University of Washington
Arizona
Huskies Heat Up To Beat No. 16 Arizona In Four
October 20, 2014 | Volleyball
TUCSON, Ariz. – Washington was in the perfect place to warm up after a slow start, as the third-ranked Huskies overcame a rough first set to sweep the next three and ice No. 16 Arizona at the McKale Center in front of 1,626 fans. Husky senior Krista Vansant had her fourth 20-plus kills match of the season with 24 to lead the Dawgs, and the reigning Pac-12 Player of the Year became the fifth Husky with 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs, as she earned her one-thousandth dig in the fourth set.
In the first set, the Huskies were down as many as ten points, only to fight all the way back and take a one-point lead, that Arizona then erased to take the first set, 26-24. But the Huskies (19-0, 8-0 Pac-12) showed their resilience once again, coming right back to take the next three sets, 25-20, 25-20, 25-17. Washington remains tied with Stanford for first in the Pac-12 at 8-0, three games ahead of three teams tied for third at 5-3, a group that now includes Arizona which fell to 16-4 and was beaten for just the second time at home.
Check out 60 seconds of highlights from Washington's win at #16 Arizona.
“In game one we were our own undoing. But regardless of the scenario, you keep playing, and you find a way to get back into your rhythm, and I thought we did a good job at that,” Head Coach Jim McLaughlin said. “We settled down and played really well for three games, but we've got to fix that first game thing and come out a little sharper. But the most important thing is we're on the road and we beat a good team.”
Washington ended up hitting .295 for the day, heating up with a .424 mark in the third set and .438 in the fourth, and holding Arizona to .200 for the match. Senior All-American Kaleigh Nelson had an excellent match with 10 kills on a .500 attack percentage, her most kills since Sept. 26 at Cal.
“I think Kaleigh's a great person and this team is very, very important to her, and sometimes we get so strung out on the thing that you don't play loose and free,” McLaughlin said. “She knows how to play, and you have to think positive thoughts and go do your thing. But I was proud of her being aggressive and figuring it out.”
Junior libero Cassie Strickland had a big 19 digs as the Huskies finished with one more than the Pac-12's highest-ranked digging team, 58-57. Washington had 9.5 blocks, four from freshman Crissy Jones who overcame her own slow start to post seven kills on a .200 mark, five kills in the last set. Freshman Tia Scambray had a career-best 13 digs to go with seven kills. Lianna Sybeldon added seven kills at a .333 attack rate and three blocks, and Melanie wade also had five kills and three blocks. Bailey Tanner was one dig off a double-double with 28 assists and nine digs, and Katy Beals also had 26 assists and six digs.
This is the ninth time in the past 10 trips that the Huskies have swept the desert road swing, but the first time that both the Sun Devils (17th) and the Wildcats (16th) were ranked in the top-25. The Huskies completed their four-match road trip through Oregon and Arizona with four wins, and will be back home next Friday, Oct. 24, for a match against Utah at 8 p.m. At 19-0, it is UW's third-best start to a season, trailing a 22-0 start in 2004 and a 23-0 run in 2005.
The Huskies got a kill from Vansant in transition to open up the first set. But Vansant then missed her next two swings and Jones and Sybeldon both misfired as the Huskies lost six straight points, five on their own errors, and had to take the early timeout. Vansant got a tip to fall out of the break but UW then missed serve. Vansant overpassed an Arizona serve that was killed as the Wildcats extended their lead to 6-13, and added another transition kill for an eight-point lead. After Jones missed wide it was 6-15 as Arizona was on another 4-0 run and the Huskies burned their final timeout. Arizona added another for a 10-point lead before missing serve, but UW gave it right back with a Scambray service error. Wade and Vansant got back-to-back points for the Huskies and a back-row UA attack made it 11-18. The Wildcats then swung long and took their first timeout with the deficit down to six at 12-18. Beals continued to serve, and set Vansant in transition for another kill out of the timeout. But Beals then mishandled a set to stop the 5-0 run. She came back to set Vansant for a combo kill, and then Arizona missed long for 15-19. Vansant then floated an ace to the back line as the Huskies continued to creep closer, getting within three. Another Arizona error had it to 18-20 and Arizona called its last timeout. The Husky defense forced another error to get within one at 19-20, but Madi Kingdon got a kill to snap the three-point Husky run. Kaleigh Nelson answered back with a right side kill, then UW tied it up at 21-21 with its first block of the set from Sybeldon and Jones. A Tanner dig went above the net and Sybeldon jumped up to stuff it down for a kill and UW took a one-point lead at 22-21. Arizona came back with a slide kill to re-tie it. Arizona won a joust at net to go back on top, but then missed wide in transition for 23-23. Kingdon tipped for a kill to get UA a set point, 23-24, but Vansant snapped one to the sideline to erase it. Strickland gave UA another with a serve into the net, and Tanner was then called for a double-touch on her next set and that was how the frantic comeback bid fell short, 24-26. The Huskies hit just .143 in the set with Arizona at .167, and UW missing five serves with four missed by the Wildcats in a sloppy set.
