University of Washington
Oregon State
Dawgs Serve Themselves A Win Over Beavers
November 17, 2012 | Volleyball
Nov. 17, 2012
SEATTLE - Coming off an emotional high and playing without their offensive leader, the sixth-ranked Husky volleyball team was well aware of the potential for a letdown, but would have none of it tonight, as Washington swept Oregon State, 25-15, 25-13, 25-22 in front of 2,640 fans at Alaska Airlines Arena.
Following up last night's 3-2 win over No. 4 Oregon, in which the Huskies saved 14 match points before winning, was not going to be easy. But UW did four seniors proud on Senior Night tonight, with Kelcey Dunaway, Amanda Gil, Kelly Holford, and Kylin Muñoz getting the honor with their families on court in a pre-match ceremony. All four played significant roles in the win over the Beavers (14-16, 4-14 Pac-12).
The Huskies (22-5, 13-5 Pac-12) outhit Oregon State, .245 to .144, and dominated at the service line with a season-high 13 aces. Dunaway, Gil, and Muñoz all started, and Holford came in for her first action since Oct. 26. Dunaway had four kills, hitting .571. Muñoz dominated with her serve once again, tallying five of UW's 13 aces, plus five kills. Gil had three kills and led with four blocks, and Holford picked up three digs from the back row.
"Tonight our serve clicked and we put some pressure on them, and our focus was real good," said Head Coach Jim McLaughlin. "It was so emotional (last night), we spent everything we had. It's a challenge, and an opportunity to win some back to back matches and overcome this. It's a bit of adversity because of the emotional challenge but we came out and played steady."
Junior Gabbi Parker got her first start since Sept. 18 vs. Washington State, stepping in for Krista Vansant, who injured her ankle in last night's epic win over Oregon. Parker had five kills but really rolled at the service line, as she doubled-up her previous career-high, serving six aces to go with five kills. It was a freshman who led the offense on Senior Night, as Cassie Strickland posted 10 kills with an ace and seven digs. Kaleigh Nelson also added eight kills, Jenna Orlandini had 14 digs, and Jenni Nogueras led with 19 assists.
The Beavers opened up the match with kills on four of the first five points to take the early lead, but they quickly cooled off, and a block from Amanda Gil and Muñoz tied it at 4-4. Muñoz served up her first ace to tie it again at 6-6. Washington went on a 3-0 run to take its first lead at 10-8, with Nelson and Strickland connecting during the stretch. Up 14-12, the Huskies broke it open with another four-point run on Muñoz's serve. She had two more aces in the stretch, and after OSU broke that string, the Huskies reeled off five more on the Parker service. Nelson and Strickland put a couple Nogueras sets away, and Parker dialed up two more aces to run it to 23-13. Strickland hammered one for set point at 24-14, and then Nelson got one off the block and out to seal the first set, 25-15. The Huskies hit .333 in the set and ripped off five aces without a service error, while OSU missed four serves without an ace and hit .250. Nogueras had nine assists in the set as well.
After five first set aces, Strickland opened set two by firing another straight to the court, and two Parker kills helped the Huskies open up an early 4-1 lead. Muñoz aced the Beavers twice in a row soon after for a 7-3 edge. Dunaway stepped up offensively with a pair of kills midway through the frame that had the Huskies moving along up 12-7, and Muñoz kill followed by a big rejection by Gil and Parker made it 16-9 and force the Beavers into a timeout. Nelson got the sideout with a finish and then Parker served another ace for an 18-10 lead. Nelson ended two more rallies with kills and at 19-13, the Huskies sprinted to the finish by winning the final six points, on the serving of Katy Beals. Nelson, Muñoz, and Strickland all had kills set up by Beals, and after getting to set point with an ace from the freshman, UW had a triple block from Dunaway, Muñoz, and Strickland to end it, 25-13. Nelson had four kills in the second set on five swings to help the Dawgs outhit the Beavers, .346-.031. Just like the first set, UW served up five aces, and added 3.5 blocks.
After intermission, the Huskies were a bit ragged at the start of the third set, with most points ending in errors until Muñoz got the first UW kill for a 5-4 lead. A 4-0 Husky run put the Dawgs up 9-6 and forced a Beaver timeout. Strickland hammered two kills through the blockers from the left side and Parker notched another ace in the run. Out of the timeout, Gil and Strickland roofed Laura Schaudt for a 10-6 edge, and Parker sent another serve spinning the floor to cap the 6-0 run at 11-6. But Oregon State put together its best sustained run of the match, running off four points, with two kills and a block from Arica Nassar, to force UW to take time up 13-11. Strickland had an emphatic kill off the block out of the break, and a Parker kill had the Huskies up 17-14. But OSU wouldn't throw in the towel, cutting the lead to one at 17-16 before a costly service error. Parker then added her sixth ace for 19-16 and another Oregon State timeout. Gil shoved down an overpass for a 20-16 edge. The Beavers twice cut the lead to two, but Dunaway had a big kill on a slide and then Muñoz ended a long rally from the right side for match point at 24-21. The Beavers saved one but Muñoz ended the next rally again on a set from Beals to seal it, 25-22. Oregon State actually outhit the Huskies, .162-.146 in the last set, but kills were even at 13 and UW made up ground again at the service line with three aces, all from Parker.
Although tonight was Senior Night, the Huskies still have one more home match this Wednesday, against Arizona State at 8 p.m. That will be followed by the regular season finale in Pullman on this coming Friday, Nov. 23.
