University of Washington
USC
Huskies Drop Pac-12 Opener To #13 USC
September 16, 2011 | Volleyball
Sept. 16, 2011
SEATTLE - The fourth-ranked Husky volleyball team faced a big challenge on its home floor tonight and came out tentative according to Head Coach Jim McLaughlin. The 13th-ranked Trojans of USC made it costly, picking up a 25-20, 28-26, 25-20 win in front of 2,451 fans at Alaska Airlines Arena, winning in Seattle for the first time since 2004. The Huskies suffer their first loss of the season, falling to 8-1 and 0-1 in Pac-12 play.
It's the first time in Coach McLaughlin's eleven seasons at UW that the Huskies have lost their conference opener. UW was outhit, .240 to .128, and hurt itself with nine service errors in the first two sets, and 10 for the match. Washington did have a set point in the second set, but couldn't seize a chance at swinging the momentum.
Freshman Krista Vansant had 10 kills but hit .128 to match the team's percentage. Senior Lauren Barfield was the only Husky to consistently find the floor, as she had seven kills with just one error on 15 swings for a .400 attack percentage. Sophomore libero Jenna Orlandini had an excellent night defensively with 19 digs, but her USC counterpart, Natalie Hagglund, had 30 digs in just three sets as UW couldn't keep the ball away from her.
"I hope this influences how we train," said McLaughlin post-match. "I thought SC played well but we didn't play well. We've got to fix some things and come out and not play on our heels and take a step forward. We have to talk more and let our instincts take over and not play tentative."
The Huskies got off to a shaky start in the first set, making two errors on the first three points to fall behind 0-3. A block from Rowland and Sanders made it 2-3 USC but the Trojans built the lead back up. Vansant poked one wide and the Huskies took their first timeout, down 17-12. The freshman came back with a kill off the USC fingertips on the first point out of the break, and then Vansant put the next one off the defense and out to trim the lead to three, but Jupiter had a crosscourt kill to make it 18-14. Ross got her first kill from the left to sideout, then Muñoz connected to make it 18-16. Ross and Barfield then put the Jupiter attack right back off her hip for the block to trim it to one and USC took time. The timeout cooled off Vansant as she put the serve in the net out of the break. UW sided out effectively but missed two more serves and then the Huskies mistimed a pass and the Huskies needed another timeout down 23-20, giving away a couple points. The Trojans got the kill on the next point and Vansant hit long on set point for a 25-20 Trojans set win. The Dawgs hit just .024 in the set, with Muñoz coming on late to lead with three kills on nine swings without an error. Seven digs from Orlandini helped keep UW in several rallies.
The first Husky point in the second set came as Summer Ross dove for a dig and deflected it over to USC's side and off the defense. A kill by Muñoz tied it up, but USC went on a 4-1 run to open up a 6-3 lead. Barfield put one down out of the middle and Jupiter sent one wide to shrink the lead to one, but after a Vansant kill, USC had a 3-0 run to make it 10-6. After an error, the Trojans took the next two to make it 12-7 and force the Huskies into a timeout. Rowland got UW's first kill since 7-6 on the slide, and her first of the night, to make it 9-13. Vansant and Barfield ended a long rally with a rejection on the left side, and Jupiter swung long for 13-16 Trojans, but the Huskies dropped serve into the net on the next point, slowing their momentum. But Muñoz came back with a left side kill and the Trojans pulled one wide to make it a two-point set. Rowland pounded a pair of rightside kills to keep the Huskies close. A great Holford dig led to a booming Vansant swing off the defense and out to cut the lead to one at 19-20, and USC called its first timeout. The Huskies finally tied it up at 21-21, on a long rally that Barfield kept alive and over for a kill. The teams then traded service errors for 22-all. USC set Williams on the quick for a kill and set point at 24-23. Muñoz saved it with a crosscourt blast after a nice rally. USC got the sideout for another set point but again Rowland got the finish with a kill on the slide. Muñoz then just grazed the back line with an ace to get the Dawgs a set point, but Fuller put it down from the right for 26-26. Rowland tapped one wide on the next play and then after a few unsuccessful UW swings, Sara Shaw got one in from the left side to take the set, 28-26.
Barfield got the first point for UW in the third on a slide, but Jupiter got a back row kill to cap a 3-0 run for a 4-1 lead. Vansant ended the string with her seventh kill. She then bailed the Dawgs out with a back row kill out of system to cut it to 5-7, and then Ross placed in her first ace to cut it to one. Two kills for Rowland kept the Dawgs within a point, and a block error on the Trojans got UW back even at 9-9. Vansant went off the block on the next point for a 10-9 lead and the Trojans called time. Barfield and Sanders posted a thunderous block out of the break for an 11-9 edge before USC broke the 4-0 run. A kill from Barfield on high in the middle and a missed tip from USC made it 14-12. Orlandini tallied an ace to push the lead to three. The Trojans cut it to one at 17-16 and Coach McLaughlin called UW's first timeout. Nelson cut the angle too close out of the break and the teams were tied at 17, but Rowland hit from the right to put UW back up. Two straight kills from the Trojans earned them a 19-18 advantage. USC sent an ace to the floor after UW got confused on who would take it, and the Huskies took time down 19-21. Nelson had a back row kill for her first point of the match, but UW dropped serve into the net. An attack error gave the Trojans match point, and Shaw registered her 15th kill on the next rally for a 25-20 win. The Huskies hit just .132 in the set while USC was at .282.
Washington won't have much time to dwell on the setback, as 6th-ranked UCLA comes to town for a 7 p.m. match tomorrow.
