University of Washington
Brigham Young
Huskies Prevail At No. 10 BYU In Five-Set Thriller
September 06, 2014 | Volleyball
PROVO, Utah – The Washington volleyball program has accomplished quite a bit over the years, but one thing it had never done was taken down Brigham Young, coming in to tonight's top-10 showdown winless in twelve tries. The fifth-ranked Huskies made history out of that bit of trivia, overcoming the 10th-ranked Cougars and a raucous crowd of 3,017 fans crowded into the Smith Fieldhouse in a see-saw five setter. Washington (4-0) took off in the final set to cap a 25-18, 22-25, 25-21, 21-25, 15-10 victory, snapping a 26-match home winning streak for BYU that reached back to November of 2011.
BYU (3-1) was the only team that UW had played more than five times and never defeated. It took a big team effort to get it done, as four different Huskies had double-figure kills, led by the 25 of senior Krista Vansant who added 15 digs for her first double-double of the season. Senior Kaleigh Nelson came up big late in the match with four kills in the final set to finish with 12 for the day, with Lianna Sybeldon adding 11 kills and freshman Tia Scambray 10 plus 11 digs for her first career double-double.
The Huskies hit .284 for the match, boosted by a red-hot .611 mark in the final set, while BYU came in at .210 overall. The Dawgs led in kills, 74-61, and blocks with 14.5 to 13.0 for the Cougars. UW had five aces while BYU had three, but the Huskies did hurt themselves with 10 service errors compared to just one for BYU.
Both Husky setters surpassed 30 assists, with redshirt freshman Bailey Tanner posting a career-best 30 and junior Katy Beals setting 32. The Huskies got great production out of the middle, as Sybeldon hit .526 with her 11 kills, and added 10 blocks for the first double-double of her career. Junior Melanie Wade also added seven kills on a .375 attack percentage, an ace and three blocks. Freshman Crissy Jones also made a big contribution with nine kills and seven block assists, both easily season-bests in her fourth college match. Junior Cassie Strickland racked up 19 digs to lead the defense.
“We are going to continue to become a better volleyball team but some of the values we hold each kid accountable to in this program surfaced tonight,” said Head Coach Jim McLaughlin. “In terms of the intangibles and the fight, being willing to compete and do whatever it takes, we passed the test, and it was a good win for the program. There are a lot of lessons that can be learned. BYU is a good team, and we responded in the environment. But we also have to really understand we have a lot of work to do. If we embrace that and keep fighting, we have a shot.”
The Huskies had not earned a true road win at a top-10 team in the nonconference season since two straight wins at No. 6 Hawaii in 2005, although there had not been many chances, just one other such match since that time.
After dropping the fourth set, the Huskies went to their bread and butter in the final frame. Vansant had five kills on six swings in the fifth, but it was Nelson, who had four kills in the first set but then just four combined over the next three sets, that McLaughlin felt was a big difference.
“Kaleigh was huge. She never gave up, and she turned it on at the end. That's her,” McLaughlin said. “She can improve, and she can see the block better than she did today, but she wants to do it, and she's got the drive. The fact that she took her best swings after not playing well says a lot about her as a person. That was one of the defining parts of the match.”
