Huskies Take Down Cougs, Improve To 7-0 On Season

Sunday, September 13

Seattle, Wash.

2:00 PM

University of Washington

7-0,0-0Big Ten

Washington State

5-3,0-0Pac-12

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Washington St.	17	25	18	20	1
Washington	25	22	25	25	3

Photo by: Red Box Pictures

September 13, 2026 | Volleyball

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SEATTLE -- Coming off their second sweep of the season, the Huskies defeated Washington State in four sets of the 2026 Volleyball Apple Cup at Alaska Airlines Arena.

"I'm really glad that we still have this game going," said Head Coach Leslie Gabriel on playing Washington State. "It's a fun rivarly game to play. They always put up a fight and it's a great match to be a part of."

Washington finished the match with 61 kills and a .289 hitting percentage, led by a career performance from second-year Maija Howse, who set a new career high with 18 kills while hitting .486. Howse also added six digs and two blocks for 19 points. Second-year Simona Mateska followed with 16 kills, four aces, 17 digs and a solo block, finishing with a team high 21.5 points. Fourth-year Katy Wessels added eight kills while hitting .400, along with three blocks, while second-year Julia Hunt contributed six kills, two aces and two blocks. Contributing on both sides of the ball, first year Kylie Kleckner added six kills, eight digs and an ace. Second-year Andrea Fabikovicová orchestrated the offense with 46 assists and added 13 digs, while first-year Kaitlyn Nguyen defended the back row with 11 digs.

HOW BOUT THEM APPLES ??#PointHuskies // B1G+ pic.twitter.com/nDJlw6rp3W
— Washington Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) September 13, 2026

Facing the Cougars at the net first was middle Julia Hunt, setter Andrea Fabikovicová, and outside hitter Kylie Kleckner. Defending the back row was Simona Mateska, Maija Howse, and Katy Wessels with Kaitlyn Nguyen at libero.

Washington opened the set on serve receive and quickly took a 2-1 lead after Wessels sent an over ball back to the Cougars, followed by an ace from Mateska. The Huskies then caught on fire offensively, with Kleckner adding a kill before Mateska recorded two more aces and a back row kill to push Washington ahead 6-1. The Cougars offense battled back to tie the set at 8-8 before a kill from Howse put the Huskies back in front. A strong rally highlighted by Nguyen's defense and a solo block from Mateska, Washington held an 11-9 advantage. Another Mateska kill made it 12-10, and after the Cougars tied it again at 12-12, Mateska struck again, Fabikovicová served an ace, then a kill from Wessels gave the Huskies a 15-12 lead. Kleckner and Howse continued to add kills, while Howse and Hunt teamed up for a block to extend the lead to 19-14. Howse followed with another kill, Hunt recorded her first kill of the night, and Addy Azevedo added an ace to put Washington up 23-16. Kleckner's final kill brought the Huskies to set point before closing out the 25-17 set win.

Wessels came out strong in the second set opening with a kill, followed by kills from Kleckner and Howse for a 3-2 lead. Howse added another kill to tie the set at 4-4 before Kleckner recorded her first ace of the night to even the score again at 6-6. Mateska then put the Huskies ahead 7-6, and Fabikovicová followed up with a kill before a Wessels solo block extended the lead 9-7. After some back and forth play, Kleckner and Howse added kills to help Washington build a 13-10 advantage, with Howse and Kleckner combining for three more kills to push the lead to 16-13. Washington saw its lead disappear as the Cougars tied the set at 16-16. A block by Hunt tied the set again at 17-17 before Washington fell behind 20-17. Mateska fought back with a kill to get the Huskies back on serve, followed by an ace from Hunt, but the Cougars continued to hold a 22-19 advantage. Mateska added another kill and Fabikovicová added an ace as Washington battled to 21-23. A strong defensive rally from both the back and front rows kept the Huskies alive before Mateska's swing made it 22-24, but Washington ultimately fell 25-22.

Set three began with a Cougar service error, setting Washington up for an early 3-0 lead after a Howse kill and Mateska ace. Sammy Destler entered the match this set, adding a kill to get the Huskies the ball back and climb up to a 4-2 advantage. A kill from Hunt made it 5-3 before she called a slide and secured the kill to push the Huskies ahead 8-5. The Cougars battled back to tie the set at 9-9, but Howse answered with a soft touch at the net to put Washington back in front 11-10. Mateska added a kill and Destler followed with an ace to extend the lead to 15-12. Hunt fired again with a kill and an ace as the Huskies built a 17-13 advantage. Wessels and Fabikovicová added kills to push the lead to 20-13 before another Howse kill made it 23-16. Destler closed out the set with a kill, giving the Huskies a 25-18 win.

Not in our Howse. #PointHuskies // B1G+ pic.twitter.com/0kWpsaOEvw
— Washington Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) September 13, 2026

Wessels opened the fourth set with a kill, followed by an ace from Fabikovicová and a kill from Mateska to give Washington another early lead at 4-0. Powering this set with their offense, the Huskies added four more kills from Mateksa, Wessels, Howse, and Hunt to make it 10-8. Howse then brought the house down with a kill to put the Huskies ahead 12-11, but the Cougars answered to tie the set at 12-12. Howse didn't stop there though. Earning a new career high in kills, Howse quickly put Washington back in front with another kill, followed by another to make it 14-13. Destler added a kill for a 15-13 lead before the Cougars tied the set at 15-15. Destler answered with a kill off the block to regain the lead, but the Cougars tied it again at 16-16. Hunt then tipped a ball into the deep corner to put Washington back in front, and Wessels added a dump over the net to help the Huskies build a 20-17 lead. Mateska found the deep corner for another point before Howse continued the tips to make it 22-18. A dime from Kaitlyn Nguyen set up Mateska for a kill before Howse and Wessels built their roof to make it 24-19. Howse then set her new career high and finished the set with a kill, giving the Huskies a 25-20 win to close out the 2026 Volleyball Apple Cup.

Up Next: Washington will head to South Dakota for a pair of matches in Sioux Falls, taking on South Dakota State and South Dakota Sept. 18-19.

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