Senior McKenzie Washington spikes the ball in a home non-conference game. (Brandon Juarez-Ramos | Student Life)

The No. 8 Washington University volleyball team entered conference play on a high. After losing two of their first three matches of the season, the Bears had rattled off 12 wins in a row, including victories against some of Division III’s top teams.

Over the weekend of Sept. 28, the Bears looked to carry the momentum into University Athletic Association (UAA) play, taking on No. 7 Emory University, No. 21 Case Western Reserve University, and the University of Rochester in New York. The Bears, however, couldn’t keep their win streak alive, falling by tight margins to Emory and Case Western before bouncing back to defeat Rochester 3-0.

With the two losses, the Bears have already matched last season’s UAA loss total, when they finished 5-2 and tied for the second-best regular season record in the highly competitive conference. However, in both of their losses, the Bears showed that they were capable of hanging around with two of the strongest teams in the conference. Though the slow start will make the Bears’ chase for a conference championship more difficult, they still have five more UAA games and the all-important conference tournament in November to climb back up the leaderboard.

The match between WashU and Emory pitted two of Division III’s hottest teams against each other. While WashU entered with a 12-game win streak, the Eagles, who won the UAA both of the last two seasons, came in with an 11-1 record. Though the Bears were facing a difficult opponent, head coach Vanessa Walby said their mindset remains the same every game.

“We try to keep every match the same and really focus on respecting our opponents and working together on the game plan,” she wrote in a statement to Student Life.

In the first set, the Bears were unfazed by the matchup. WashU got off to a strong start, winning 25-17 to take an early lead. 

In the second set, however, the Eagles quickly leveled the match at one set apiece with a 25-14 win. With the teams tied, the third set was a battle. Until Emory took a 19-15 lead, neither team had a lead of more than two points. WashU tied the score up at 21 after a 6-2 run, and then the teams alternated points to tie it at 22 and 23. However, Emory pulled away in the clutch, winning the last two points to take the set 25-23 and go up two sets to one.

In the fourth set, the teams went back-and-forth until they were again tied at 23. However, just like the previous set, Emory won when it mattered, taking another 25-23 set victory to clinch the match.

Despite the loss, three Bears players led the match in the box score. Sophomore Leah Oyewole had a match-high of 15 kills, graduate student Lily Steinbach led with seven blocks, and junior Sam Buckley logged a game-high of 40 assists.

Senior Laura Brambilla jumps to hit the ball. (Brandon Juarez-Ramos | Student Life)

Against Case, the Bears started off with another tight set. The Bears had three straight set points after taking a 24-21 lead, but the Spartans fought back to gain a 25-24 advantage. After both teams failed to capitalize on a couple of set points, the Spartans eventually finished off the set on back-to-back WashU errors to win 30-28. 

WashU won the second set 25-16 but then lost by four points in the third set. After a 25-17 WashU victory in the fourth frame, the two teams headed to a fateful fifth and final set. 

With the teams tied at seven, Case went on a five point run to take a 12-6 lead, but the Bears fought back to trail by a 14-13 margin. However, the comeback proved futile, as a Case kill gave the Spartans a decisive 15-13 win in the final set.

Once again, Buckley, who was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association Player of the Week last week, was the player to watch for WashU with 63 assists. Throughout the season, Buckley has a Division III-best 761 assists, 89% of WashU’s total tally.

The next day, the Bears showed their resilience, taking care of business against an unranked Rochester side that went 0-7 in conference play last fall. Though the first two sets were close — the Bears won 25-21 and 25-22 — WashU put the game to bed with a dominant 25-10 third set.

As the Bears look to build off the Rochester win into the remainder of the UAA season, Walby said the team will continue to stick to their process.

“To remember we have gotten this far together and trusting each other and the process will continue to be our compass,” she wrote.

The Bears return from New York with two weeks to reset before their next conference matches. WashU will host Illinois College on Oct. 2 and Westminster College on Oct. 9. WashU has a combined record of 15-0 all-time against these two opponents, so both games should be opportunities for the Bears to get back in the win column.

This article was originally published on Sept. 29, 2024 at 7:21 PM, and was updated at 4:50 PM on Sept. 30, 2024, to include quotes from Vanessa Walby.