Huskies Fall At No. 10 Purdue

Thursday, September 25

West Lafayette, Ind.

3:30 PM

University of Washington

5-6,0-1Big Ten

Purdue

10-1,1-0Big Ten

Washington

Purdue

September 25, 2025 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score PDF

By: UW Athletic Communications

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Huskies continued to hang right with a top-10 team on the road for the second match in a row, but close was cold comfort as the Dawgs dropped a 25-21, 29-27, 25-22 decision at 10th-ranked Purdue in the Big Ten opener for both teams. Washington (5-6, 0-1 Big Ten) played well for long stretches in front of a big crowd of 6,163 at Mackey Arena but is still searching for its finishing touch.

Washington also had late leads in multiple sets in its most recent match, at No. 6 Kentucky last Saturday, but the Huskies are still trying to get over the hump against some of the nation's best.

The Huskies had an 18-16 lead in the first set but Purdue finished on a 9-3 run. In the second set, the Huskies had four set point chances, taking one-point leads each time from 24-23 up to 27-26, but Purdue saved each one and then won it on its first set point opportunity. UW showed a lot of fight in set three, coming back from six points down at 9-15 to take a lead at 20-19, but again the Boilermakers responded.

Senior Alexa Markley had a big career-high 19 kills in just three sets, hitting .300 for the night and adding three blocks. Junior Kierstyn Barton had a great effort with 15 kills on 30 swings and just three errors to hit .400, adding two aces and 11 digs for her first double-double of the season.

Sophomore Alexis Haury also had a double-double, with 35 assists and a team-high 15 digs. Zoria Heard added 12 digs and five assists.

Alexa breaks thru the block! ????#PointHuskies // @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/8qJJS6gUeT
— Washington Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) September 25, 2025

Washington hit .255 with Purdue just a bit better at .278. Purdue had 48 kills and UW had 45. The Huskies had four aces compared to three for Purdue, but the Dawgs missed 11 serves compared to just four Purdue misses. Eight of those serving errors came in the opening set, but UW got a handle on the problem in sets two and three, missing just three more. The Huskies had a 45-42 edge in digs and hadn't lost this season when winning the digs battle.

Up Next: Washington will look to rebound down the road in Bloomington, Ind. on Saturday. The Huskies take on the Indiana Hoosiers, starting at 4 p.m. Pacific, streaming live on Big Ten Plus.