The top-ranked Washington University women’s volleyball team didn’t leave much room for suspense in its victories this weekend at the Washington University/Asics National Invitational.

The matches were full of dominant play from the Bears, who defeated four teams ranked in the national top 20—No. 18 St. Olaf College, No. 10 Carthage College, No. 9 Ohio Northern University and No. 7 Wittenberg University—in four straight set victories to win the invitational. Wash. U. improved to 10-0 on the young season.

“They were our best competition so far, and I’m surprised [at] how well we came together and played really well,” sophomore Drew Hargrave said. “I knew we could do it, but we hadn’t played this consistently so far, so I was really happy with how we played.”

The Bears made last year’s 0-3 loss to Ohio Northern in this same tournament a distant memory, jumping out to an early lead in all three sets and only trailing for one point in the entire match for a 25-16, 25-21, 25-17 win. Freshman Meghan Byrne led the team with 11 kills, while junior Lauren Budde (eight kills), Hargrave and sophomore Madeleine Shroyer (seven kills), and freshman Tessa Blood (six kills) led a solid offensive attack.

After the dispatch of Ohio Northern, the Bears struggled out of the gate against Wittenberg, trailing by as much as 13-19 in the first set. A rally highlighted by an ace from Blood and a block by freshman Emily Tulloch tied the set at 20. Wash. U. proceeded to take the set, win another close one and pull away in the third to win the match 25-23, 25-23, 25-17. Byrne was superb from the outside, with 18 kills and no attack errors for a .514 hitting percentage on the match.

On Friday, the Bears began round-robin play with a 25-16, 25-17, 25-9 win over St. Olaf. Byrne and Budde provided most of the offensive highlights, with 11 kills each. The team as a whole hit well, registering a .354 attacking percentage for the match. Sophomore Marilee Fisher tallied four aces to go with her 34 assists and five digs.

The Bears closed out Friday night by defeating Carthage 25-20, 25-17, 25-14. In a rematch of last season’s NCAA regional final, Wash. U. overcame some sloppy hitting (.164) and used solid back row play from Budde (19 digs), sophomore Kelly Pang (27 digs) and freshman Tanya Marvi (12 digs). Hargrave led the offense with 12 kills and three aces while hitting .478.

While the Bears recognized their triumphs on the weekend—four sweeps and three all-tournament players (Pang, Fisher, and Byrne)—they are still trying to improve.

“We have to take it as what are the little things we do wrong, every game, and we need to improve upon them in practice,” Budde said. “We just need to stay energized and stay pumped up for next week.”

And next weekend, in the DePauw University Invitational in Greencastle, Ind., the Bears will face No. 2 Juniata College, whom the Red and Green defeated twice last year, the second time being a 3-1 victory in the national championship match.

“They’re really a great team. They have a really smart, talented team,” head coach Rich Luenemann said. “We’re not looking past anyone, but we’re really excited about a chance to play another nationally ranked team.”

The Bears begin play in the DePauw University Invitational on Friday against Haverford College at 4 p.m. EST.