The volleyball team celebrates winning a point in a recent match against Illinois Wesleyan. (Bobby Kaplan | Staff Photographer)

5,000 assists. 2,914 days.

The third University Athletic Association (UAA) Round Robin on Sunday, Oct. 26, marked two momentous milestones for WashU women’s volleyball — both on the individual level and as a team.

With an impressive 32 assists in the first match against Brandeis University, Sam Buckley achieved 5,000 career assists — a new program record. And in the day’s second match, WashU defeated longtime rival Emory University for the first time in eight years. 

With the two wins, WashU’s conference slate is complete. They are second in the UAA standings with a 5-2 conference record and have three weeks of preparation ahead of the UAA championships on Nov. 15. 

North Central College 1-3 (20-25, 25-12, 23-25, 20-25)

The Bears’ weekend started on Friday, Oct. 24, when they took on North Central College in a standalone non-conference match. 

The first set began with both teams keeping the score tight at 7-7. However, an attack error by WashU and 3 kills gave the Cardinals the momentum for 2 runs (8-0 and 5-2), closing the set out at 25-20. 

In the second set, the Bears were able to reset, jumping to a 9-7 lead. Determined to tie the score, the Bears moved dynamically across the court to extend the lead to 19-10. A 6-point run and kills by junior right-side hitter Leah Oyewole and first-year Abby Krause allowed WashU to dominate the set with a 25-12 finish. 

The momentum from the second set carried through into the third, with the Bears holding on to a strong lead of 17-11. The Cardinals responded with a 7-1 run to tie the set at 18-18. North Central didn’t stop there, taking control over the set and closing it out 25-23.

In the fourth set, WashU hit the ground running with a 17-11 lead. However, a 12-2 run from the Cardinals put the score at 23-19. North Central held their lead with 3 strong kills, closing the match at 25-20.

Buckley, however, was not deterred by the loss. Contributing 44 assists in the game, she inched closer to breaking the record of 4,995 set by Stephanie Habif in 1996. Buckley said they used this match as an opportunity to regroup by focusing on the things they did well. 

“After the North Central game, we had a lot of good, productive conversations as a team,” Buckley wrote in a statement to Student Life. “We reinforced our trust in one another and reminded ourselves that we’re capable of winning any match we play.”

Brandeis 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-14)

WashU, looking to brush the last match off, started strong against Brandeis University. Both teams exchanged points, with the Bears staying slightly ahead the entire time. Buckley, going into the game with 4,971 assists, had her eyes set on the assist record. She moved dynamically across the court to secure the first set. Two kills and an attack error by the Judges allowed WashU to extend their lead to 17-11, and sealed their victory at 25-20 with a kill by junior Naya Ohuabunwa. 

WashU carried their win into the second set where they quickly scored 4 points on the other team, creating a small lead. They widened the lead to 24-12; here, Ohuabunwa closed the set with a kill assisted by Buckley to secure the 25-16 win and a 2-0 match lead. 

After finishing set two with three sets to beat the record, every set and play mattered for Buckley.

“My family and former WashU volleyball alumni [were] at the game,” Buckley wrote. 

The Judges took an early 2-1 lead. The Bears, however, squashed any hope for a longer match with a 6-0 run, putting the score at 7-2. 

The crowd held their breath as Buckley set up each ball. On a perfectly timed assist to Oyewole, Buckley delivered her 4,996th assist, surpassing the almost 20-year-old record. 

The Bears broke the set open with an 8-1 run to go up 19-9. The Bears sealed the match with a service ace by first-year Isabel Campie. 

“It was really special to hit that milestone … and to do it during a win made it even better,” Buckley wrote. 

Buckley finished the match with 32 assists — nearly doubling Brandeis’s total of 17. While the Judges presented a good case, Buckley and the Bears ultimately ruled the court. 

Emory 3-2 (25-27, 24-26, 25-19, 25-12, 16-14)

The match against Emory, however, was a much closer contest. The score remained dead even throughout the first set, with neither team leading by more than 2 points. Ultimately, the Eagles edged the Bears out, 25-27.

While Emory took a 9-1 lead to start the second set, the Bears roared back with an even more dominant 11-0 stretch, propelled by a 10-point serving run by junior libero Ellie Laird. 

“Even when we were down by eight points, our morale stayed high as everyone genuinely believed we could turn it around,” wrote Buckley. “Our defense was gritty and our hitters were putting the ball away.”

Ultimately, the Bears went on to lose by another close margin, 24-26. But their determination and high morale paid off moving forward.

WashU dominated the next two sets. In the third, they took an early lead and coasted to a 25-19 victory. And while the fourth set started even, the Bears finished with an impressive 9-2 stretch to win by the largest margin of the match, 25-12.

The fifth set, however, was another close contest, with WashU and Emory tying at 12, 13, and 14. However, the Eagles ultimately cracked under the pressure, and WashU took the match point on an Emory attack error to win 16-14.

The Bears eclipsed the Eagles in every offensive category, blocks, and digs. Oyewole led WashU’s attack with a career-high 28 kills. Both Oyewole and Buckley were named UAA athletes of the week following their impressive performances.

But beyond individual successes, the match against Emory marked a historic victory for WashU. The last time the Bears beat the Eagles dates back nearly eight years to Nov. 4, 2017, when they won the conference title. Looking ahead to this year’s tournament, Sunday’s victory proves that the Bears are ready to take on the UAA’s best and come out on top.

Before then, the Bears will try to finish the regular season strong against three non-conference opponents: Greenville University on Nov. 5 and both DePauw University and Millikin University on Nov. 8.