The Huskies gave away the first two points but Lianna Sybeldon put away a Bailey Tanner quick set and then Tia Scambray got an ace off the net for 2-2. Sybeldon killed a very long rally to fire up the Dawgs and then Crissy Jones hit down an overpass off a Cassie Strickland serve for 4-4. Vansant had a couple go just wide but Jones snapped the run with a kill for 5-7 BYU. The Cougars had a stuff against Nelson for a 5-9 lead and UW took its first timeout. The Huskies couldn't finish but BYU could in transition on the next three points to make it 5-12 Cougars. Vansant landed her first kill to snap the run on the next point. Scambray notched a couple big kills from the left and right to keep UW in the hunt at 10-15. Strickland pegged the defense for an ace to make it 12-16. Beals then floated an ace to the back line the BYU mistakenly let pass for 14-17 and the Cougars took their first timeout. Nelson rolled one for a kill to cut the gap to two, and then BYU overpassed the Beals serve and Wade pounced for a kill. Beals then aced the Cougars to even it up at 17-all. Another overpass was tapped down by Nelson as the Dawgs jumped in front for the first time, 18-17. Nelson then stuffed BYU's Tambre Nobles to continue the push, and BYU then swung long, prompting the second Cougars timeout with the Dawgs up 20-17. Out of the break, Nelson delivered another transition kill for 21-17 then the Cougars left a tip short, and Vansant hammered for a transition kill and a 23-17 edge. Another Husky roof got the Dawgs to set point with Beals still at the service line. The Cougars saved the first, finally ending the 12-point Husky run, but Vansant answered on the next point with a right side slam for the 25-18 win. After trailing by as many as seven points, at 5-12, the Huskies won 20 of the final 26 points. Washington zoomed past BYU in hitting percentage late in the set, winding up at .342 with five kills on eight swings coming from Sybeldon and Wade. BYU ended up at .267 after a blistering start. Four aces for UW to none for BYU also powered the comeback.
Washington scored a block from Sybeldon and Jones to start the second set, then added another from Sybeldon and Vansant for a quick 2-0 lead. BYU took four of the next five for a one-point lead, which Vansant erased with a sharp hit for 4-all. A three-point Cougars run got them a lead at 5-8 but Scambray connected from the left to break it. Sybeldon and Scambray had a block to make it 7-8. But BYU answered with another 3-0 run to put UW in a 7-11 hole and the Huskies took timeout. Sybeldon put down a quick set from Beals out of the break to stem the tide, then Sybeldon and Scambray had another roof for 9-11. The teams swapped points, a Vansant kill making it 11-13 Cougars. Wade pounded one down in serve-receive for 13-15, and Nelson got a transition finish to cut it back to one at 14-15. Another offspeed Nelson kill tied it up at 15-all. BYU answered with a dump kill from its setter and then a block of Scambray for 15-17, but the freshman came back on the next point with a finish up the line. Beals missed a connection with Sybeldon for an error and UW was back down three at 16-19 and took its last timeout. UW continued to struggle passing out of the break and gave away two more points before Sybeldon put one down to stop the four point run. A tough Tanner serve led to a poor pass and a UW point, and then Jones and Sybeldon stuffed the strong side Cougar attack to make it 19-21 and force BYU's first timeout. A big dig from Vansant led to an offspeed Scambray kill to cut it to one, and then BYU ended the next rally with an error and UW was back even at 21-all. Tanner missed her next serve to snap the 5-0 Husky run, however a BYU miscue had it even again, 22-22. Hamson sided out for BYU in serve-receive, and then took another point in transition for set point, 22-24. A bad pass on the next BYU serve put UW in trouble and BYU won a scramble above the net to take the set, 25-22, winning the final three points. The Huskies still outhit the Cougars in the second set, .237 to .216, but gave up a couple service errors without picking up any aces, while BYU had an ace and did not miss a serve for the second straight set.
UW began the third set once again with a rejection, Sybeldon getting the lion's share, and then Vansant punched down an overpass for the second point. The Huskies gave an overpass back to BYU to even it up, with Vansant connecting off the block for a 3-2 lead. Vansant's third and fourth kills of the set came consecutively to build a 6-3 lead. Scambray terminated from the left to make it 10-7, Dawgs. A Vansant transition kill and a solo stuff from Jones pushed the Dawgs out to a 13-8 lead and BYU called its first timeout. The Cougars got the kill out of the timeout, but Jones landed a big blow off the block for 14-10. Kim Condie checked in for the first time to serve, but BYU handled it with a kill from Hamson. The Cougars picked up steam with three in a row to force UW into its first timeout, up 15-14. BYU tied it up with a block of Nelson on the next point, but Vansant found the back line to snap the 4-0 run and make it 16-15. Scambray ended a big rally after UW covered three BYU blocks with a kill and then chipped in on a block. The freshman then converted in transition once again to put the Dawgs up 19-16 and force BYU into a timeout. BYU stopped the run with a kill in serve-receive, then cut the gap to one with a kill from its setter, Willardson, before committing an attack error to make it 20-18. Sybeldon stuffed down an overpass, and Vansant smacked down another shortly after off a tough Scambray serve for 23-19. Jones hit off the block and out on the right side for set point at 24-20. On UW's second chance, Wade deftly tipped over the blockers and down to give UW the set, 25-21. The Huskies hit .256 in the set and held BYU to .162, with Vansant dominating with eight kills and just one error on 11 swings, a .636 attack percentage.
