Huskies Win Marathon Fourth To Finish Off Rutgers

Friday, October 16

Seattle, Wash.

7:00 PM

University of Washington

14-2,5-2Big Ten

Rutgers

10-9,1-6Big Ten

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Rutgers	21	25	16	31	1
Washington	25	23	25	33	3

The Huskies run onto the court to celebrate the victory

October 16, 2026 | Volleyball

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By: UW Athletic Communications

SEATTLE – Washington Volleyball eclipsed its 2025 win total today with more than half of the conference season still to come, outlasting Rutgers in a marathon fourth set that tested the Huskies' resolve. The 20th-ranked Huskies (14-2, 5-2 Big Ten) saved five set points before winning, 33-31, on their sixth match point chance, with first-year outside hitter Sammy Destler putting it away with her career-high 15th kill.

The Dawgs surpassed last season's 13 total wins with a final tally of 25-21, 23-25, 25-16, 33-31 in front of 3,242 fans at Alaska Airlines Arena. Destler gave UW a lift after the Dawgs had a slow start offensively, and she helped close with seven of her 15 kills coming in set four. Prior to tonight, the L.A. native's career-high was four kills.

SAMMY DESTLER DELIVERS HER FIRST GAMEWINNER!!! Dawgs ride into the sunset with the dub! ?? #PointHuskies // ?? @BigTenPlus https://t.co/iU8igPGc2q
— Washington Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) October 17, 2026

Second-year Simona Mateska also set a career-high with 21 kills, surpassing her previous best of 19. Mateska hit .292 for the night and added 10 digs and a solo block.

Fourth-year Katy Wessels tied her career-high with nine kills, hitting .429, and third-year Julia Hunt hit .500 with eight kills and no errors. Addie Kanouff came off the bench with four kills.

Second-year setter Andrea Fabikovicova had a big night with 44 assists and a career-high 19 digs plus a career-high-tying five blocks. First-year libero Kaitlyn Nguyen led the defense with 20 digs, and Addy Azavedo also added a career-high nine digs.

"We knew it was going to be a battle, because Rutgers is a good team no matter what their record shows" said Head Coach Leslie Gabriel. "I was really proud of the girls and how we fought. The fourth set was crazy. We had a lot of errors at one point and we were able to collect ourselves. It took a little longer than I was hoping, but once we finally did we were able to battle all the way to the end."

The fourth set was a wild back-and-forth battle. The Dawgs seemed to be pulling away with a 12-7 lead, but then several calls went against UW including two out-of-rotation errors, a center line call and a lift that left UW looking a bit dazed and upset. Rutgers took advantage and went from down five all the way to up five points at 14-19. But the Huskies did not give in and look towards a fifth set, they fought back to get within two points at 20-22. Rutgers reached set point at 21-24, but UW saved one with a Destler kill and another on a dig from Nguyen that glanced off a Rutgers player who couldn't decide to play it or let it drop. After a Rutgers timeout, Nguyen served an ace to tie it up at 24-all.

From there the Dawgs had several chances to end it but Rutgers hung tough. The Knights then had an ace to retake the lead at 29-30, and again at 30-31, but Rutgers missed serves both times. Rutgers then sent one long for UW's sixth chance at 32-31, and on the next point, Destler got the block touch from the left pin to end it.

"I'm proud of Addie Kanouff and Sammy Destler because they work really hard every single day," said Gabriel. "They go after it and they compete. I always tell the girls to be ready to go, and I think because of how they prepared they were ready for today. They took some big rips in some big situations."

B1G DAWG BLOCK!! By ?? #PointHuskies // @BigTenPlus https://t.co/5tGmoaO11k
— Washington Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) October 17, 2026

Up Next: Washington will have yet another big challenge on its hands in two days, as 18th-ranked Indiana visits on Sunday. That match starts at 2 p.m. and will be live on Big Ten Plus.

SET ONE: Washington opened the first set on a serve receive, swapping points with the Scarlet Knights until a kill from Simona Mateska gave the Huskies the lead 3-2. Katy Wessels and Kylie Kleckner maintained the momentum for the Dawgs, smashing down two more consecutive kills to stretch the lead to 5-3. Katy Wessels continued to land blows, getting another kill to bring the score to 7-3. Rutgers responded, taking the lead 10-11. The match continued to go back and forth featuring a kill from Wessels and Mateska bringing it to a tie at 14-14. Kleckner quickly followed with a kill, giving Washington the lead once more at 18-19. A kill from Andrea Fabikovicová after a long rally started to turn the momentum around for the Dawgs at 18-19. A kill from Julia Hunt tied it up 20-20 and a block from Fabikovicová and Mateska gave Washington the lead once more at 21-20. The Huskies continued to be a wall with a block solo from Mateska followed by a double block from Fabikovicová and Wessels to end the match at 25-21.

SET TWO: The Huskies got off to a slower start in the second set, trailing behind early as the Scarlet Knights built a lead. Washington continued to rally at the net, with kills from Mateska, Destler and Kanouff to help chip away at the deficit. Another kill and an ace from Mateska, along with an ace from Azavedo, helped give wind to the Huskies. Kills by Hunt, Destler, and Wessels with a block from Fabikovicová and Hunt, helped Washington as they battled to even the score at 16-16. The Huskies briefly took the lead and kept the set close, but despite their strong offensive front, the Huskies couldn't pull ahead, falling 23-25.

SET THREE: Simona Mateska kicked off the third set with a kill after a serve receive. Kills from Katy Wessels and Sammy Destler brought the score to 3-3, and a quick tip from Julia Hunt put the Huskies up 4-3. Rutgers came back to take the lead, but Sammy Destler answered with back-to-back aces to put Washington back in front. Three kills from Simona Mateska extended their lead to 12-9. The Dawgs continued their hot streak, featuring an ace from Fabikovicová and a kill from Mateska to put the Dawgs up six at 15-9. Some back and forth featured a kill from Mateska and Wessels, eventually broken up by consecutive kills from Kanouff, Mateska, and Destler stretched Washington's lead to 20-12. The momentum kept going with back-to-back kills from Mateska for 23-15, followed by two more to end the third set at 25-16, Huskies with the win.

SET FOUR: Washington and Rutgers swapped points at the start of the fourth set, with the Scarlet Knights eventually taking the lead 3-5. A kill from Sammy Destler followed by Mateska brought the lead back to the Dawgs at 6-5. Hunt continued to deliver with a kill and an ace, followed by a block from Wessels and Fabikovicová to extend Washington's advantage to 9-6. Kills from Hunt, Destler and Kanouff kept the Huskies in front before the Scarlet Knights went on a seven point run to take a 14-12 lead. Destler, Hunt, and Mateska kills kept the Huskies within reach as Rutgers approached set point, before a Nguyen ace tied the set at 24-24. The Huskies and Scarlet Knights traded points in a back and forth battle, with Destler, Hunt, and Mateska each recording crucial kills to keep Washington alive. Two too many Rutger errors brought the back in the lead at 32-31, before Destler delivered the final kill to seal the 33-31 victory and match for the Huskies.

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