team with Hargrave, who had 40 kills of her own and Pang, who had 62 digs.

With its usual suspects performing at high levels, the team is optimistic about the season so far.

“I think we’re playing a lot better than we did last season at this point,” Hargrave said. “I’m just really excited about where we are.”

The Bears head to Colorado to face three more ranked schools, beginning with old rival No. 9 Juniata College on Friday evening at 5:00 p.m. MDT. Wash. U. has won three straight against Juniata, including a come-from-behind 3-2 victory on the same weekend last year.

“The greatest war in the history of volleyball: Juniata and Washington University. The most storied rivalry in Division III volleyball,” Luenemann said. “Both teams are gonna come out, both guns a-blazin’.”

Matt Mitgang | Student Life

Then senior Jennifer Varriano (Left) and sophomore Meghan Byrne (Right) block an attack by St. Olaf College’s Melissa Burch in the first match of the Washington University/Asics National Invitational in 2010. Byrne is part of a roster with the talent and experience necessary for a shot at a championship.

Coming off of a heartbreaking national semifinal loss to Emory University last year at the Wash. U. Field House, the team once again has its sights set on the ultimate prize.

“Our focus is always to win the national championship. And that’s not a grandiose goal because if indeed it’s something that you’ve done in the past, you have the capability to do it again,” head coach Rich Luenemann said. “I think the kids came in very prepared, very motivated for this season.”

Success has long been the expectation of the Wash. U. volleyball program. Eight current members of the team were on the 2009 championship squad, which was the most recent of the school’s 10 national titles.

With Marya Kaminski, Ali Hoffman and Jennifer Varriano—last year’s seniors, captains and team leaders—gone, the task of making sure the whole team knows the goals and expectations is up to the team’s new captains.

That group of captains includes seniors Lauren Budde, Tricia Brandt, Kristen Thomas, Brittany Mikottis and junior Marilee Fisher.

“Each one of the captains has a very special gift to offer to the team, and as a group, they’re extraordinary,” Luenemann said.

Along with its new leadership, the team remains loaded with recognized talent. Three 2010 All-Americans (Budde, Fisher, and junior Kelly Pang) and two honorable mentions (junior Drew Hargrave and sophomore Meghan Byrne) highlight the roster.

At the hitter positions, Budde leads the way in the middle, with Hargrave and Byrne coming off excellent years at the outsides. The preseason, according to Luenemann, has given the team time to evaluate the depth up front, and several players are pushing for additional time and spots in the team’s rotation. Thomas, Mikottis, sophomores Tessa Blood, Kaia Schwartz and Emily Tulloch and multiple freshmen have been strong in practices—not just competing for roles in the rotation but also as good competition for the first team.

“It’s great that we have competitions in practices because that makes our team that much better,” Budde said. “We constantly have people pushing each other to get better and constantly fighting for a spot on the floor. It’s just great to go into practice and always face a challenge.”

Couple the outstanding depth with Fisher, the two-time NCAA Division III leader in assists per set, setting for the team’s many hitters, and the team has the potential to be devastating up front.

The team’s back row also features excellent depth. Pang remains the unit’s anchor after two straight All-American seasons. Brandt’s return to the full-time lineup after missing much of last season is a huge boost. Sophomore Tanya Marvi and freshman Lauren Yung bolster the rotation even further.

No matter what combination of six players Luenemann will have out on the court, the potential is clear: This team is stacked with talent, and with a touch of added motivation it knows it has a chance to win six straight games in the NCAA Tournament. But much has to be done between now and then, and the team recognizes that.

“The girls who have experience winning a national championship, we’re always hungry for that,” Fisher, a member of the 2009 championship team, said. “That’s always going to be in the back of our minds….But you can’t do anything about a game that’s two months from now.”

Fortunately, there won’t be much room for complacency between now and November; the team faces a schedule loaded with 10 ranked teams, including four of the top seven.

