
Huskies Pointed Towards Pac-12 Play With 3-1 Win
September 16, 2023 | Volleyball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Washington finished up non-conference play with a 9-2 record, posting a solid four set win over Saint Mary's in an early morning match at Cal Poly's Mott Athletics Center. The Huskies had a 10-3 edge in aces and got a strong group effort from their group of outside hitters en route to a 25-16, 18-25, 25-19, 25-18 victory.
Senior transfer Kayce Litzau set the full match today with Molly Wilson dinged up from Friday's match. Litzau had 44 assists, her most thus far as a Dawg, and UW hit .267 compared to .240 for the Gaels (6-6). Litzau added 14 digs for a double-double, and had two aces and three kills.
Litzau regularly connected with Madi Endsley who led the match with 17 kills and added four blocks, while freshman Kierstyn Barton had another stellar outing with 15 kills on a .429 attack percentage plus a couple of aces. Audra Wilmes also posted nine kills, hitting .304, with two aces and 11 digs. Lauren Bays had 16 digs and four of UW's 10 aces.
"Before the match we just said everyone has to do their job," said Head Coach Leslie Gabriel. "Setters need to set, hitters need to work hard to be hitters. I thought our hitters today did a good job working with the sets they had and adjusting, and doing what they needed to score points."
Senior Grace Zilbert also hit a career milestone today, as she earned the 1,000th dig of her career, the first four seasons coming as a Portland Pilot. Zilbert had eight digs this afternoon.
UP NEXT: The Huskies open up Pac-12 play on the road against a likely top-10 opponent in Washington State, which was ranked 11th before adding some ranked wins this week. The Dawgs visit Pullman on Thursday, Sept. 21, for a 7 p.m. match airing on Pac-12 Networks.
Senior transfer Kayce Litzau set the full match today with Molly Wilson dinged up from Friday's match. Litzau had 44 assists, her most thus far as a Dawg, and UW hit .267 compared to .240 for the Gaels (6-6). Litzau added 14 digs for a double-double, and had two aces and three kills.
Litzau regularly connected with Madi Endsley who led the match with 17 kills and added four blocks, while freshman Kierstyn Barton had another stellar outing with 15 kills on a .429 attack percentage plus a couple of aces. Audra Wilmes also posted nine kills, hitting .304, with two aces and 11 digs. Lauren Bays had 16 digs and four of UW's 10 aces.
"Before the match we just said everyone has to do their job," said Head Coach Leslie Gabriel. "Setters need to set, hitters need to work hard to be hitters. I thought our hitters today did a good job working with the sets they had and adjusting, and doing what they needed to score points."
Senior Grace Zilbert also hit a career milestone today, as she earned the 1,000th dig of her career, the first four seasons coming as a Portland Pilot. Zilbert had eight digs this afternoon.
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— Washington Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) September 16, 2023
Elise wraps things up as the Dawgs head into conference play with a 9-2 record. ????#PointHuskies pic.twitter.com/3jcWx6ZB7W
UP NEXT: The Huskies open up Pac-12 play on the road against a likely top-10 opponent in Washington State, which was ranked 11th before adding some ranked wins this week. The Dawgs visit Pullman on Thursday, Sept. 21, for a 7 p.m. match airing on Pac-12 Networks.
Team Stats
UW
SMC
Kills
59
46
Errors
19
15
Attempts
145
129
Hitting %
.276
.240
Points
77.0
58.0
Assists
57
40
Aces
10
3
Blocks
8
9
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Players Mentioned
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