Wednesday, October 30
Seattle, WA
6:30 PM
University of Washington
17-4,7-4Big Ten
3
vs
2
Oregon
16-4,8-3Big Ten
1
2
3
4
5
F
Oregon
21
26
25
16
10
2
Washington
25
24
20
25
15
3
Huskies Get Payback In 3-2 Upset Over No. 10 Ducks
October 30, 2024 | Volleyball
SEATTLE – Revenge was best served in five sets tonight, as Washington Volleyball got its first top-10 win since the 2021 spring season and flipped the script against the 10th-ranekd Ducks. Just seventeen days ago, Oregon had rallied back to stun the Huskies in five sets in Eugene but tonight at Alaska Airlines Arena the Dawgs earned a second chance, and this time delivered the knockout blow. The final tally was 25-21, 24-26, 20-25, 25-16, 15-10.
Oregon (16-4, 8-3 Big Ten) took a two set to one lead but the Huskies (17-4, 7-4 Big Ten) dominated set four, then built at 10-5 lead in the fifth. That was the identical lead the Huskies had back in Eugene before the Ducks scored 10 of the last 12, and the final six in a row to avoid the upset.
And if that was not enough drama, the electricity in the building immediately turned to fear when UW's leading scorer, sophomore Kierstyn Barton, went down with an injury with the Huskies leading set five at 11-7 and had to be helped off the court. Oregon would then get within two at 11-9 before a crucial service error got UW some space. On match point, Molly Wilson went to Madi Endsley and the senior banged one down through the Ducks block to end it.
It is Washington's first ranked win of the year, and the first under Head Coach Leslie Gabriel. It's also the first Top-10 win for the Dawgs since winning two straight over No. 7 Utah on Feb. 25 and Feb. 27, 2021. Since that time, the Dawgs played in a Final Four and won another Pac-12 title the following fall, but only had two top-10 match-ups in that span, the four set NCAA semifinal loss to No. 2 Kentucky, and the five set NCAA round of 16 loss at No. 2 Texas.
"We're a program about improvement," said Head Coach Leslie Gabriel, "and we want to get better each day. We always strive to be the best that we can be. I believe in my heart that if we do that each day in the gym, if individuals get better the team gets better and the sky is the limit for whoever is in this program. I've been proud of these players how they've been intentional since August with what they want to work on and get better at, and they get to work. We've got to keep getting better in certain areas but a lot of their hard work led to this result tonight."
The Huskies hit an impressive .323 for the match compared to .260 for the Ducks. UW had an edge in kills, 70 to 57, finished with one more ace (10-9), and out-dug the Ducks, 68-61. Senior Lauren Bays set a new career-high tonight with 25 digs to anchor the defense.
Barton, in spite of the late injury, led all players with 20 kills, hitting .333 and adding nine digs, three blocks, and three aces. Kiune Fletcher and Julia Hunt were both on fire offensively. Fletcher had 12 kills on 22 swings to hit .455, and Hunt had 12 kills on 22 swings to hit .500. Endsley had another 11 kills, hitting .259, and Emoni Bush had nine kills, returning to action after missing last Saturday's match. Katy Wessels also hit .417 with six kills and four blocks.
Setters Molly Wilson and Alexis Haury went assist for assist with each other. Wilson finished with 29 assists and seven digs, Haury had 28 assists and 10 digs for a double-double with three aces.
Up Next: The Huskies will wrap up the school week and then take a quick weekend trip to Los Angeles to visit 21st-ranked USC this Sunday at the Galen Center.
Oregon (16-4, 8-3 Big Ten) took a two set to one lead but the Huskies (17-4, 7-4 Big Ten) dominated set four, then built at 10-5 lead in the fifth. That was the identical lead the Huskies had back in Eugene before the Ducks scored 10 of the last 12, and the final six in a row to avoid the upset.
And if that was not enough drama, the electricity in the building immediately turned to fear when UW's leading scorer, sophomore Kierstyn Barton, went down with an injury with the Huskies leading set five at 11-7 and had to be helped off the court. Oregon would then get within two at 11-9 before a crucial service error got UW some space. On match point, Molly Wilson went to Madi Endsley and the senior banged one down through the Ducks block to end it.
It is Washington's first ranked win of the year, and the first under Head Coach Leslie Gabriel. It's also the first Top-10 win for the Dawgs since winning two straight over No. 7 Utah on Feb. 25 and Feb. 27, 2021. Since that time, the Dawgs played in a Final Four and won another Pac-12 title the following fall, but only had two top-10 match-ups in that span, the four set NCAA semifinal loss to No. 2 Kentucky, and the five set NCAA round of 16 loss at No. 2 Texas.
"We're a program about improvement," said Head Coach Leslie Gabriel, "and we want to get better each day. We always strive to be the best that we can be. I believe in my heart that if we do that each day in the gym, if individuals get better the team gets better and the sky is the limit for whoever is in this program. I've been proud of these players how they've been intentional since August with what they want to work on and get better at, and they get to work. We've got to keep getting better in certain areas but a lot of their hard work led to this result tonight."
SCRIPT GOT FLIPPED DAWGS TAKE DOWN THE 10TH-RANKED DUCKS!!!
— Washington Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) October 31, 2024
Did it for K.B.!!! ??#POINTHUSKIES pic.twitter.com/2jtqGaK7ge
The Huskies hit an impressive .323 for the match compared to .260 for the Ducks. UW had an edge in kills, 70 to 57, finished with one more ace (10-9), and out-dug the Ducks, 68-61. Senior Lauren Bays set a new career-high tonight with 25 digs to anchor the defense.
Barton, in spite of the late injury, led all players with 20 kills, hitting .333 and adding nine digs, three blocks, and three aces. Kiune Fletcher and Julia Hunt were both on fire offensively. Fletcher had 12 kills on 22 swings to hit .455, and Hunt had 12 kills on 22 swings to hit .500. Endsley had another 11 kills, hitting .259, and Emoni Bush had nine kills, returning to action after missing last Saturday's match. Katy Wessels also hit .417 with six kills and four blocks.
Kierstyn Barton against No. 10 Oregon tonight ??
— Big Ten Volleyball (@B1GVolleyball) October 31, 2024
?? 20 K
?? 9 DG
?? 3 BL
?? 3 ACE#B1GVolleyball x @UWVolleyball pic.twitter.com/v40SqCGyZP
Setters Molly Wilson and Alexis Haury went assist for assist with each other. Wilson finished with 29 assists and seven digs, Haury had 28 assists and 10 digs for a double-double with three aces.
Up Next: The Huskies will wrap up the school week and then take a quick weekend trip to Los Angeles to visit 21st-ranked USC this Sunday at the Galen Center.
Crowd going crazy for this one ??#NCAAWVB x ?? BTN / @UWVolleyball
— NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) October 31, 2024
pic.twitter.com/8v1IoNOW5K
Team Stats
Oregon
UW
Kills
57
70
Errors
18
18
Attempts
150
161
Hitting %
.260
.323
Points
73.0
87.0
Assists
50
67
Aces
9
10
Blocks
7
7
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
20
Aces
3
Blocks
3
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
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MB
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