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WashU Sweeps Webster 3-0 in NCAA First Round
St. Louis, Mo., November 11, 2011 – The No. 2 ranked Washington University in St. Louis volleyball team advanced to the second round of the2011 NCAA Division III Championship with a 25-17, 25-9, 25-17 win over Webster University on Friday night at the WU Field House in St. Louis, Mo.
Washington University, which improved to 33-1, takes on No. 15 ranked and University Athletic Association (UAA) rival University of Chicago in the NCAA second round on Saturday at 6 p.m. The Maroons edged No. 21 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater 25-22, 23-25, 25-14, 25-16 in its first-round match.
“It will be the third time we have played Chicago, which will make it more difficult especially with so much on the line,” said Washington University interim coach Lisa Orlet. “We need to stay focused and play our game. We have to play as if it’s the first time we are playing them and just go for it.”
In the other two opening round matches, No. 16 Elmhurst College defeated Cornell College 25-17, 20-25, 18-25, 25-21, 15-10 and No. 9 Carthage College swept Edgewood College 25-13, 25-12, 25-16. Elmhurst and Carthage, both members of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW), will face off at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Webster, who captured their ninth St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) championship, ends its season with a 19-13 record. The Gorloks hit .032 (18-15-93) in the loss and had five reception errors.
Sophomore Meghan Byrne had the hot hand in the first set leading the Bears with five kills and a service ace. A kill by Byrne put the Bears out in front 14-9, and then a kill by sophomore Kaia Schwartz pushed the lead to 17-11 and forced Webster to call a timeout. Byrne pushed the advantage to 22-12 following a string of four-straight service points, and then junior Drew Hargrave closed out the first set with her fourth kill of the set.
A fast start by Washington University in the second set forced a timeout by Webster head coach Merry Graf with the Gorloks trailing 11-5. The Bears pushed the advantage following two-straight kills by Schwartz to make it 16-5 and forced another timeout. Washington U. closed out the second set hitting .577 (17-2-26), as Hargrave had five kills and Schwartz added four.
Webster gained some momentum early in the third set, recording the first three points of the set. A kill by Byrne gave Washington U. the lead for good at 5-4 as the Bears won their 30th match this season by a 3-0 margin.
The Bears hit .304 (51-17-112) for the match and had five service aces. Byrne (11 kills), Schwartz (11 kills) and senior Lauren Budde (10 kills) each recorded double-figure kills for the Bears. Junior Marliee Fisher dished out 43 assists in the win, while junior Kelly Pang (14 digs) and Budde (12 digs) led the defensive effort.
“Marilee (Fisher) is having a great time running the
offense because she has so manyoption,” Orlet said. “I
think that’s what makes us difficult to defend against
because you have no idea who is going to attack at any given
time.”
Bear Notebook: The Bears are 20-0 all-time against
Webster … Washington U. picked up its 90th NCAA Tournament
victory in school history,second most in NCAA Division III history
… The win for the Bears was their ninth straight, and
improved their overall record to 23-0 at home in 2011 …
Washington U. is 83-6 at home the last four years.
