University of Washington
Arizona
Huskies Sweep No. 13 Arizona To Get Back On Track
November 22, 2014 | Volleyball
SEATTLE – Needing a big effort to break out of its first, and only, losing streak of the season, the fifth-ranked Husky volleyball team leaned on senior All-American Krista Vansant. That much was to be expected, and Vansant delivered with 17 kills in a 3-0 win over 13th-ranked Arizona. But what could not have been forecast was the costarring role for freshman Courtney Schwan, who stepped in for her first action in 13 matches and hammered nine kills without an error to spark the Huskies (26-2, 15-2 Pac-12) to the 25-20, 25-17, 25-19 win over the Pac-12's third-place team.
In front of 3,369 fans at Alaska Airlines Arena, the Huskies erased the sour taste of their two five-set setbacks last weekend at Colorado and Utah, and regained their rhythm on offense, hitting .346 while holding Arizona (21-8, 10-7 Pac-12) to a .174 mark. Washington also got a big offensive night from senior Kaleigh Nelson who hit .467 with nine kills.
But it was Schwan who really stepped up, as freshman Crissy Jones was unable to go after suffering an ankle sprain in practice. The Auburn, Wash. native and Bellarmine Prep grad stepped onto the court for the first time since the Oct. 3 home match against UCLA, and made the most of her opportunity, putting down four kills in the first set en route to nine on 15 swings for a .600 attack percentage. It was the most kills for Schwan in Pac-12 play and one off her season-best.
"They were dialed in and we had a little adversity when Crissy Jones went down in warm-ups but Schwan has been practicing well,” said Head Coach Jim McLaughlin. “She got in there and got the game ball after hitting .600; she rose to the occasion. It was a great opportunity for her and it's great to see people step up when they get that opportunity."
The Huskies led across the board, with 46 kills to the 37 of Arizona, which was led by the 17 kills of Madi Kingdon. Washington outblocked the Wildcats, 7.0 to 2.0, and had more digs, 51 to 46, with Cassie Strickland's 14 digs leading all players. Junior setter Katy Beals had a double-double for the Dawgs with 22 assists and 11 digs.
The Huskies jumped out with the first three points of the match as Nelson earned two quick kills. A block for Nelson and Sybeldon made it 5-2, but Arizona used a 4-1 run to tie it up at 6-6. Vansant killed a Tanner set to regain the lead and then followed that with a service ace. Arizona responded with two straight for 8-8, but the Huskies went on a four-point run to jump ahead, 12-8, and force the Arizona timeout. Strickland found the groove on her jump serve in the run, producing an ace, and Schwan finished two more on the right side. Tia Scambray connected from Beals for a 14-10 lead, and back-to-back Vansant finishes made it 17-14 Dawgs. Lianna Sybeldon and Schwan added a pair as the Huskies pushed ahead, 19-15, but Arizona got back into it with three straight, two on UW errors, and the Huskies called timeout at 19-18. Scambray had another kill out of the break to snap the run, and after a Schwan kill, Wade and Schwan assisted on a stuff for 22-18. Scambray swung UW to set point off a Strickland assist, and then Nelson ended it with a swing to give the Huskies the 1-0 lead by a 25-20 count. The Huskies hit .310 in the first set with Nelson earning four kills on five swings without a miss, and Schwan adding four more on eight swings. Scambray had eight big digs in the set as well.
Arizona took a small early lead in the second set, despite a couple hard-hit Vansant kills. Sybeldon sent one down and then Schwan continued her great run with a finish to get it even at 5-5. A disputed line call went Arizona's way to cap a 3-0 run and force a Huskies timeout at 5-8. Schwan answered again out of the break, which was the first of five straight for the Huskies, who got going on the Beals serve with two kills by Nelson and a solo block from Melanie Wade for a 10-8 lead. Nelson had another finish and Scambray lined an ace off the defense for 13-9 Huskies. Wade got a kill set by Beals and then Kingdon misfired as the three-point deficit had turned into a five-point UW lead at 15-10, prompting the Arizona timeout. Sybeldon got in on two straight rejections, one on the right side with Schwan and one on the left with Scambray for a 19-13 lead. Arizona would get no closer than five points, as Scambray put one away to bring up set point, 24-17, and Vansant crushed the next Beals set to the court to end it, 25-17. The Huskies rolled to a .481 attack percentage in the set and held Arizona to .100. Schwan killed all three of her swings and Nelson was four-for-four.
A huge Sybeldon slam got the Huskies level at 4-4 in the third set. Schwan put another rocket down on the right side for 7-8, but the Wildcats won a long rally and followed with a transition kill for a three-point lead at 8-11 and the Huskies took the first timeout. Vansant got a quick kill on the left to get the Huskies back on the board. Scambray had a lightning-quick dig and Vansant killed a sliding bump set from Sybeldon set to get within one, and then Vansant hit down an overpass to tie it up at 12-12. Tanner then lined a service ace as UW went on top and Arizona took timeout. Arizona missed another out of the break as the run hit five points before the Cats got a kill to snap it. Vansant had a right side kill and Schwan put down an overpass off the Vansant serve for a 16-13 lead. The teams traded points until a couple Arizona finishes closed it down to 18-17, but Nelson banged the next set off the block and down and then Wade and Vansant had a stuff block to push the lead back to three at 20-17. Arizona caught the antenna on the next swing as UW added one more before Kingdon killed to end the 3-0 run. After an Arizona error, Sybeldon and Nelson blocked Kingdon, and a Vansant kill got the Huskies to match point at 24-19. The next Arizona swing was yanked wide, and Washington secured the sweep, winning seven of the final nine points down the stretch. The Huskies outhit the Wildcats, .286 to .175, in the final set, led by a dominant eight kills on 12 swings without a miss from Vansant.
Washington will next host a Sunday matinee against another top-25 team, as 22nd-ranked Arizona State visits for an 11 a.m. start time. That match will air once again on Pac-12 Networks.
