Saturday, September 28
Seattle, WA
7:00 PM
University of Washington
12-0,2-0Big Ten
3
vs
0
Illinois
8-4,0-2Big Ten
1
2
3
F
Illinois
15
28
17
0
Washington
25
30
25
3
Huskies Sweep Illinois To Improve To 12-0
September 28, 2024 | Volleyball
SEATTLE – The Dawgs rolled through a successful first week in the Big Ten, sweeping Illinois one night after sweeping Indiana to keep their unbeaten start to the season going at 12-0. Washington had a thrilling 30-28 second set win rallying back from 19-24 down, ultimately saving nine set points before winning on its first chance, much to the delight of the 3,575 fans in Alaska Airlines Arena.
Once again, the Huskies played lockdown defense, holding Illinois (8-4, 0-2 Big Ten) to just .030 offensively and only 26 kills for the match. Washington had 44 kills and hit .215, but got progressively better after a slow start, hitting .256 in the second set and .265 in set three. UW had a 42-32 edge in digs while Illinois had a 11.0 to 8.0 blocking advantage and had five aces to UW's three.
Set two was clearly pivotal, and it seemed that the match was about to be even at a set apiece, with Illinois leading 24-19, but the Huskies rallied on junior Molly Wilson's service, and Emoni Bush had three kills during the run back to tie it at 24-all. From there Illinois kept earning additional set point chances, and UW continued to wipe them away. Wessels had a kill and Bush saved two more, then Endsley went off the block for a kill to make it 28-all. Finally the Dawgs pushed ahead on a Julia Hunt kill for 29-28, and Endsley fired a serve into the far corner that was initially called out, but Head Coach Leslie Gabriel challenged the call and replay review said it caught the line for an ace, and UW took the 2-0 lead with the 30-28 win.
Coach Gabriel said she told the team at 21-24 to just see what they can do. "I just said 'if we get this close enough maybe we can snag it.' The girls just got this look in their eye, and it was really fun to watch them compete. We talk a lot about competing in our program, and I love how they went for it, there was no fear. You have nothing to lose at that point."
Audra Wilmes led all players tonight with 11 kills, and Bush and Endsley had nine apiece. The middles, Julia Hunt and Katy Wessels, each had six kills with Hunt hitting .714 and Wessels hitting .556. Hunt added four blocks and Wessels had three. Molly Wilson dished 25 assists and had two aces and six digs, while Lauren Bays had 12 digs, seven assists, and 14 serve-receptions without an error.
"Tonight's match had a different feel to it, there weren't a lot of fast kills," said Gabriel "Each game is going to have its own flow, and this one was different, so I was proud of our ability to just continue to compete through it all and keep finding ways to win and different ways to score. (I was impressed by their) flexibility and adaptability to change up their shots."
Up Next: Another new challenge to UW's undefeated start comes with their first Big Ten road matches next week. The Huskies first head to Iowa for a 6 p.m. Pacific start against the Hawkeyes on Oct. 4, which will be live on Big Ten Networks. From there it's on to Madison, where the Huskies will face the Badgers of Wisconsin on Oct. 6 at 11 a.m. Pacific.
Once again, the Huskies played lockdown defense, holding Illinois (8-4, 0-2 Big Ten) to just .030 offensively and only 26 kills for the match. Washington had 44 kills and hit .215, but got progressively better after a slow start, hitting .256 in the second set and .265 in set three. UW had a 42-32 edge in digs while Illinois had a 11.0 to 8.0 blocking advantage and had five aces to UW's three.
Set two was clearly pivotal, and it seemed that the match was about to be even at a set apiece, with Illinois leading 24-19, but the Huskies rallied on junior Molly Wilson's service, and Emoni Bush had three kills during the run back to tie it at 24-all. From there Illinois kept earning additional set point chances, and UW continued to wipe them away. Wessels had a kill and Bush saved two more, then Endsley went off the block for a kill to make it 28-all. Finally the Dawgs pushed ahead on a Julia Hunt kill for 29-28, and Endsley fired a serve into the far corner that was initially called out, but Head Coach Leslie Gabriel challenged the call and replay review said it caught the line for an ace, and UW took the 2-0 lead with the 30-28 win.
Coach Gabriel said she told the team at 21-24 to just see what they can do. "I just said 'if we get this close enough maybe we can snag it.' The girls just got this look in their eye, and it was really fun to watch them compete. We talk a lot about competing in our program, and I love how they went for it, there was no fear. You have nothing to lose at that point."
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— Washington Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) September 29, 2024
Amazing rally that Julia Hunt Puts. To. Bed.#PointHuskies x @B1GVolleyball pic.twitter.com/Yf06bkfxtW
Audra Wilmes led all players tonight with 11 kills, and Bush and Endsley had nine apiece. The middles, Julia Hunt and Katy Wessels, each had six kills with Hunt hitting .714 and Wessels hitting .556. Hunt added four blocks and Wessels had three. Molly Wilson dished 25 assists and had two aces and six digs, while Lauren Bays had 12 digs, seven assists, and 14 serve-receptions without an error.
"Tonight's match had a different feel to it, there weren't a lot of fast kills," said Gabriel "Each game is going to have its own flow, and this one was different, so I was proud of our ability to just continue to compete through it all and keep finding ways to win and different ways to score. (I was impressed by their) flexibility and adaptability to change up their shots."
Up Next: Another new challenge to UW's undefeated start comes with their first Big Ten road matches next week. The Huskies first head to Iowa for a 6 p.m. Pacific start against the Hawkeyes on Oct. 4, which will be live on Big Ten Networks. From there it's on to Madison, where the Huskies will face the Badgers of Wisconsin on Oct. 6 at 11 a.m. Pacific.
Huskies cruise to a set one dub ??#B1GVolleyball on @BigTenPlus ?? pic.twitter.com/1DXd16XBJ5
— Big Ten Volleyball (@B1GVolleyball) September 29, 2024
Team Stats
Illini
UW
Kills
26
44
Errors
23
21
Attempts
102
107
Hitting %
.029
.215
Points
42.0
55.0
Assists
26
42
Aces
5
3
Blocks
11
8
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
9
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
L
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
S
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