Friday, August 29
Greeley, Colo.
5:00 PM
University of Washington
at
Northern Colorado
Huskies Open 2025 With Trio In Colorado
August 27, 2025 | Volleyball
THIS WEEK IN HUSKY VOLLEYBALL
FRIDAY, AUG. 29
Washington at Northern Colorado
Greeley, Colo. • 5:00 pm PT • ESPN+ | Live Stats
SATURDAY, AUG. 30
Washington at Colorado State
Fort Collins, Colo. • 5:00 pm PT • Mountain West Network | Live Stats
SUNDAY, AUG. 31
Washington vs Colgate
Greeley, Colo. • 10:00 am PT • YouTube | Live Stats
SEATTLE -- Washington Volleyball officially takes the court for the first time in 2025 this week with a trio of matches this Friday through Sunday, Aug. 29-31. A Husky squad with many new faces will start its climb to the mountaintop already high up in the Rockies, as UW will play at Northern Colorado Friday and at Colorado State Saturday, then return to Northern Colorado on Sunday for a neutral match against Colgate.
Friday and Saturday's matches both start at 5 p.m. PT and Sunday's is a 10 a.m. PT first serve. Friday's opener will be streamed on ESPN+ while Saturday's in Fort Collins will stream on Mountain West Network. Sunday is scheduled to be streamed on Northern Colorado's YouTube.
2025 marks season three under Head Coach Leslie Gabriel and season two for the Huskies in the Big Ten. Washington reached the NCAA tournament last fall after going 19-12 overall and 9-11 in the toughest conference in the nation.
Washington has several significant pieces back from 2024, including All-Big Ten Second Team pick Kierstyn Barton, who led the team with 3.32 kills per set last year, and both starting middles in Julia Hunt and Katy Wessels. Hunt was a Big Ten All-Freshman Team pick last season, and Wessels was an All-Freshman Team pick one year earlier in the Pac-12. Alexis Haury returns for her sophomore season after rotating in a two-setter system last year, and Zoria Heard could take over libero duties after seeing significant time as a DS last year.
Six newcomers, made up of two senior transfers and four freshmen, look to spark the squad. The transfers include Alexa Markley, an outside hitter from reigning national champion Penn State, and Taylor Simpson, a three-year starting setter from Colorado with over 3,000 career assists. Freshmen feature outside hitter Maija Howse, who joined the team last spring, and Simona Mateska from Serbia, the first international recruit UW has signed since Maria Bogomolova in 2016. Freshmen Addy Azavedo and Ava Jo Berry are both back row specialists from the PNW, Azavedo from Lake Oswego, Ore. and Berry from Wenatchee, Wash. Azavedo unfortunately will miss the 2025 season rehabbing from knee surgery.
Two of UW's three opponents this weekend joined the Huskies in the NCAA tournament last year. The CSU Rams will be the first 2024 NCAA tournament team the Huskies face, having won the Mountain West Tournament. Colgate reached NCAAs last year after winning the Patriot League.
Northern Colorado was also one set away from reaching NCAAs, as the Bears dropped a 3-2 match in the Big Sky Conference tournament final. UNC went on to play in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship, winning three rounds before falling in the semifinals at Arizona to finish with a 28-8 overall record. UNC finished with a strong RPI of 44. Northern Colorado was voted No. 2 in the Big Sky Preseason Poll and Isabel Bennett and Alayna Tessena were named to the Preseason All-Conference Team. Bennett is a MB who led the team hitting .371 last year and Tessena is an OH who had 202 kills last year.
Colorado State was 20-11 a year ago, 14-4 in Mountain West play, winning the conference tournament and then dropping a four-setter in the NCAA first round to a highly-ranked Texas A&M squad. CSU was voted second in the conference preseason poll. The Rams are looking at a different batch of starters this season, as they only return one of their seven starters from 2024. Washington leads the series, 5-3, but the last four meetings between the Huskies and Rams have all come in the NCAA tournament. UW had wins in 2002, 2005 en route to the national title, and in 2006, but Colorado State won the most recent meeting, in the 2009 NCAA second round, upsetting the Huskies in Fort Collins.
Washington and Colgate will meet for the first time ever on Sunday. The Colgate Raiders call Hamilton, New York home. Colgate won the 2024 Patriot League going 14-2 in league play and 19-11 overall. The Raiders lost to Kansas in the NCAA opening round. Colgate was voted to repeat as Patriot League champs, and Milan Bayless is back as the reigning conference player of the year. The outside hitter averaged 3.24 kills per set last season. Colgate not only made NCAAs last season, but has made four in a row.
