In a busy weekend of WashU sports, both the women’s tennis and volleyball teams hit the road for the first time this season. Tennis opened their fall season in St. Charles, Missouri, while No. 13 volleyball flew to Atlanta to compete in the team’s first away tournament of the season.

Women’s tennis

The women’s tennis team kicked off its fall matches at the Lindenwood Invite on Sept. 11 and 12. 

WashU defeated Division I Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) 12-3 and Lindenwood University, also D-I, 9-5. Fall matches do not technically count toward the team’s rankings, allowing teams to play opponents outside their division. The Bears ended the weekend with 15 overall singles wins and six in one-set doubles. 

WashU finished its 2025-26 season as both the NCAA D-III and the University Athletic Association (UAA) conference runner-up. Additionally, two doubles pairs of All-Americans made it to the NCAA D-III Individual Semifinals: the then-ranked No. 1 team of then-junior Eleanor Archer and then-sophomore Caitlin Bui, and the No. 10 team of then-senior Eliana Hanna and then-sophomore Ally Lin. With Hanna now graduated, Lin needs a new doubles partner. 

Over the weekend, Lin played with junior Sam Slowik, beating SIUE 6-3. Lin then paired up with graduate student Leila Epstein to defeat Lindenwood 6-2. These fall matches will be crucial for Lin to find a new permanent partner before conference play starts in the spring. 

In singles play, all three first-years secured their first collegiate match victories on Saturday against Lindenwood. Cassan Li won three sets (6-4, 4-6, 10-4), and Emilie Lew and Mia Yin triumphed in two (6-3, 6-2 and 6-4, 6-3, respectively).  

Coming up, the Bears will host D-II’s University of Missouri–St. Louis Tritons on Saturday, Sept. 19, at 3 p.m. for their home opener. 

Bears huddle during tournament play (Hannah Dorval | Staff Photographer).

Volleyball

The No. 13 volleyball team competed in the East-West Classic in Atlanta on Sept. 11 and 12. The Bears split the weekend, falling to No. 2 Colby College before defeating No. 25 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) Colleges and No. 12 East Texas Baptist University.

The Bears lost their first game against the Colby Mules in a back-and-forth five set match. After dropping the first set, WashU took the second and third sets, taking a 2-1 lead. The Mules dominated the fourth set, 25-11, forcing the game into a winner-take-all fifth set. The final set was closely contested, with the score tied at 13-13. The Mules claimed the last two points, winning the set and the match.

Immediately following their loss, the Bears rebounded with a 3-1 win against the CMS Spartans. WashU started off the game dominating, taking the first two sets. CMS won the third set narrowly, 25-22, but WashU quickly halted a potential CMS run as they took the fourth set to avoid another five set game.

For the second game in a row, sophomore Abby Krause had a career high 19 kills and a double-double, meaning she reached double figures in two statistical categories. First-year Anya Mikhailenko also had her second double-double of the day with a remarkable 50 assists and 17 digs. Senior Ellie Laird led the Bears in digs this game, with 23. 

The Bears finished their weekend with a dominant 3-0 sweep of East Texas Baptist University. Although it was a sweep, each set was a battle, with scores of 25-17, 25-20, and 25-20.

Mikhailenko secured her third double-double of the weekend, and her fourth in a row, with 34 assists and 10 digs. As a first-year, she has proved that she will be an asset for the Bears this season.

The Bears will travel to San Antonio for the Trinity University (Texas) Tiger Classic. WashU will take on No. 18 Johns Hopkins University and the University of St. Thomas on Sept. 18, and No. 3 Trinity on Sept. 19. The Bears have now advanced their record to 5-2 but are yet to face any opponents in the UAA.