OSHKOSH, Wis. – The University of Dubuque women's volleyball team fell 3-0 (26-24, 25-23, 25-17) to Washington University in St. Louis in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon. The #22 Spartans' storybook season concluded with a 26-5 record.

Alexis Kammerer began the first set with two consecutive aces. Megan Cooley registered a kill to help the Spartans build a 4-0 lead. The Spartans and Bears traded points, but a block by Halee Clare and Caitlin Jensen pushed the lead back to four. The Bears clawed back and eventually tied the set at ten. Kills from Clare and Cooley gave the Spartans a 15-12 lead that forced the Bears to use their first timeout. Out of the timeout, Jensen and Delainey Winkel blocked a Bears attack and both teams kept the set close until Payton Uptagraft blocked an attack and the Spartans held a two-point lead. Kammerer added her third ace as the Spartans built their lead to five. Both teams traded errors late in the set, but a Winkel attack was blocked, and the Bears took a 25-24 lead. After a Spartans timeout, the Bears captured the first set 26-24. Cooley tallied four kills, and Bechen added ten digs in the first set.

The second set began with both teams trading points before Kammerer served another ace and the Spartans took an early lead. Cooley continued to find holes in the Bears' defense and a block from Glennon helped hold a narrow lead. The Bears tied the set at 11 apiece but Bechen registered a dig attack kill to give the Spartans the lead. An ace by Glennon and a block by Uptagraft helped build a slim lead. The Bears tied the set again and head coach Karrah Davis used a timeout. The Spartans took a 19-17 lead and the Bears used their first timeout. WashU won the next four points and the Spartans used their second timeouts. The Spartans survived two set points and the Bears called a timeout, leading 24-23. The Bears won the next point and the set 25-23.

The Bears won the first three points of the third set before Glennon registered a kill to stop the run. Winkel added two kills but the deficit remained large for the early part of the set. Kammerer's fifth ace and kills by Glennon helped spur a short comeback but the Bears continued to build their lead. WashU maintained a six-point lead for the middle part of the set. Davis used her first timeout with a score of 19-13. The Spartans used their final timeout with the score 23-16. The Bears took the final set by a score of 25-17.

Uptagraft and Cooley led Spartans' hitters with seven kills each. Each had a solo block and Uptagraft had two block assists. Glennon had six kills and 16 digs, while Winkel also finished with six kills. Bechen led the team with 20 digs and Kammerer led with 15 assists in the loss. Kammerer also had five key aces in the contest.

Over the course of the season, the Spartans saw six players win conference awards, with two earning major awards. Winkel earned AVCA Region IX Player of the Year, while Bechen and Glennon were both named AVCA Region IX First-Team. While the Spartans won't play again this season, they will eagerly await the announcement of All-Regional and All-American teams.