Friday, October 23
Madison, Wisc.
6:00 PM
University of Washington
15-3,6-3Big Ten
3
at
2
Wisconsin
13-6,7-2Big Ten
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | 20 | 27 | 21 | 25 | 18 | 3 |
| Wisconsin | 25 | 25 | 25 | 18 | 16 | 2 |
October 23, 2026 | Volleyball
MADISON, Wisc. – One of the best nights ever for a Husky outside hitter led to one of the biggest wins in years for the 21st-ranked Husky volleyball team tonight in Madison. Second-year Simona Mateska went off for 31 kills and the Dawgs took down sixth-ranked Wisconsin in an instantly classic five sets in front of 7,229 fans at the UW Fieldhouse.
Washington (15-3, 6-3 Big Ten) got its first road win over a Top-10 team since 2019 when it upset No. 1 Stanford in the Bay Area, and that was just a week after the Huskies had also won at a No. 9-ranked Wisconsin team in Madison.
Wisconsin fell for the first time this season at home and suffered just its second Big Ten loss, the other coming to No. 1 Nebraska. The Huskies kept responding each time Wisconsin tried to assert itself, rallying from down a set, and down two sets to one, to ultimately win 20-25, 27-25, 21-25, 25-18, 18-16. It took five match points for the Dawgs to put it away, finally clinching it on an ace from Andrea Fabikovicova.
Mateska's 31 kills were the most by a Husky since current assistant coach Krista Hendrickson had 38 in the 2013 NCAA Elite Eight. It ties for third-most by a Husky in the 25-point set era that started in 2008. And it was 10 more than the career-high of 21 that Mateska only set just last week in the win over Rutgers. Not only was Mateska deadly, she was deadly efficient, getting those 31 kills on 59 swings and hitting .424.
"I'm just proud of the group," said Head Coach Leslie Gabriel, after UW's second top-10 upset of the season. "We talked about just being disciplined in our systems, really being present and playing the game that's in front of us. And I asked if we can do that from start to finish, because last week against Indiana we didn't do that consistently. So it was really fun as a coach to see them be on their assignments the whole night."
"Our outside hitters went for it at the end of sets and the end of the match," said Gabriel. "They had to take big swings and they did a great job. I didn't realize that Simona had 31 kills. I knew she was doing the Simona things that she always does for us, but 31, that's pretty cool. I'm excited for her, she worked hard and Andy (Fabikovicova) put her in good situations to score points."
The pivotal point in the first half of the match came at the end of set two, when the Huskies trailed 21-24, but saved three set points in a row and a fourth at 24-25, before moving ahead on a Julia Hunt ace and winning the set on a Badger error, to go into the break tied at 1-1 rather than facing an 0-2 deficit.
The Huskies wound up hitting .271 for the match while Wisconsin hit .283. Fabikovicova had a season-high 55 assists with nine digs and the final ace. First-year outside Kylie Kleckner had a huge double-double with 13 kills and 18 digs. Maija Howse had eight kills and four blocks, Katy Wessels had seven kills, hitting .353, with three blocks, and Julia Hunt had six kills, three aces and three blocks. First-year libero Kaitlyn Nguyen was excellent again in the back row with 23 digs.
Up Next: Washington won't have time to rest on its laurels as it has yet another top-25 road showdown coming right up on Sunday. UW visits 20th-ranked Minnesota for another Big Ten Network match that starts at 11 a.m. Pacific time.
For news, scores, highlights and more, download the Go Huskies app on your mobile device. Follow @UWVolleyball on Instagram, X, and Facebook and subscribe to UW Athletics on YouTube for the latest on the Dawgs.
Washington (15-3, 6-3 Big Ten) got its first road win over a Top-10 team since 2019 when it upset No. 1 Stanford in the Bay Area, and that was just a week after the Huskies had also won at a No. 9-ranked Wisconsin team in Madison.
Wisconsin fell for the first time this season at home and suffered just its second Big Ten loss, the other coming to No. 1 Nebraska. The Huskies kept responding each time Wisconsin tried to assert itself, rallying from down a set, and down two sets to one, to ultimately win 20-25, 27-25, 21-25, 25-18, 18-16. It took five match points for the Dawgs to put it away, finally clinching it on an ace from Andrea Fabikovicova.
Mateska's 31 kills were the most by a Husky since current assistant coach Krista Hendrickson had 38 in the 2013 NCAA Elite Eight. It ties for third-most by a Husky in the 25-point set era that started in 2008. And it was 10 more than the career-high of 21 that Mateska only set just last week in the win over Rutgers. Not only was Mateska deadly, she was deadly efficient, getting those 31 kills on 59 swings and hitting .424.
Simona Mateska after the first 30-kill match by a Husky since 2013 ???? #PointHuskies https://t.co/jkqJ7hsuGF
— Washington Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) October 24, 2026
"I'm just proud of the group," said Head Coach Leslie Gabriel, after UW's second top-10 upset of the season. "We talked about just being disciplined in our systems, really being present and playing the game that's in front of us. And I asked if we can do that from start to finish, because last week against Indiana we didn't do that consistently. So it was really fun as a coach to see them be on their assignments the whole night."
"Our outside hitters went for it at the end of sets and the end of the match," said Gabriel. "They had to take big swings and they did a great job. I didn't realize that Simona had 31 kills. I knew she was doing the Simona things that she always does for us, but 31, that's pretty cool. I'm excited for her, she worked hard and Andy (Fabikovicova) put her in good situations to score points."
Break out the ?????????? https://t.co/ZmRrxgnvk8
— Washington Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) October 24, 2026
The pivotal point in the first half of the match came at the end of set two, when the Huskies trailed 21-24, but saved three set points in a row and a fourth at 24-25, before moving ahead on a Julia Hunt ace and winning the set on a Badger error, to go into the break tied at 1-1 rather than facing an 0-2 deficit.
The Huskies wound up hitting .271 for the match while Wisconsin hit .283. Fabikovicova had a season-high 55 assists with nine digs and the final ace. First-year outside Kylie Kleckner had a huge double-double with 13 kills and 18 digs. Maija Howse had eight kills and four blocks, Katy Wessels had seven kills, hitting .353, with three blocks, and Julia Hunt had six kills, three aces and three blocks. First-year libero Kaitlyn Nguyen was excellent again in the back row with 23 digs.
KILL NUMBER 3??0?? 13-11 #PointHuskies // @BigTenNetwork https://t.co/V0HHMHDG9R
— Washington Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) October 24, 2026
Up Next: Washington won't have time to rest on its laurels as it has yet another top-25 road showdown coming right up on Sunday. UW visits 20th-ranked Minnesota for another Big Ten Network match that starts at 11 a.m. Pacific time.
For news, scores, highlights and more, download the Go Huskies app on your mobile device. Follow @UWVolleyball on Instagram, X, and Facebook and subscribe to UW Athletics on YouTube for the latest on the Dawgs.
Players Mentioned
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/ Volleyball
MB
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/ Volleyball
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/ VolleyballTeam Stats
UW
Wisc
Kills
68
71
Errors
19
20
Attempts
181
180
Hitting %
.271
.283
Points
82.0
89.0
Assists
64
68
Aces
8
8
Blocks
6
10
Game Leaders
Kills
31
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
13
Aces
3
Blocks
0
Kills
8
Aces
1
Blocks
4
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Saturday, October 24
Saturday, October 24
Saturday, October 24
Saturday, October 24