“You play the best to become the best. If you don’t play the best, you don’t know how you measure up,” Luenemann said. “We’ll play Godzilla, King Kong if they come out here. We’ll play those guys.”

The Bears begin play Thursday against Harris-Stowe State University at 3 p.m. and Culver-Stockton College at 5:15 p.m.

Matt Mitgang | Student Life

Sophomore Marilee Fisher passes the ball over the net in a match Sept. 5.

Choosing this year’s best female athlete was tough, especially with all of Wash. U.’s All-American volleyball players and last season’s national championship basketball team. But with her consistent statistical NCAA dominance, volleyball superstar Marilee Fisher gets our nod.

After a freshman campaign in which she led the country in assists per set and was a Second-Team All-American, Fisher once again established herself as one of Division III’s top setters in her sophomore year. Apart from moving up to First-Team All-American, her 11.71 individual assists per set once again led the country statistically.

Fisher’s steady success as setter was key to the team’s .282 hitting percentage, fourth-best in the nation, and her consistency made attacking even easier for the Bears’ already talented hitters. In a complex Wash. U. offense, Fisher’s impact is tough to ignore.

“The [Wash. U.] offense is a sophisticated system, and it takes an incredibly cerebral setter to run it,” head coach Rich Luenemann said. “Marilee leads the offense as well as any setter I’ve ever coached.”

Fisher is on pace, along with fellow sophomore Kelly Pang, to become the next student athlete in the storied history of the Wash. U. volleyball program to achieve All-America honors in all four years on the court.

Matt Mitgang | Student Life

Junior Lauren Budde led the attack against NYU, recording 14 kills in the 3-0 rout.

No. 3 Wash. U. came out on Friday night and overpowered No. 15 New York University from the start, taking a 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-10) victory and setting them up for a showdown with rival and top-ranked Emory University on Saturday.

Playing in front of their home crowd at the Wash. U. Field House and a reported attendance of 1,500, the Bears came out firing from the start and never looked back.

“The crowd was amazing,” said sophomore Drew Hargrave, who finished with eight kills. “I walked in and the noise was incredible. It really pumped me up.”

After both teams came out in the first set and struggled to an 11-11 tie, the Bears made their move with a seven-point run, anchored by sophomore Marilee Fisher’s serves. Wash. U. kept the Violets from maintaining any sort of momentum from that point, and freshman Meghan Byrne’s two kills at the end of the set put the Bears up one set to none.

Junior Lauren Budde led the Bears with four kills on the set, and the Bears made it through with a .194 hitting percentage – thanks largely in part to NYU’s poor -.051 percentage, as the Violets tallied only seven kills and nine errors.

The Bears jumped out to an early lead in the second set, and after NYU rallied to tie the match at 8-8, Wash. U. slowly inched away from the Violets. With a 15-13 lead, the Bears went on a 7-1 run behind Fisher’s and Budde’s serves to gain some distance, and the Red and Green took the set on an attack error from NYU. While the Violets’ hitting improved on the set, their mark of .133 was outdone by the Bears’ .289, as Wash. U. found itself up 2-0. Budde picked up five kills in the set, and Pang’s eight digs helped out the back row.

The third set was when the Bears’ hitters began to shine, as the team hit an incredible .536 (16 attacks to 1 error) and used an early eight-point run to pick up a 12-3 advantage that they never came close to relinquishing. Budde – who picked up a team-high 14 kills on the match – put down the final kill of the match as the Bears placed an exclamation mark on their win over their conference rival.

“I was surprised, but we definitely brought a lot of fire,” Budde said about the third set. “The fire that we had tonight is enough to knock any team down to that level.”

In addition to her 14 kills, Budde picked up 2.5 blocks and nine digs, while Meghan Byrne was the team’s other player to pick up double-digit kills with 10. Pang’s 24 digs led the team, as did Fisher’s 33 assists.

