University of Washington
Oregon State
No. 7 Huskies Top Beavers In Pac-10 Opener
September 24, 2010 | Volleyball
Sept. 24, 2010
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CORVALLIS, Ore. - An impressive all-around effort carried the seventh-ranked Husky volleyball team to a 3-0 sweep at Oregon State tonight in the Pac-10 opener for both teams. Playing in the face of 1,548 fans at Gill Coliseum, Washington (12-0, 1-0 Pac-10) was steady in the big moments, handling the Beavers (7-8, 0-1 Pac-10) by scores of 25-20, 25-23, 25-16.
Senior All-American Kindra Carlson led the offense with 13 kills and fellow senior Becky Perry had a double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs. But several of the biggest swings of the match were provided by sophomore Kylin Muñoz, who had one of her best nights of the season with nine kills and just one error on 21 attempts (.381). Redshirt freshman Jenna Orlandini had a match-high 18 digs, and senior All-American Jenna Hagglund had 35 assists as UW outhit the Beavers, .286-.130.
"Oregon State played well. We had little glitches but in crunch time we settled down and played well, and that's a good sign," said head coach Jim McLaughlin. "We were good in spurts, and just have to be better for a longer period of time. Kylin was the player of the match; she did a good job taking some really tough swings. Jo (Orlandini) did a great job receiving and they served some tough balls. If we get the middle attack going we can upgrade significantly."
Bianca Rowland scored UW's first point of the night but it was the Beavers that grabbed an early 5-2 lead. Two OSU errors and the first kill of the night for Muñoz gave the Huskies a quick three-point run to make it 10-9 Beavers. Down three once again, the Huskies climbed back with six of the next nine points. Kills from Muñoz and Rowland were followed two points later by a rejection from Perry and Hagglund. Perry broke through the defense with another swing, and Carlson followed suit on the next point to tie it up at 15-all, the first tie score since 2-2. The Dawgs took the lead on the next point as Carlson let loose once again, prompting a Beaver timeout. OSU briefly grabbed a one point lead again, but Dunaway, Muñoz, and Carlson alternated kills on another 3-0 run that put UW up to stay at 19-17. Carlson followed another kill with her first ace, and after a Rowland swing gave the Huskies set point, Hagglund and Rowland turned away a Sawatzky swing at net for the 25-20 set win. The Dawgs hit .361 for the frame, led by Carlson, who hit .583 with seven kills on 12 swings, and Muñoz who had four on seven attempts.
The second set would go down to the wire, as the teams swapped leads nine times and were even on 16 occasions. Washington was the first to string as many as three points together, as Dunaway followed up an OSU service error with back-to-back aces for a 9-7 UW lead. But the Beavers came back with four-straight, as UW was thwarted twice by the Beaver block. Muñoz stopped the run with a key kill, and Perry finished the next point to tie things at 12-all. The Huskies fell behind 16-13 and needed their first timeout, but out of the break Perry swooped in for two-straight kills off Hagglund assists, and then Hagglund handcuffed the defense for an ace to tie it back at 16-16 and force an OSU timeout. The trend continued as OSU ran off three in a row to force UW's last timeout, then an ace from Perry punctuated yet another Husky 3-0 run as momentum swung back their way. The Beavers used their last timeout to cool off Perry, but the senior walked back out and hit another ace for a 21-19 lead. Oregon State had another three-point run to take a 22-21 edge, but three Huskies (Muñoz, Dunaway, Carlson) stopped the streak with a big rejection, and Carlson backed that up with a kill to take back the lead. At 23-23, OSU's Camille Saxton missed wide, and on set point, Muñoz banged one through the OSU block and down for the 25-23 win. Washington was outhit, .185-.125 in the set, but five aces helped make up the difference. Perry had five kills in the frame.
Washington gained control of the third set with a 5-0 run behind three Perry kills and a Dunaway solo roof, opening a 9-5 edge. Consecutive Carlson kills and a triple block from Muñoz, Rowland, and Carlson was then followed by another successful Muñoz attack, and the second OSU timeout with the Dawgs up 14-9. The Huskies opened a seven-point lead at 16-9 after consecutive Beaver miscues, and then broke it open fully with another 4-0 run with Carlson on the service line. The Colorado native ripped an ace, then hammered her 13th kill of the night for a 20-11 advantage. A rocket crosscourt from Perry brought up match point, and Dunaway found open space on the next point to end things 25-16. Washington made just one error in the third frame, hitting .351 with Perry's five kills leading the way.
Washington will be back in action tomorrow night at 7 p.m., visiting Oregon's McArthur Court for a final time to face the 15th-ranked Ducks.
