Dan DaranciangThe undefeated Washington University volleyball team (29-0) took the Titan Tournament by storm this weekend, winning all four matches. The Bears dominated every match, beating every opponent in three games.
In their first match on Friday, the Bears defeated Illinois College 3-0 (30-14, 30-12, 30-27). In typical form, the Bears received contributions from several different players. Senior Megan Houck led the Bears with 10 kills and a .625 hitting percentage. The Bears also received eight kills from sophomore Emilie Walk and six kills from junior Whitney Smith.
The stars in this match, however, were on the defensive side of the ball, as freshman defensive specialist Julie Meyer had a season-high nine digs in only one game and senior Nicole Hodgman added nine digs to move into sixth place on the University’s career digs list with 1,386.
The next opponent for the Bears was host Illinois Wesleyan University who was also defeated 3-0 (30-17, 30-21, 30-28). Houck, along with sophomore Haleigh Spencer, led the Bears with 10 kills apiece. Walk also had another outstanding game, adding 11 blocks and eight kills to the totals. Following Hodgman’s example, junior Amy Bommarito contributed eight digs to move into 10th place on the University’s career digs list with 1,044.
The Bears began Saturday with a win against North Central College (30-26, 30-17, 30-21). Houck dominated again with 16 kills (.563 hitting percentage) and four blocks. Smith also added 15 kills and three blocks.
The University won the tournament title with a win against Monmouth College (30-16, 30-9, 30-20). Walk added another 10 kills to her successful weekend while Houck had nine kills. Bommarito grabbed a team-high 18 digs in the victory.
The Bears will move on to the UAA Conference Championship tournament next weekend in Waltham, Mass., where they will contend for an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.