University of Washington
Arizona State
Huskies Head Home With 3-0 Win Over Sun Devils
September 25, 2011 | Volleyball
Sept. 25, 2011
TEMPE, Ariz. - A staunch defensive effort helped the Husky volleyball team register a straight set victory over Arizona State this afternoon in front of 733 fans at the Wells Fargo Arena. The fourth-ranked Huskies had fourteen blocks, their most in conference play, and held ASU to .000 percent hitting in a 25-13, 25-20, 25-13 win.
Washington improves to 11-1 on the season and 3-1 in Pac-12 play, and successfully navigated the tough Arizona road trip with a pair of victories. Now the Huskies have a big homestand coming up, as they host the Oregon schools and Utah and Colorado over the next two weeks.
"We did what we were supposed to do which was come to the desert and get two (wins)," McLaughlin said. "Now the most important thing is just getting a bit of rest and having a good week of training. We need a sharp focus on our emphases in order to improve. We don't want to let the same old stuff happen, so we'll look to upgrade."
Senior Lauren Barfield had nine rejections, two solo and seven assists, to lead the way up at net. Fellow senior Bianca Rowland had eight kills (hitting .353), three service aces, and four blocks for a team-best 14.0 points. Freshman Krista Vansant had a team-best 10 kills, and junior Kylin Muñoz hit .500 with seven kills and had four blocks of her own. Arizona State dropped to 4-9 and 0-4 in the Pac-12 with the loss.
McLaughlin thought the Huskies "blocked well, so we put some pressure on them there. We had consistent passing the whole night. Evan (Sanders) set some good balls in game three and she had the quick going. That was her best game as a setter."
The Sun Devils took an early 4-2 lead in the first set, but an ace by Bianca Rowland and a block by Vansant and Barfield put the Huskies up, 5-4. Vansant got the Huskies their first significant lead on serve with a 5-0 run up to 11-7 before missing one. Muñoz had a solo roof and a kill during the run. Muñoz got the service back with a kill and then Orlandini sent in an ace for a 13-8 edge. A block assist from Muñoz and Rowland made it 15-8 Dawgs before one more service miss gave ASU a point. The Sun Devils took their second timeout after a couple errors had the Huskies up 18-11. But UW had another five point surge left late in the set, with Rowland providing a kill and her second ace, and Barfield getting a solo block and a tip kill out of the middle. That took UW to set point, and Vansant got the final swing from Sanders for the 25-13 set win. The Huskies had six blocks in the set compared to one for ASU, holding the Sun Devils to -.067, and Muñoz had three kills on four swings.
Washington had to overcome a six-point deficit in the second set. Muñoz put away an overpass and Rowland killed one on a slide for a 2-1 lead in the second set, but the Sun Devils had their best run with five straight points to take a 6-2 lead and the Huskies called their first timeout. Muñoz had a tough swing on the left to finally end the run, then ASU clipped the antenna for a 4-7 score. But the Sun Devils used another three point run to push the lead to 12-6 and UW had to call time again. Vansant got a kill on the right side and then Barfield and Muñoz built a block, with another block by Ross and Barfield on the very next point to cut the deficit in half. The teams traded points until Rowland pushed one deep and off the defense to get it to 13-15 and ASU used its first timeout. Rowland got a big block in the middle out of the break to cut it to one, then Holford planted a serve right on the back line for an ace and the teams were even. ASU pushed one long for a 16-15 Husky lead. Holford continued serving the big run and another rejection from Rowland plus an ASU swing into the net had the lead at 19-15 before ASU ended the 8-0 Husky run. Rowland had another kill and an ace to make it 22-16 but the Sun Devils rallied with three straight points before hitting wide. Vansant then ended things with a kill for set point, and then went back and served an ace for the 25-20 win.
A 3-0 run in the third set gave the Huskies a 5-3 lead. Vansant started it with a kill and then Barfield had a block followed by a an ASU swing into the net. From the right side, Vansant put one off the defense for a 7-5 edge. The second ace of the night for Orlandini and a quick middle kill from Rowland earned UW a 10-6 lead. Sanders and Rowland teamed for a block and a five point edge at 12-7. A pancake dig by the Huskies fooled the Sun Devils into stopping play and UW sent it to the line for a kill. Rowland then hit crosscourt on the slide for a 14-8 edge and the Sun Devils called time. But out of the break, Holford put an ace off ASU and into the stands, and Vansant capped a good rally with a big kill. The run hit six points at 18-8 after a Sun Devils miscue before Holford finally missed serve. ASU called its last timeout after Rowland dug a ball straight over the net and down on the other side for a point and a 20-9 UW lead. Ross hit the back line and then Barfield and Muñoz combined for the block as UW neared the finish. Barfield terminated from the middle for match point at 24-12. Ross took the right side set and put it off the block and out for the win, 25-13. Washington hit a match-best .370 in the final set, with Vansant rolling to five kills on nine swings without an error.
Next week the Dawgs are back at home, and will face current Pac-12 leader Oregon on Friday night at 7 p.m. in a match that will also be televised live on UWTV.