FRIDAY, AUG. 29
Washington at Northern Colorado
Greeley, Colo. • 5:00 pm PT • ESPN+ | Live Stats
SATURDAY, AUG. 30
Washington at Colorado State
Fort Collins, Colo. • 5:00 pm PT • Mountain West Network | Live Stats
SUNDAY, AUG. 31
Washington vs Colgate
Greeley, Colo. • 10:00 am PT • YouTube | Live Stats
SEATTLE -- Washington Volleyball officially takes the court for the first time in 2025 this week with a trio of matches this Friday through Sunday, Aug. 29-31. A Husky squad with many new faces will start its climb to the mountaintop already high up in the Rockies, as UW will play at Northern Colorado Friday and at Colorado State Saturday, then return to Northern Colorado on Sunday for a neutral match against Colgate.
Friday and Saturday's matches both start at 5 p.m. PT and Sunday's is a 10 a.m. PT first serve. Friday's opener will be streamed on ESPN+ while Saturday's in Fort Collins will stream on Mountain West Network. Sunday is scheduled to be streamed on Northern Colorado's YouTube.
2025 marks season three under Head Coach Leslie Gabriel and season two for the Huskies in the Big Ten. Washington reached the NCAA tournament last fall after going 19-12 overall and 9-11 in the toughest conference in the nation.
Washington has several significant pieces back from 2024, including All-Big Ten Second Team pick Kierstyn Barton, who led the team with 3.32 kills per set last year, and both starting middles in Julia Hunt and Katy Wessels. Hunt was a Big Ten All-Freshman Team pick last season, and Wessels was an All-Freshman Team pick one year earlier in the Pac-12. Alexis Haury returns for her sophomore season after rotating in a two-setter system last year, and Zoria Heard could take over libero duties after seeing significant time as a DS last year.
Six newcomers, made up of two senior transfers and four freshmen, look to spark the squad. The transfers include Alexa Markley, an outside hitter from reigning national champion Penn State, and Taylor Simpson, a three-year starting setter from Colorado with over 3,000 career assists. Freshmen feature outside hitter Maija Howse, who joined the team last spring, and Simona Mateska from Serbia, the first international recruit UW has signed since Maria Bogomolova in 2016. Freshmen Addy Azavedo and Ava Jo Berry are both back row specialists from the PNW, Azavedo from Lake Oswego, Ore. and Berry from Wenatchee, Wash. Azavedo unfortunately will miss the 2025 season rehabbing from knee surgery.
Two of UW's three opponents this weekend joined the Huskies in the NCAA tournament last year. The CSU Rams will be the first 2024 NCAA tournament team the Huskies face, having won the Mountain West Tournament. Colgate reached NCAAs last year after winning the Patriot League.
Northern Colorado was also one set away from reaching NCAAs, as the Bears dropped a 3-2 match in the Big Sky Conference tournament final. UNC went on to play in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship, winning three rounds before falling in the semifinals at Arizona to finish with a 28-8 overall record. UNC finished with a strong RPI of 44. Northern Colorado was voted No. 2 in the Big Sky Preseason Poll and Isabel Bennett and Alayna Tessena were named to the Preseason All-Conference Team. Bennett is a MB who led the team hitting .371 last year and Tessena is an OH who had 202 kills last year.
Colorado State was 20-11 a year ago, 14-4 in Mountain West play, winning the conference tournament and then dropping a four-setter in the NCAA first round to a highly-ranked Texas A&M squad. CSU was voted second in the conference preseason poll. The Rams are looking at a different batch of starters this season, as they only return one of their seven starters from 2024. Washington leads the series, 5-3, but the last four meetings between the Huskies and Rams have all come in the NCAA tournament. UW had wins in 2002, 2005 en route to the national title, and in 2006, but Colorado State won the most recent meeting, in the 2009 NCAA second round, upsetting the Huskies in Fort Collins.
Washington and Colgate will meet for the first time ever on Sunday. The Colgate Raiders call Hamilton, New York home. Colgate won the 2024 Patriot League going 14-2 in league play and 19-11 overall. The Raiders lost to Kansas in the NCAA opening round. Colgate was voted to repeat as Patriot League champs, and Milan Bayless is back as the reigning conference player of the year. The outside hitter averaged 3.24 kills per set last season. Colgate not only made NCAAs last season, but has made four in a row.
Players Mentioned
L
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
L
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
L
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballWashington Volleyball 2025 Big Ten Media Day
Tuesday, July 29
2025 Go BIG! for Washington Day
Friday, February 28
Empowering the next generation of girls & women in sports
Sunday, February 09
UW Volleyball 2024 NCAA Hype Video
Friday, December 06
