Brian Benton | Student Life

Sophomore Jackie Nelligan (13) and senior Meghan Byrne (4) team up for a block attempt against Carnegie Mellon University on Oct. 19. Nelligan and Byrne each earned All-UAA honors for their play this season.

Outlook:

What has been a disappointing season thus far for Washington University’s volleyball team can be salvaged with a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. But if the No. 11 Bears fail to win their regional and advance to the national quarterfinals, it will be their third straight year of elimination in the first weekend—the first such occurrence in program history.

This Weekend:

It would be hard to imagine a tougher road to the second weekend of postseason play. Wash. U.’s first-round opponent, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, took the Bears to five sets when the teams played in October, with the Red and Green winning the final set 16-14.

If the Bears beat Whitewater again, they will likely face No. 5 Elmhurst College, the host of the match. Elmhurst defeated Wash. U. in five sets in the Field House Sept. 28. In that match, the Red and Green could not capitalize on two match point opportunities, and Elmhurst took the fifth set 18-16.

Waiting in the third round, barring a major upset, is No. 2 Hope College, a team whose only losses this season came at the hands of national No. 1 Calvin College. Hope defeated the Bears in four sets earlier this season; the 25-10 first set signified the Bears’ worst single-set loss since Division III switched to 25-point sets in 2008.

Top Players:

Meghan Byrne (senior outside hitter), Caroline Dupont (freshman middle hitter), Jackie Nelligan (sophomore middle hitter)

Byrne, a second-team All-UAA selection, is the seventh four-time all-conference honoree in program history. Her play has been inconsistent this season, but she showed her value to the team by missing the first Elmhurst match—during which Wash. U. struggled to hit from the outside—due to injury.

Dupont and Nelligan, both first-team All-UAA selections, have been the Bears’ most effective hitters this season. They each rank in the top six in the conference in hitting percentage and blocks, and in the team’s matches against Whitewater and Elmhurst earlier this season, the middles were Wash. U.’s best attacking options.

Keys for Victory:

Keep serves in play—In recent matches, the Red and Green have gifted their opponents with costly service errors. In losses last weekend, the Bears gave Emory University a free point to win the second set and squandered a match point opportunity against Carnegie Mellon University with a poor serve. Against the high-caliber opponents they will play this week, Wash. U. cannot afford to surrender such free points.

Vary the attack—In the Bears’ best win this season, a five-set thriller over then-No. 4 Emory, the team’s attack was diverse and kept the defense off-balance by switching the sets from middles to pin hitters. Returning to this varied attacking plan would counter any blockers keying in on Dupont and Nelligan in transition.