University of Washington
Arizona
Volleyball Swept By 10th-Ranked Arizona
September 23, 2000 | Volleyball
Sept. 23, 2000
SEATTLE - Playing its fifth ranked opponent in its last six matches, the University of Washington volleyball team was unable to defeat the 10th-ranked Arizona Wildcats Saturday, falling 15-9, 15-7, 15-5, at the Hec Edmundson Pavilion Addition. The Huskies dropped to 4-6 overall and 0-4 in the Pac-10, while the Wildcats, winners of their last 10 matches, improved to 10-1 overall and 3-0 in conference play.
UW sophomore Gretchen Maurer (San Clemente, Calif.) led the team with seven kills, while junior Malena Thompson (Santa Fe, N.M.) tallied six kills and nine digs.
In game one, the Wildcats got out to the early lead at 5-1, but two straight blocks, one by freshman Kara Bjorklund (Olympia, Wash.) and Thompson and the other by Maurer and Bjorklund, put the Huskies back to within two at 5-3. Arizona quickly recovered the game's momentum, pushing its lead back out to 12-5, before allowing Washington to get within three at 12-9. Two hitting errors and a kill off an overpass, however, gave the Wildcats game one at 15-9.
Game two proved much closer and the two sides were tied early at two, three, four and five points. The Huskies broke the 5-5 tie on a kill by sophomore Paige Benjamin (Redmond, Wash.) to gain the team's second lead of the match. A Wildcat hitting error put the Huskies up at 7-5, but after a Arizona timeout, the Wildcats scored 10 unanswered points, claiming game two on a kill by Shannon Torregrosa, 15-5.
Arizona's unanswered run continued after a 3-3 tie in the third game, scoring eight straight points to move out to an 11-3 lead, eventually winning 15-5.
Wildcat Marisa DaLee led her team with 13 kills on .632 hitting, while Stefani Saragrosa contributed 10 kills.
The Huskies are back in action Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. with a non-conference match-up at Idaho. Washington then returns home to face in-state rival Washington State Friday at 7 p.m.