The teams traded the first six points of the fourth set, with Jones putting two away on the right side for the Dawgs. Vansant used the block for a finish and a 4-3 lead. Nelson hit from the right to make it 6-4, and cranked another for an 8-6 edge. Vansant held on to the Husky lead with a back row kill for 10-8. The Huskies got a rejection from Wade and Jones to push out to a 13-9 advantage. But the Cougars went on a 3-0 run punctuated by an ace that the Huskies let float by to get it back to a one-point set at 13-12 and force UW into a timeout. BYU tied it up with a transition kill out of the break, then took the lead, 13-14, as Vansant was blocked. Jones sidearmed one to the back corner to get it back even, snapping a 5-0 BYU run. Rallies got longer and longer as the teams dug in, UW winning a marathon to even it at 16-16. A three-point BYU run opened the lead up to 17-20 for the Cougars and the Huskies took their last timeout. Two poor passes from the Dawgs gave two more points to BYU without the Huskies getting a swing. Sybeldon finally put one away to end what was a six-point Cougars run. Sybeldon and Jones blocked Hamson to get another back for 19-23 and BYU took timeout. The Cougars put the next one out of bounds, but came back with a kill for set point, 20-24. Sybeldon saved the first with another huge blow, but Hamson delivered in serve-receive to end it, 21-25, and force a fifth.
Vansant got UW off on the right foot in the fifth with a rightside kill then went back to serve. Her service was passed too tight and Scambray tapped it down for a kill. UW got another free ball off the next serve, and Wade put it away for a quick 3-0 lead before Vansant's next serve caught the tape and just barely went backwards. Nelson got the sideout right back with her ninth kill, then Wade got an ace with help from the net this time, and BYU took timeout at 5-1 Dawgs. Hamson delivered for BYU out of the break, then Scambray missed just wide for 5-3. Nelson got another for the Dawgs and BYU answered for 6-4. Scambray pushed a set all the way across the floor to Jones who delivered a critical kill to make it 7-5, and Vansant snapped one down in transition after some excellent UW blocking work for an 8-5 edge as the teams swapped sides. Another big swing from Vansant off the block and out helped UW recover for 9-6 after a big BYU block on the previous point. Again Vansant hammered one in serve-receive for 10-7, and then she tipped in transition to add another to the lead. BYU got the sideout in serve-receive, but Wade answered on UW's side for 12-8. A Beals back set to Nelson produced a kill and a 13-9 lead as BYU took its final timeout. Nelson rose up to reject a setter dump attempt on the next point to the bring the Huskies to match point, 14-9. The Huskies committed a net violation on the first match point, but on the next chance, Nelson went up the line on the right and found the floor for her fourth kill on four swings in the final frame. The Huskies, much as they did last week against Gonzaga, hit at a fantastic rate in the final frame, putting down 13 kills on 18 attempts with just two errors for a .611 mark. Last week, UW finished off Gonzaga by hitting .636 in the final set.
Washington won't have much time to relish the win, as the Huskies will be back in the gym bright and early tomorrow for a 10 a.m. local time/9 a.m. Pacific start against Utah Valley. Washington will then face UMBC at 4 p.m. Pacific tomorrow to round out the weekend
