Sunday, September 6
St. Louis, MO
11:00 AM PT | 1:00 PM CT
UC Santa Cruz Athletics
2-2,0-0CAC
0
at
3
Washington University in St. Louis
3-1,0-0UAA
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UC Santa Cruz | 17 | 18 | 19 | 0 |
| WashU | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Women’s Volleyball End the Bear Invite 2-1 With Loss to No. 14 Washington University in St. Louis
9/6/2026 3:35:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
ST. LOUIS, Mo – The UC Santa Cruz women's volleyball team closed out the Bear Invite in a loss to No. 14 Washington University in St. Louis in three sets (25-17, 25-18, 25-19). Kate Lau led in three statistical categories for the Banana Slugs and totaled nine kills, 11 digs, and three service aces. Margo Melgoza added 24 assists, and Maddie Marshall recorded three blocks in the matchup. Up next, UC Santa Cruz will face off Willamette University to begin their first of four contests in the Whittier Classic on Sept. 11 at 10:00am.
How It Happened
UC Santa Cruz took a 4-1 lead to open the matchup from early kills by Lau, Charlotte Skulte, and Olivia Phillips. Offensive errors by the Banana Slugs allowed the Bears to steal the lead at 7-6 in four straight points. A kill by Marshall tied things back up, but another error for the Banana Slugs gave Washington University the lead once again. UCSC surged ahead on a 5-0 run to take a 15-13 lead halfway through the set, taking advantage of the Bear's errors and two service aces by Lau. Momentum swung back to Washington University as the Bears once again responded with a run of their own, giving them a lead to hold onto the rest of the set as they closed with seven straight points.
Set two began with small runs by both teams as Washington University took an early lead that UC Santa Cruz tied at five apiece, supported by kills from Melgoza and Skulte. Six straight points by the Bears put their lead to 11-5. The Banana Slugs strung together pairs of scoring runs and one 4-0 run in the remainder of the set to get late points, but Washington University's early lead proved too high to come back from as they took take set two.
UCSC took the first point of set three, but the Bears took an early 5-1 lead on a handful of kills and a service ace to get out in front of the Banana Slugs. UCSC challenged the Bears at a 7-7 tie with kills from Riley Sawyer, Lau, and Marshall. After the Bears took the next point, back-to-back kills from Marshall and Lau put Banana Slugs in front at 9-8. Lau had two more kills to tie the set both at 10-10 and 11-11. The last lead for the Banana Slugs came at 13-12 on a Gabia Paliulis kill, but the Bears went on a 13-6 run to close out the set and the contest.
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How It Happened
UC Santa Cruz took a 4-1 lead to open the matchup from early kills by Lau, Charlotte Skulte, and Olivia Phillips. Offensive errors by the Banana Slugs allowed the Bears to steal the lead at 7-6 in four straight points. A kill by Marshall tied things back up, but another error for the Banana Slugs gave Washington University the lead once again. UCSC surged ahead on a 5-0 run to take a 15-13 lead halfway through the set, taking advantage of the Bear's errors and two service aces by Lau. Momentum swung back to Washington University as the Bears once again responded with a run of their own, giving them a lead to hold onto the rest of the set as they closed with seven straight points.
Set two began with small runs by both teams as Washington University took an early lead that UC Santa Cruz tied at five apiece, supported by kills from Melgoza and Skulte. Six straight points by the Bears put their lead to 11-5. The Banana Slugs strung together pairs of scoring runs and one 4-0 run in the remainder of the set to get late points, but Washington University's early lead proved too high to come back from as they took take set two.
UCSC took the first point of set three, but the Bears took an early 5-1 lead on a handful of kills and a service ace to get out in front of the Banana Slugs. UCSC challenged the Bears at a 7-7 tie with kills from Riley Sawyer, Lau, and Marshall. After the Bears took the next point, back-to-back kills from Marshall and Lau put Banana Slugs in front at 9-8. Lau had two more kills to tie the set both at 10-10 and 11-11. The last lead for the Banana Slugs came at 13-12 on a Gabia Paliulis kill, but the Bears went on a 13-6 run to close out the set and the contest.
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Players Mentioned
OH/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's VolleyballTeam Stats
UCSC
WU
Kills
32
38
Errors
17
15
Attempts
111
92
Hitting %
.135
.250
Points
40.0
53.0
Assists
26
34
Aces
3
8
Blocks
5
7
Game Leaders
Kills
9
Aces
3
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
3
Aces
0
Blocks
1