Overall, the Bears hit .330 on the match and made quick work of the Violets, taking exactly one hour to dispatch of their opponents and never letting them pick up more than three points in a row.

“Certainly, you want to beat somebody as quickly as you possibly can,” head coach Rich Luenemann said. “But you haven’t seen our best yet.”

Now the Bears line up for a match against their arch-rival, Emory, who handed the Bears their most recent loss with a 3-1 defeat on November 6.

“We’re ready, for sure. I can’t wait,” Hargrave said. “I want to savor this, but I want to start thinking about that match very quickly. They’re a big rival for us, and I know that we can beat them with the energy we brought tonight.”

Following the 3:30 p.m. matchup between No. 3 Juniata College and No. 10 Calvin College, Wash. U. and Emory will face off tomorrow at 6 p.m.

“When the best are playing the best, it doesn’t get any better than that,” Luenemann said.

Joe Angeles | WUSTL Photo Services

Workers install the Sport Court surface for the NCAA Division III Volleyball Championship, which will begin in the Wash. U. Field House on Friday at 12:30 p.m.

As part of the NCAA Championship City pilot program, created to help cities provide a more enjoyable championship experience for both student-athletes and fans, Wash. U. will partner with neighbor Fontbonne University and the St. Louis Sports Commission to host the finals this year,

The Field House will also host the 2011 championship.

The Championship City pilot program, is also working with Cleveland, Indianapolis, San Antonio, San Diego and Cary, N.C. St. Louis was selected as a host for these two years after an initial bid for the 2009 and 2010 championships was unsuccessful.

“The Sports Commission came to us and said, ‘We know you have a history of hosting,’” said Joe Worlund, Wash. U. associate athletic director and tournament director for the championships. Worlund cited championships hosted by Wash. U. in the 1980s for men’s soccer, tennis and cross country.

Because of scheduling conflicts with the women’s basketball’s Tip-Off Tournament, Wash. U. initially had to reject the NCAA’s offer. The Sports Commission then reached an agreement with Fontbonne to host the championships, but because of limited seating availability, Wash. U.’s basketball teams rearranged schedules so that the school could host in partnership with Fontbonne and the Sports Commission.

Worlund cited a number of reasons that Wash. U. and the city of St. Louis are attractive hosts.

“I think geographically, [the NCAA] likes being in the center of the country,” Worlund said. “We have a good reputation for putting on good events. I think we do a reasonably quality job, so I think they like going to places with a history of doing championship play.”

These advantages are even more pronounced when placed in the context of Wash. U.’s prestigious volleyball program, which leads all NCAA volleyball programs in all divisions with 10 national titles.

“They know that we have a nice facility for this type of volleyball event,” Worlund said. “We have a volleyball history, so the crowd could be good. With Washington University in it, this is the first time since it’s been at a neutral site that there’s been a true possibility of the host team getting in.”

The championship was moved to neutral sites in 2004.

The third-ranked Bears lived up to their end of the bargain and will be fighting for a national championship on their own court—where they haven’t lost since Sept. 11, 2009, and have won 32 matches in a row.

“One of the most important factors will be if we can attract a large crowd,” volleyball head coach Rich Luenemann said. “There’s no doubt our players will play better in front of a large crowd, and what a great opportunity for the Wash. U. community and the greater St. Louis community of this area to support the volleyball program.”

In terms of preparing for the tournament, Worlund said most of the work is going toward the activities outside of the matches themselves.

“Just running the tournament itself isn’t really that much different than what we normally would do for a tournament,” Worlund said. “The challenge is balancing the project in the things that you have to turn over to the Sports Commission.”

According to Worlund, much of the role of the Sports Commission, which controls things such as hospitality for the incoming teams at their hotels, is geared toward boosting ticket sales.

Fontbonne will also run a youth clinic on Saturday morning to attract these children to the tournament.

