University of Washington
Washington State
Huskies Sweep Cougars in Pac-12 Opener
September 25, 2014 | Volleyball
SEATTLE – The defending Pac-12 volleyball champions took the first step on another long conference journey tonight, as the fourth-ranked Huskies swept rival Washington State, 25-21, 25-18, 25-15, at Alaska Airlines Arena. Senior All-American Krista Vansant led the Dawgs with 14 kills as the Huskies posted an impressive .350 attack percentage for the night.
Washington (12-0, 1-0 Pac-12) completed a six-match homestand with the win and won its 23rd consecutive match at Alaska Airlines Arena, with 2,388 fans on hand plus 790 students on the first day of classes at UW.
Freshman Tia Scambray (12 kills, .611 attack percentage) and junior Lianna Sybeldon (8 kills, 6 blocks, .538 attack percentage) provided key support to Vansant who hit .303 with eight digs and four blocks. Redshirt freshman Bailey Tanner led the team with 19 assists, and junior Katy Beals had 18 with eight digs. The Huskies held the Cougars (9-4, 0-1 Pac-12) to a .143 attack mark, and UW had a big edge in kills, 46 to 32, aces, 7 to 2, and blocks, 11.0 to 4.0.
“The win is good, opening Pac-12 and beating what I think is a good team,” said Head Coach Jim McLaughlin. “My favorite part was game one and it's tight, and we had some extra effort plays and turned the corner on it. Then we really did a nice job serving and passing. We stabilized, and our defense got better every game. More assignment-sound, weren't jumping on things we didn't need to jump on, and we got some good blocks and some good digs.”
Krista was dug once, but brought the heat again to complete the SWEEP! Dawgs win their Pac-12 opener over WSU! http://t.co/6lbIUUOe8a
— UW Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) September 25, 2014
The Cougars earned the first point before Kaleigh Nelson hit for a right side kill on the second rally of the night. The first block of the night from Sybeldon and Jones made it 4-4. Cassie Strickland hammered her first serve of the night straight to the court for an ace, as UW cracked open a two-point lead. The teams swapped points until Vansant put away a Beals set in transition for a 10-7 edge. Scambray bailed the Huskies out with a crafty shot from way outside the pin that squeezed through for a kill and a 12-9 lead. The Cougars got it back to a one-point gap, but Sybeldon crushed her first swing of the night down to the court to make it 15-13 at the media timeout. A big rejection from Vansant and Wade out of the break made it 16-13. Vansant landed two more kills, one from the left and one on a combo as the teams continued to swap points. Scambray tapped down an overdig to make it 19-16 and the Cougars called time. Sybeldon tipped for a kill and then teamed with Scambray for a rejection to push the lead to 21-17 and WSU took its second timeout. The Cougars put together back to back points but then Bailey Tanner saved a tight pass with a one-hand set up to Sybeldon who killed it. Scambray then followed with an ace for a 23-19 lead. Vansant took advantage of an overdig, slamming it crosscourt for set point at 24-20. After a service error, the Huskies closed it out, 25-21, with a block from Vansant. Scambray's five kills led the Dawgs in the first frame, as she hit .500. Washington hit .257 to the .139 of WSU.
An ace from Melanie Wade gave the Huskies a 2-1 lead in the second set, and her next serve produced another WSU error. Another ace from Wade extended the run and then Scambray had a transition kill up the line. After another Cougar miscue, WSU called timeout with the Dawgs up 6-1. The Cougars got a kill to snap the 6-0 run, but Sybeldon fired right back off a Beals quick set. Sybeldon then teamed with freshman Courtney Schwan for a stuff and an 8-2 lead. Two more kills from Sybeldon, one from her left hand and another from her more traditional right made it 10-3. WashingtonState used a 3-0 run to shrink the lead to 11-7 and the Dawgs took their first timeout of the night. Vansant rolled one over and down out of the break to stop the bleeding. Wade tipped a slide for a kill for 13-9. Some more points scored on the Wade serve helped the Huskies gather momentum, as Nelson added two kills for 16-10. Scambray rotated to the left and rocketed two straight points to rebuild the lead to 18-11 and force the Cougars back to a timeout. A kill from Schwan was followed by a dive-bombing serve for an ace by Scambray to make it 21-12. The Cougars earned three straight points to creep back into it, but Vansant took a set well off the net and hit off the defense for a kill and set point at 24-17. On their first swing at it, Nelson slammed one to the court from the right to end it, 25-18. Washington revved up to a .424 attack percentage in the frame, with WSU at .233. Sybeldon and Scambray were both a perfect 4-for-4 on their swings in the set.
The Cougars showed they weren't going away without a fight in the third set, taking the first four points to force a Husky timeout. A block got the Dawgs on the board in the third, and then Wade served the Dawgs on a 3-0 run to get even at 5-5. One Cougar kill was followed by another 3-0 Husky burst as the Dawgs got their first lead of the set. Scambray had a hammer of a kill and then Tanner dropped an ace short, followed by an offspeed Schwan kill on the run. Sybeldon and Vansant put away Tanner sets and then another Vansant kill put the Cougars into a timeout with the Huskies now up 12-8, on a 12-4 run since the early deficit. The break did not stem UW's momentum, as Wade and Vansant teamed for a block, Wade added a kill, and then Strickland capped her service run with an ace to double-up WSU at 16-8. Wade continued her hot streak with two more kills for a 19-11 edge, and then Scambray pummeled one that was deflected high into the seats, and Nelson finished a Vansant set for 21-11. Vansant's 13th kill got the Huskies to match point at 24-14. On a long rally, Vansant crushed one shot that was dug high into the air, but Tanner set Vansant again on the next attempt, and she hit the same shot even harder and this time it couldn't be controlled, as UW wrapped up the match, 25-15.
The Huskies will take a quick trip down to the Bay Area now, facing the Cal Golden Bears on Friday night at 8 p.m. in Berkeley. Washington will not play at Stanford but return home to host the L.A. schools next week.
