CHICAGO – Sunday's rivalry match lived up to its billing, as the University of Chicago volleyball team battled Washington University – St. Louis in a five-set thriller at the University Athletic Association (UAA) Round Robin #1. The No. 13-ranked Maroons came up clutch and emerged with a 3-2 victory over the No. 19-ranked Bears.  

UChicago improved to 7-3 on the season and 2-1 in the UAA. The Bears fell to 7-4 (1-2 UAA).

Playing on their home court in the Ratner Athletics Center, the Maroons controlled the opening two sets of the match. A 7-1 streak midway through the opening game put UChicago in the driver's seat and the hosts rode a hot-swinging offense to a 25-18 win. The second set was more lopsided – the Maroons opened with an 8-2 lead and closed with a 9-2 rush to win 25-11.

The third set was back-and-forth all the way. Trailing 24-22, WashU ultimately fended off three match points and captured the set 27-25. The Bears extended the match even further with a decisive fourth set win, 25-12.

It all came down to a nail-biting fifth set. The Bears possessed a match point at 14-13, but junior Ellie Alden's kill evened the score. A few points later, consecutive spikes by first-year Maggie McInerney and sophomore Ella Mao closed out a 17-15 Maroon triumph.

Both teams hit a matching .267 in the match and equaled each other with 6.5 team blocks.

McInerney produced a double-double with 15 kills and 14 digs. Mao also concluded with 15 kills while adding eight digs. Alden was efficient with 11 kills, four blocks and a .417 hitting percentage. First-year Cami Cox contributed seven kills and three blocks.

Sophomore setter Maya Patel set a new career-high with 51 assists. She also served four aces and collected 10 digs. Senior libero Temilade Adekoya also set a new career best with 25 digs to go with four assists.

NEXT MATCHES:

• Friday, Sept. 24 @ 5:00 PM – UChicago vs. Millikin University (at Stevens Point, Wis.)
• Friday, Sept. 24 @ 7:00 PM – UChicago at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point