Yiwen Zha | Student Life

Volleyball is a sport of constant back-and-forths and lead changes – where jubilation can turn to heartbreak in a matter of individual points. Akin to the natural ebb and flow of a volleyball match, the Washington University volleyball team experienced the ultimate highs and lows of sport in their short run in the NCAA Division III volleyball tournament. The Bears were victorious in their first-round matchup against St. Olaf in a three-set sweep.

Despite their success on day one, the Bears were unable to continue their success against #4 ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater, falling to the Warhawks — cruelly, in the same fashion by which they beat St. Olaf: a three-set sweep. 

UAA Championships – Nov. 10 and 11

Entering the tournament, the Bears had placed sixth at the University Athletic Association (UAA) conference championships, denying their hopes of a conference title and the right to host regionals in the NCAA tournament. After finishing tied for second in the regular season UAA standings, the Bears were upset by Case Western Reserve University in the first round. Led by junior Jasmine Sells and sophomore Sam Buckley, WashU defeated Brandeis University in a dominating clean sweep in their next match but fell to Carnegie Mellon University in the fifth-place game.

First Round vs. St. Olaf College

Despite not clinching the UAA regular season title, the Bears earned an at-large bid in the tournament for their strong 23-9 regular season record. In the first round of the tournament, WashU faced St. Olaf College. In the first set, the Bears dominated the Oles, jumping out to a 10-3 lead and not looking back. WashU won the set 25-15, with Sells and fellow junior Lucy Davis each securing four kills. 

In the second set, St. Olaf looked poised for a comeback. The Bears got off to an impressive early lead, taking advantage of three consecutive St. Olaf miscues to take a 5-1 lead. This was a wake-up call for the Oles. Ole middle blocker Maren Miller led the Oles with three kills on a run that concluded with St. Olaf ahead, 15-11. From that point on, the game was incredibly intense. The Bears again capitalized on St. Olaf’s attack errors to tighten the match, and senior Lily Steinbach contributed two kills to knot the game at 20. The teams traded punches, but the Oles eventually had a set-point scenario. With the game on the line, junior Zoe Foster recorded her third kill of the set to bring the score to 25-25. WashU needed to win by two — an Ole attack error and a Sells kill sealed the deal for WashU, giving them a commanding 2-0 set lead. 

The third set was similarly intense, but the Bears held a more commanding lead throughout the set. WashU again only won by two — a victory margin of 25-23 — but held the lead for longer in the third set compared to the second. Throughout the match, Sells led the Bears in kills with 11, followed by Steinbach with 10. Buckley provided 36 assists against St. Olaf. 

Second Round vs. Univ. of Wisconsin-Whitewater

Unluckily for WashU, the Bears were placed in the Mount Vernon regional tournament: this specific regional matchup, hosted by Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, featured four teams ranked in the top 25 Division III volleyball programs in the country. While WashU avoided hosts Cornell and eventual regional champion Northwestern-St. Paul, the Bears’ second-round draw saw them face #4 ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater in the round of 32. On September 16, WashU lost to the Warhawks 3-1, a gauge of things to come in tournament play. 

Wisconsin-Whitewater outplayed the Bears in all three sets, but WashU was able to keep it close throughout the match. Freshman right-side hitter Leah Oyewole led the Bears in kills with 14, and Buckley again had a masterful 31 assists. Yet whenever the Bears had a break of good fortune, the Warhawks pulled away, denying WashU a bid to the Sweet 16. Whitewater’s Kirsten Anderson and Allyson Warburton led the Warhawks in kills; a stretch of three kills from Warburton late in the first set helped Whitewater win the most hotly contested set of the match. The Warhawk defense was strong throughout the match, as Whitewater recorded 10 blocks and 72 digs. The Warhawks won the first set 25-20 and were victorious 25-18 in both of the remaining two sets, eliminating the Bears from the tournament.

WashU finishes the season with a 24-10 record, recording impressive victories against Johns Hopkins University, Claremont College, and California Lutheran in the East-to-West Battle early in the season, and against ranked teams Otterbein, North Park, and Millikin. However, the Bears suffered tough defeats at the UW-Whitewater Invitational in September and at the UAA championships, preventing WashU from receiving a higher bid and hosting the regional tournament. Entering a season in which Sells, Davis, and Foster will all be playing their final year with the team, the Bears will look to build off of this year’s success to make a deeper run in 2024. But while many of the core members will be returning next year, the game against UW-Whitewater saw the last time seniors Steinbach, Alden Standley, and Paris Nix compete in Bears uniforms. During their time with volleyball, the seniors played key roles in the Bears’ success.