Dawgs Beat Rebels With Dominant Set Five

Thursday, September 3

Norman, Okla.

1:00 PM

University of Washington

4-0,0-0Big Ten

Ole Miss

3-2,0-0SEC

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Washington	25	25	26	23	15	3
Ole Miss	14	22	28	25	5	2

Mateska and Fabikovicova high-five after a point in Oklahoma

September 03, 2026 | Volleyball

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By: UW Athletic Communications

NORMAN, Okla. – Washington found itself in a dog fight after missing out on two match points that would have finished off a sweep of Ole Miss in their Allstate Big Ten/SEC Challenge opener. But the Dawgs came out snarling to finish the fight in five, dominating the final set to end the Rebels' comeback bid, 25-17, 25-22, 26-28, 23-25, 15-5.

Playing at Oklahoma's McCasland Field House, UW dominated statistically but was forced to a decisive fifth for the second-straight match. In set three, UW had a 24-22 lead with a chance to sweep, but Ole Miss came back and won the third and another close set in the fourth. But UW raised its game for the second-straight match when it mattered most, going on an 8-0 run midway through the fifth to close it out and reach 4-0 on the year.

The set 2 knockout from Maija Howse ??#PointHuskies pic.twitter.com/uXVpAgJgbO
— Washington Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) September 3, 2026

Washington had 28 more kills than Ole Miss, 73 to 45, and hit significantly higher at .254 compared to .132. The Huskies had more digs (77-38) while Ole Miss had two more blocks (13.0 to 11.0). The service line was holding the Dawgs back, with 17 errors and only 2 aces going into set five, but then the Dawgs got four aces in the fifth, two from Simona Mateska and two from Kaitlyn Nguyen. Washington was only aced three times overall.

Four different Huskies had double-doubles, as Mateska led UW with 18 kills and a career-high 19 digs. Second year Maija Howse had the first of her career, with 14 kills and a career-high 14 digs, adding five blocks. Setter Andrea Fabikovicova had 52 assists and 12 digs, and first year Kaitlyn Nguyen got the rare libero double-double in just her fourth match with 15 digs and 11 assists. First year Kylie Kleckner, the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week, had 17 kills and eight digs, just two away from a fifth UW double-double.

Middles Julia Hunt and Katy Wessels both added nine kills, and Hunt had a team-leading eight blocks. Addie Kanouff was effective off the bench with three kills on four swings without an error, and Addy Azavedo provided five digs.

Up Next: Washington will face a tough test on Friday, staying in Norman to take on the host Oklahoma Sooners at 12 p.m. Pacific time, streaming on SEC Network Plus.

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