#1 beats #2, Tommies sweep Blugolds, CSS upsets UWO

This will be my only post until very late tonight, so I’m going to cram what I can right now. No. 1 Washington (23-0) stayed perfect on the year after a five-set win over No. 2 Emory (17-4) in the UAA showdown we all had circled since schedules were formed. UPDATED: Wash U was without All-America setter Marilee Fisher and All-America libero Kelly Pang.

In today’s other UAA action, No. 23 NYU swept No. 17 Chicago. Chicago went on to beat Case in five. Go here for more UAA results throughout the day.

A day after smoking UW Oshkosh, No. 16 UW-Eau Claire (15-6) got smoked by No. 14 St. Thomas (21-3). Each of UWEC’s six losses have been to teams ranked in the top 14 in the country. UST has now won 16 straight. It’s clear that, besides Wash U, there are no clear leaders among Midwest and Central region teams. The competitive parity runs deep around here, like usual. UPDATED: NAIA Viterbo swept UST to halt the Tommies’ winning streak at 16.

Speaking of Oshkosh and competitive parity, the No. 10 Titans couldn’t escape Duluth and lost in five sets to St. Scholastica. CSS (21-6) won the first two sets handily, but UWO mustered just enough to win two close ones. CSS won Set 5, 15-13. Oshkosh (21-5) swept UW-Superior earlier in the day, but this week UWO has been playing, well, whatever the direct opposite of “in a groove” is. Injuries have played a part in that.

No. 24 Millikin had its 22-match winning streak snapped with yesterday’s 1-1 start to the Fall Classic at Cal Lutheran. The Big Blue now has a two-match losing streak after getting swept by Pomona-Pitzer today. MU is playing Redlands as I type. See the CLU tourney site for more. UPDATED: Make that a losing streak of three after MU (22-5) lost to Redlands in five.

-Ricky Nelson