Huskies Power Past Pepperdine, Enter Big Ten 10-0

Friday, September 20

Long Beach, CA

3:00 PM

University of Washington

10-0,0-0Big Ten

Pepperdine

3-6,0-0WCC

Washington

Pepperdine

September 20, 2024 | Volleyball

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By: UW Athletic Communications

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Washington Volleyball will head into the Big Ten at 10-0, as the Huskies completed their first perfect non-conference run since 2016 with an impressive win over Pepperdine. Playing at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, the Huskies had another balanced attack paired with strong serving and defense to beat the Waves in four, 23-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-17.

It was Washington's fifth win in the past eight days, with those five wins coming in three different states, starting at home in Seattle last weekend, followed by a Tuesday night stop in Oregon against the Beavers, then Thursday and Friday in SoCal. Now UW will get to rest up over the weekend before turning its attention to its Big Ten opener, back in Seattle next Friday, Sept. 27, against Indiana.

Today was the fifth consecutive four-set win for the Dawgs. Washington also avenged a straight-set loss to the Waves from a year ago, getting their first win over Pepperdine since 2021.

"They played with so much heart and I'm proud of them," said Head Coach Leslie Gabriel. "They were tired going into this match and they really had to gut it out. They pulled together. We started set one with a lot of errors, hitting and serving out. I felt like each set we started hitting our shots better.

"We ended up with 12 aces, so it was nice to see that. Pepperdine is good, they make you play and it takes a couple trips across the net to finish rallies but I like how we're competing heading into Big Ten play. We've got to fine tune some of our passing and serving and attacking mechanics. But they know how to come together."

UW had to make some lineup adjustments, as Kierstyn Barton and Kiune Fletcher were both unavailable, so UW ran with a 5-1 for much of the match, and Molly Wilson responded with a season-high 37 assists plus 10 digs, four aces, three blocks and a couple kills.

Washington's offense got progressively better each set, from .114 in the opener, to .150 in the second, then .263 in set three, and .412 to close it out. Meanwhile the defense stayed steady, never allowing Pepperdine to hit above .200 in any set, and limiting the Waves to .105 overall.

The Huskies had a big edge in blocks, 13.0 to 6.0, and followed up yesterday's then-season-high 10 aces, with a new season-high of 12. UW had a 54-42 edge in kills, and finished with just one fewer digs, 70 to 71.

Three Dawgs – Audra Wilmes, Julia Hunt, Emoni Bush – all finished with 12 kills each, while Madi Endsley finished with 11. Wilmes had 12 digs for a double-double. Bush had a double-double of her own with 10 digs, plus five blocks and three aces. And Hunt filled up the box score as she hit .455 with three aces (all in a row in set four), six blocks and six digs.

Katy Wessels had a team-high seven blocks plus four kills, and Lauren Bays had 17 digs and six assists plus one ace. Sophia Tulino also made her Husky debut and got her first kill as a Dawg.

Up Next: Washington makes its Big Ten Conference debut next Friday, Sept. 27, against Indiana at 7 p.m. at Alaska Airlines Arena. One day later, Illinois comes in for another 7 p.m. battle.

Set One: Washington's first point came on a block by Wilmes and Wessels on the second point of the match. Endsley's first kill and a Bays ace made it 6-4, but Pepperdine then went on a 5-0 run. UW answered back with a 5-0 run of its own on Bush's serve for an 11-9 lead. A Wilmes kill and an ace by Wilson prompted a Pepperdine timeout with the Dawgs up 18-15, but four-straight back to the Waves out of the break erased the lead. A couple more errors put UW down by three, but the Huskies rallied with a block by Bush and Hunt, a kill from Bush and another Hunt-Bush rejection for 22-all and a Pepperdine timeout. The teams swapped points for 23-all, but Pepperdine got the sideout and then Hunt misfired to end it, 23-25.

UW hit just .114 in the opener but kept it close thanks to five team blocks and three aces.

Set Two: The Huskies showed their resiliency by bouncing back in set two with a long 8-0 run on Bush's serve to take a 12-6 lead. Hunt had two kills and two blocks during the stretch. Back-to-back finishes from Wilmes made it 15-8 and Pepperdine used its final timeout. Pepperdine pulled within four points at 16-12 but consecutive aces from Wilson rebuilt a seven-point lead. Pepperdine didn't go away, fighting back again and closing within two points at 23-21, but Hunt got a kill from Wilson to reach set point, and UW converted the first chance on a Wilmes-Wessels block to end it, 25-21.

The Husky defense held Pepperdine to just .045 in the set, with Wilmes providing four kills and UW collecting three more aces and three more blocks.

Set Three: It was an even start to the third with multiple ties until a 3-0 run by the Waves made it 8-11. Another Emoni Bush serving run got the Dawgs back in front as Bush had a kill to get the sideout, then served an ace followed by an Endsley kill. A Pepperdine error and another Endsley kill made it 15-14 at the media timeout. Out of the break, Bush had a back row kill and then Hunt and Endsley teamed for a stuff which capped a 7-0 Husky run. Wilson threw down for a kill and then she connected on a quick set to Wessels for 20-16 and a Waves timeout. Kills from Bush and Wilmes kept the Dawgs siding out, and Bush got them to set point at 24-19 with another termination. Pepperdine hit one out to end it, 25-20.

The Huskies improved up to .263 on offense in the third as Wilson had 12 assists, and Bush got rolling with six kills on 10 swings without an error.

Set Four: Wilson had an ace to cap a 3-0 run to start the fourth. Pepperdine came back to tie it up, but UW had a 4-0 burst on Endsley's serve to take a 10-6 lead and force the Waves into a break. Hunt then caught fire at the service line, nailing three aces in a row, including one that needed a successful challenge overturn by Coach Gabriel. That made it 14-7. Hunt got another kill for 18-11, and Endsley finished for 19-12. Wilson had her second kill and Wilmes finished a Wilson set as UW inched closer at 23-15. A kill from Hunt made it match point at 24-17, and UW finished it off with a stuff block by Wessels and Wilson for the 25-17 victory.

The offense came together beautifully in the fourth, with 15 kills and just one error to hit .412. Hunt killed five of eight attempts to go with her three aces.