University of Washington
Oregon
Husky Block Turns Back 24th-Ranked Ducks
November 26, 2010 | Volleyball
Nov. 26, 2010
SEATTLE - A wall of Husky volleyball players centered around junior Lauren Barfield sent back shot after shot and led 13th-ranked UW to a 3-0 win over 24th-ranked Oregon in front of 3,622 fans at Hec Edmundson Pavilion tonight. Washington (20-8, 9-8 Pac-10) had 16.5 team blocks to just two for the Ducks (18-11, 6-11 Pac-10) with Barfield matching her career high with 11 en route to the 25-20, 25-20, 25-10 victory.
The Huskies convincingly snapped a two-match losing skid to the Ducks, avenging a loss earlier this season in Eugene. Washington held Oregon to a negative attack percentage (-.020) for the night, as the Ducks had 31 kills but 33 errors, many of them on resounding UW rejections at net. The 16.5 blocks matched UW's season-high, set previously in five sets at USC. With all the blocks, no Husky reached double-figures for kills, with senior Becky Perry leading the way with nine kills. Senior Jenna Hagglund had 24 assists while adding five blocks herself.
Washington also reached the 20-win plateau for the ninth year in a row, all of which have resulted in NCAA tournament bids under head coach Jim McLaughlin. UW improves to 19-0 this season when its opponent hits under .200.
"We served well which helps your block," said McLaughlin. "When they were in system we were in good spots. We stayed focused on the things that told us what to do. I liked our concentration, our focus; all those things are important to see the game like that. We've been preaching that this is the time where how you play in these last few matches is an indicator of what type of team you are. We've just got to get the momentum going in the tournament."
Oregon took the first four points of the match on Lauren Plum's serve and the Huskies called timeout. Bianca Rowland and Hagglund rejected a Katherine Fischer swing to get the crowd and the Huskies into it. Senior Kindra Carlson finally got the first UW kill to make it 6-3, and then she teamed up with Barfield for another stuff on the next rally. UW then tied it back up at 7-7 with an ace from Perry. Barfield and Carlson hammered another block down for an 8-7 lead. A Carlson ace on the sideline opened up at 12-9 Husky lead, which was followed by a UO miss off the antenna and a setting error that forced a Duck timeout, down five. The Dawgs extended it to a 6-0 run for a 15-9 lead before Oregon ended Carlson's serving run. Kelly Holford recorded her first ace and Rowland had a pair of slide kills and the Ducks took time again with UW up 19-12. UW made a couple miscues to cut the lead to 23-19 and the Huskies called time. A rare triple block got the Dawgs to set point out of the break, as Barfield, Kylin Muñoz and Carlson got the roof. Carlson then put one off the block and down on the next rally to give the Huskies the 25-20 win. The Huskies outhit the Ducks, .227-.029 in the first set with 5.5 blocks aiding the effort.
Barfield's first kill on her first swing of the night gave the Huskies an early 3-1 lead. She earned her second kill soon after, and then teamed up with Muñoz for another emphatic block of a Meyers swing that put UW on top 7-2 and forced an Oregon timeout. The Ducks trimmed the lead down to 10-8, but two-straight Perry kills was followed by a solo stuff by Barfield for a 13-8 lead. Washington stretched its run to 7-2 to force another Oregon timeout at 17-10. Rowland and Hagglund teamed up for another block, then Rowland went around the right for her sixth kill and a 22-13 lead. The Huskies got to set point at 24-16 but four-straight Oregon points forced Coach McLaughlin to call time to regroup. But Oregon came out and sent its next serve straight into the net to end the set at 25-20. UW hit just .176 in the set but held Oregon again to .028. Orlandini had seven digs in the set and Rowland was 4-for-4 on her swings.
A 3-0 run gave UW an early lead in set three, with Perry and Barfield teaming up for the stuff and Perry killing it crosscourt for a 5-2 lead. A diving Holford punch-up led to another Perry kill and a 6-3 edge. Another 3-0 Husky run made it 11-5 after a Muñoz kill and a roof by Hagglund and Rowland. The Ducks called time but it didn't have much effect, as they missed wide on the next rally and then hit into a UW triple-block and quickly called their second timeout down 13-5. Holford's second ace of the night made it 15-6, and another resounding rejection by Barfield and Hagglund made it 17-8 Dawgs. Oregon wilted down the stretch as Hagglund got a dump kill and then served the Huskies on a 5-0 run that included an ace, two Perry kills, and a solo roof and a kill by Barfield. Fittingly, the night ended on one final booming block on the left side from Muñoz and Barfield, as the Huskies wrapped it up, 25-10. Washington posted another 6.5 blocks in the third set, four by Barfield, and Perry had five kills on seven swings as UW hit .571 and held Oregon to -.143.
Washington closes out the regular season tomorrow night with Senior Night against Oregon State where they will honor Carlson, Hagglund, and Perry before the match. Match time is set for 7 p.m. After that it will be time for the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday at 12 noon on ESPNews.