“The detail things—a banquet for 300 people, that’s not something we do every day,” Worlund said, referring to the NCAA Championship Banquet held Thursday at the Hilton Ballpark Hotel in downtown St. Louis. “It’s those things that become bigger. You’re trying to make it an event for these teams.”

But even with these events, the main attractions are the matches themselves, and the Bears hope that the Wash. U. community comes out in full force to see it. Back in 1991, the Field House held 3,423 in attendance—a Division III record, according to Luenemann—for the championship match. This year, that record looks to be tested.

“We’re challenging the crowd to come out,” Luenemann said. “Washington University holds the record for the largest crowd in Division III history, and we’re challenging them to come out and beat it.”

Play begins at 12:30 p.m. Friday when No. 12 University of St. Thomas faces No. 3 Juniata College. Wash. U. will face No. 15 New York University at 8 p.m.

The Bears recorded 3-0 wins over Culver-Stockton College and Dominican University on Friday, followed by a 3-1 win over Millsaps College and a 3-0 win over Hanover College on Saturday.

With the wins, the team concluded the regular season portion of its schedule at 28-2 (5-2 UAA). Three of the team’s best players – sophomores Kelly Pang and Marilee Fisher and junior Lauren Budde – were back on the court after missing the second University Athletic Association Round Robin two weeks earlier.

“It’s just so much smoother just because we’re so used to playing with this lineup,” senior Ali Hoffman said. “It’s easier to get revved up just cause you’re familiar with the people on the court.”

The Bears began Saturday’s action with a 3-1 (25-17, 25-12, 23-25, 25-13) victory over Millsaps, in which Fisher’s 58 assists paced a strong offensive showing. Wash. U. hit over .400 in each set, outside of the third set in which the Bears were narrowly defeated, and freshman Meghan Byrne and Budde both picked up 16 kills to lead the team.

The final match of the tournament was an exclamation mark on the weekend for the Bears, as they took out Hanover 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-5). After a moderately close first two sets, the Red and Green fired on all cylinders in the final set, hitting an incredible .560 with only one attack error and making quick work of a Hanover squad that had not lost yet as of the weekend before the match.

“That last set against Hanover was probably the most dominating set I’ve seen played by any team, any year in volleyball,” head coach Rich Luenemann said. “Everything was clicking, and everything we did was correct.”

Sophomore Drew Hargrave’s 18 kills led the offense for the Bears while Byrne picked up 13 kills and a played to a .579 hitting percentage.

On Friday, the tournament began with the Bears’ defeat of Culver-Stockton (25-10, 25-13, 25-12). Twelve service aces paced Wash. U. on offense, and Budde’s 11 kills were a team-high on the match. Senior Jennifer Varriano had an excellent match, with a career-high seven kills and no errors.

Prior to Friday’s match against Dominican, the team honored its three seniors, Varriano, Hoffman and captain Marya Kaminski. This group had had a wildly successful four years here in St. Louis, with two national championships and a 127-18 (.876) record.

“It’s been amazing,” Kaminski said of her four years of Wash.U. volleyball. “I’ve grown so much as a person, as a player, and I feel like everyone’s family, and it’s just been really nice being a part of it.”

Following the pre-game ceremonies, Wash. U. came out with another strong showing in both facets of the game, hitting .330 while picking up 58 digs. Budde and Hargrave had 13 and 12 kills, respectively, while Kaminski had eight kills and hit .615 for a strong senior night showing.

Pang’s 22 digs against Dominican were a high for her on the weekend and were the most digs she has recorded in a match since tallying 32 in a 3-2 win over Juniata College on Sept. 18. Pang, who racked up 80 digs on the weekend, had been out since suffering an injury on October 3 against the University of Chicago.

“It feels so good,” Pang said about being back. “I’m just really glad I can come back and contribute to this team.”

The regular season portion of the schedule is over, and the Bears will head to Cleveland, Ohio, for UAA Championships this weekend. The Bears will be looking to make up for their two losses on the season, both of which were suffered two weeks ago in UAA conference play.

