Washington University in St. Louis’ second-ranked volleyball team swept 19th-ranked New York University and 13th-ranked Emory University, 3-0, Saturday to win the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship in Pittsburgh, Pa. The Bears, who have won 18 conference titles since the UAA’s inception 20 years ago, improved to 33-1 overall (12-0 UAA) and earned the automatic bid to the 2006 NCAA Championship.
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The Bears jumped ahead 15-8 in the first game against Emory to force a timeout. WU went on to win the opening game, 30-20, with the help of strong blocking. In game two, Washington U. jumped out to a 7-1 lead. The Eagles rallied before WU took the second frame 31-29. The Red and Green trailed by two points halfway through the third game before bursting ahead 25-21. After the Eagles called for time, they rallied and held a game point at 29-28. Junior middle hitter Emilie Walk, though, registered one of her five kills in the game, tipping past the Eagles defense to tie the score. She recorded another tip-kill to give WU a 31-30 edge, and the Bears closed out the match 32-30.
“Our blocking tends to make our opponents hit shots they don’t want to take,” said WU head coach Rich Luenemann. “The diversity of our offense is also one of our biggest strengths.”
Walk led the Bears with 10 kills and three blocks, and Smith contributed seven kills and nine blocks. With those nine blocks, senior middle hitter Whitney Smith became the seventh Bear to surpass the career 400-block plateau; she also has a UAA-best 194 blocks in 2006, good for the second-most in WU single-season history.
“One of the many goals we have each season is winning the UAA Championship,” Luenemann said. “Recapturing the UAA Championship is huge. We hope this leads to more success as we continue in the NCAA Tournament.”
WU opened the day with a 30-11, 30-25, 30-12 win against New York. The Bears jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the first game, capped off by a tip-kill by junior outside hitter Kathy Leeper. The Violets called for time, but the Bears went on to finish the first game on a 21-8 run. Junior outside hitter Haleigh Spencer paced the Bears with four kills in the game.
NYU jumped out to a 5-1 edge in the second frame before Washington U. rallied to knot the score at 11-11. The Bears then took the lead and held on to win the game. As it did in game one, WU put together a strong blocking performance to seal the sweep in the third stanza. Smith led the Red and Green with 10 total blocks, the fourth time this season Smith has recorded at least 10 blocks in a match. Junior right side attacker Ellen Bruegge added seven kills and six blocks, while Walk posted eight kills and five blocks in the middle. With her five blocks, Walk became only the sixth player in program history with 400-plus career blocks.
Washington U., which has won 25 consecutive matches, returns to action Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 9-11, when it will host the NCAA Central Region Championship. Regional draws and schedules will be announced Monday, Nov. 6.