Vansant continued to heat up early in the second set with the first two kills as the Dawgs looked to bounce right back. Kingdon missed a couple out of system swings as Beals made the Wildcat passers work and UW went up 5-1. Nelson had a kill to the court on the left and a tool off the block on the right to keep the Huskies moving. Sybeldon blocked an Arizona dump attempt and then pounded down a kill in transition to get the lead up to 9-4. Scambray put one up the line for a kill and a 10-5 lead. A marathon rally was kept alive by Jones bumping one into play from the scorer's table, and Sybeldon ultimately put down an overpass for 12-6 and Arizona called timeout. Wade put away a Tanner quick set in serve-receive for 14-8. A Wildcats error made it 15-8 and UA took timeout once again. Arizona got the kill out of the timeout, but Vansant ended a back and forth on the next point off the block and down. Vansant then served up an ace to continue adding to the lead at 17-9. Nelson won a joust at the net and then Scambray and Sybeldon posted a huge stuff straight down for 19-10. Another Scambray kill was followed by Jones with a solo rejection to make it 22-14. But the Huskies then let Arizona back in with a pair of attacking errors and took timeout with the lead at 22-17. Vansant was dug twice and UA sent over two free balls but then blocked Wade to get within four. But Vansant came through on the next point to stop the run with a crosscourt blast. Beals and Wade got UW to set point with a beautifully run slide for 24-19. Arizona saved one, but on the next play, a solid Strickland pass was set by Beals to Scambray who smashed one to the floor to win the set, 25-20. Washington outhit Arizona, .205 to .167 in the second set despite five blocks for the Wildcats. Scambray's four kills on a .333 percent led the way.
The pivotal third set would feature 10 ties and three lead chances. The teams went back and forth over the first six points of the third, with Vansant adding a pair of kills. A triple block by Wade, Nelson and Scambray got UW its first lead at 4-3. But Arizona strung together three in a row for the first two-point lead at 4-6. Scambray dove to save a missed setting connection and punched it over the net, and when it came back to UW's side she got the left side kill for 7-9. A wade quick strike got the Huskies within one at 10-11, and then the Dawgs tied it up on a Vansant right side roof straight down against McKenzie Jacobson. That was the first of six successive ties during the middle of the set. A couple quick-trigger Strickland digs led to a Vansant back row kill for 13-13, but Arizona kept the one-point lead at 14-15 at the media timeout. Out of the break, Tanner set Sybeldon for a quick strike and 15-all. The Huskies finally held serve to go up one at 17-16 on a Vansant kill off the block. Tanner then dug Kingdon and Strickland bump set Vansant for another kill high off the hands and Arizona took time at 18-16. A crucial rally out of the break took three Husky swings but Jones finished the third from the right to make it 19-16 before Arizona got a kill in serve-receive. Washington then couldn't decide who should dig a free ball and it fell for a Wildcats point and UW took timeout at 19-18. Vansant had a crafty kill pushing through the block for 20-18, then brought the heat on the next transition swing for 21-18 and Arizona took its last timeout. Nelson and Wade had a booming rejection on the left to make it 23-18, capping the four-point Husky run. Vansant found no blocker in the middle on a layup kill for set point at 24-19, and on the second chance, Nelson hit off the defense and out to end the set, 25-20. Vansant hammered eight kills in the third set, as UW hit .424 compared to .267 for the Wildcats. Strickland had six digs in the third.
In set four, the teams alternated points, with Vansant, Jones, Nelson, and Scambray all putting away kills in that order for 4-4. The Huskies got their first edge at 5-4 on a Sybeldon block, but Arizona re-tied it. A Wildcats service error and a long swing made it 7-5, then Sybeldon destroyed a Tanner set in transition for 8-5, capping a 3-0 run on Tanner's serve. Arizona got back within one, but Scambray had a clutch blast off the block, and Vansant took a Strickland bump set and put it off the block and down for 10-7 and Arizona signaled for time. Sybeldon's greeted Kingdon out of the break for a four-point lead. Jones had another kill for 12-8, but then the Wildcats came up with four of the next five points to cut it down to 13-12 and force the Huskies into a timeout. A long rally out of the break was finished by Nelson through the block on the left to keep UW ahead, 14-12. Nelson finished again straight to the court from the right for 16-14. Sybeldon and Jones then teamed up to send back the Wildcats swing for 17-14. Strickland chased down a ricochet and bump set it back over her head to Vansant who took some speed off and threw off the defense which misplayed it out for a kill and 19-15, with UA taking its last timeout. The Huskies then had an easy dig from Scambray and Vansant buried another. The play repeated for 21-15 before Scambray missed a serve to end the four-point Husky run. Sybeldon put one away and then Strickland brought back her jump top spin after hitting floats for two sets, and Arizona watched it fly past to the line for an ace and 23-16. Washington reached match point with Wade pounding down the Tanner set, and after a service error, Tanner set Jones on the right for a last kill to end things, 25-17. The Huskies had their best set in the fourth, hitting .438 and holding the Wildcats to .172, with Jones putting down five kills on seven swings with one error.