The dominating effort in their final set of the weekend seems to have the Bears heading in the right direction.

“That final set really was a great way to terminate this tournament, to feel good,” Luenemann said. “That leads to a lot of confidence, and that’s certainly what we’re looking forward to.”

Wash. U. kicks off UAA Championship play on Friday against Carnegie Mellon University at 12:00 p.m. (ET).

But even with Pang out with a knee injury, the Bears didn’t seem to be missing a step this past weekend at the Bears Classic.

The Red and Green covered for Pang quite nicely with a mixture of the usual back-row cogs and players getting extensive game time for the first time all year. This, combined with some powerful hitting up front, produced the four wins needed to take the Classic at the Wash. U. Field House and push the team’s record to 21-0 (3-0 University Athletic Association).

The Bears swept Westminster College (25-12, 25-11, 25-14) and the University of Mount Union (25-22, 25-21, 25-14) by 3-0 counts on Friday and came back on Saturday with a 3-1 win over the University of Dallas (25-14, 25-12, 21-25, 25-13) and a 3-0 victory over Webster University (25-18, 25-14, 25-16).

“Kelly is phenomenal, so obviously there are huge shoes to fill for us,” sophomore Meg Buker said. “We have a lot of depth with the players that we have, that lots of girls are ready to go and get in there.”

A number of individuals filled in for Pang, who was first injured on Oct. 3 in a match against University of Chicago. Buker picked up where she left off against Chicago by starting in the back row, and senior Ali Hoffman saw her first extended playing time of the season at libero.

Buker finished the weekend with 48 digs to lead the team, while Hoffman tallied 45 and junior Lauren Budde made her usual contributions on defense with 35.

“[The weekend] went spectacularly,” Hoffman said. “I think everyone stepped up; we needed to step up, and now we’re 21-0, and that’s awesome.”

Outside of the third set on Saturday against Dallas, where the team hit a season-low .111 hitting percentage (9 kills, 13 errors), the Bears were in control for both of Saturday’s matches. Sophomore Drew Hargrave led the team with 13 kills, while a pair of freshmen—Kaia Schwartz and Emily Tulloch—put down seven kills each, and their strong efforts led the way in the second and fourth sets, respectively.

Also of note in the Dallas match was the brief return of junior Tricia Brandt, sidelined for the entire year to date with a back condition. Brandt made it in for the final two points of the match.

“I’ve really been missing it; it was hard to not play, but I’ve just had to do what’s best for my health and get my back healthy,” Brandt said, “but my back’s been feeling good, so I’m excited to get back in there.”

Brandt has been cleared by doctors to resume playing and will add another body in the back row for the Bears down the stretch.

“She’s going to bring a lot of leadership back,” Luenemann said of Brandt, who had been serving as an assistant coach up to this point. “She’s going to bring a lot of intensity, and that’s an attribute that can be really appreciated.”

The team then made quick work of cross-town rival Webster, as freshman Meghan Byrne picked up 13 kills and the team hit .376 to complete the weekend only having dropped one set.

While the back row may have stolen the show with its success in Pang’s absence, the team’s hitters certainly did not go ignored, as Budde (39 kills), Hargrave (38) and Byrne (32) were all named to the all-tournament team.

“This is the strongest we’ve ever been at the pins [the right and left sides],” Luenemann said. “We have more offensive depth all along the net.”

Sophomore Marilee Fisher paved the way for the hitters’ successes with 130 assists in 11 sets, while freshman Megan Odenthal picked up 25 more.

With both the offense and defense firing on all cylinders, the Red and Green head into its next match knowing that it is probably the biggest match of the regular season. The Bears will travel to the second UAA Round Robin in Waltham, Mass., to face the last team to defeat them: No. 3 Emory University.

“There’s a huge rivalry there; we just get jacked every time we play them…and we just want to destroy them,” Brandt said.

The Bears face Emory at 10:30 a.m. (EDT) on Saturday.