University of Washington
Washington State
Huskies Cap Regular Season By Sweeping Cougs
November 29, 2014 | Volleyball
PULLMAN, Wash. – Just two nights after the emotional win over No. 1 Stanford, the fifth-ranked Huskies wanted to follow that up the right way, facing a rival Washington State squad with nothing to lose in its season finale. The Dawgs took care of business in straight sets at Bohler Gym, wrapping the regular season with a 29-2 mark, to set a school record for total regular season wins.
The Huskies got their 11th straight win over the Cougars by a count of 25-20, 25-18, 26-24. Washington finished 18-2 in Pac-12 play, the same record with which they won the conference a year ago, but No. 1 Stanford bounced back from Wednesday's defeat to handle California in straight sets tonight in Berkeley, giving Stanford the Pac-12 title by a single game over UW.
Still, the Huskies figure to be among the top seeded teams when the NCAA Championship bracket is unveiled this Sunday, at 5:30 p.m. Pacific time on ESPNU. If seeded among the top-16 seeds, the Huskies would host the first and second rounds of the tournament next Friday and Saturday at Alaska Airlines Arena. Washington is also one of the four Regional hosts for round of 16 and quarterfinal matches.
Despite WSU's poor conference record, the Cougars had come within a few points of springing multiple upsets this year, as only four of their 18 Pac-12 losses coming in were in straight sets. But the Huskies were able to keep the Cougars out of rhythm, earning four more kills, 45-41, and making eight fewer errors. Washington hit .271 on the night compared to .163 for WSU.
In her final Pac-12 match, senior Krista Vansant had what has become a routinely terrific performance, posting 15 kills on a .306 attack percentage and adding two aces, nine digs, and two blocks. Junior Lianna Sybeldon hit .600 with nine kills without an error and had four blocks. Senior Kaleigh Nelson added six more kills, hitting .353, with three block assists, and Cassie Strickland notched 14 digs and an ace.
Junior Katy Beals had 19 assists and redshirt freshman Bailey Tanner added 21, but concern after the match was for Beals, who suffered an apparent knee injury towards the end of the match trying to chase down a ball that hit a beam in the rafters of the gym and changed directions. Redshirt freshman Jade Finau checked in for her first action since September 18, before Pac-12 play began. Finau had two assists over the final few points as UW held off a Cougars rally, and she provided a tough serve on the final point of the match.
“It was a good win on the road in the Pac-12,” said Head Coach Jim McLaughlin. “A lot of people played well. I thought we served well and competed hard. We showed a little bit of grit at the end. Jade coming in, she made four plays, set a couple kills, dug a ball, and hit a great serve. We'll get Katy looked at but Jade can help us and she showed that tonight.”
The Cougars took three of the first four points of the match and the Huskies fell behind 2-6 with some poor early passing. WSU gave a couple back by hitting out, and Lianna Sybeldon and Courtney Schwan teamed for a block to get it back to 5-6. The Huskies first kill did not come until Vansant smacked one off the block for 6-7. Schwan caught the far corner from the right to keep the Huskies within a point at 8-9. A tough Katy Beals serve led to a free ball for UW and a Kaleigh Nelson slam as the Huskies got level at 9-9. Vansant hammered a Beals set in serve-receive to tie it again at 11-all, and she buried another in transition to give UW its first lead at 12-11. Bailey Tanner served up an ace to crack open a two-point lead at 14-12. But WSU tied it again as Tanner missed serve and Vansant hit long. Sybeldon tipped over the block and down to give UW a 15-14 lead at the media timeout. Sybeldon and Tia Scambray teamed for a block out of the break, and then Vansant's next serve was shanked for an ace and a 17-14 lead. WSU was out of system again, and Tanner fed Scambray for her first kill and an 18-14 edge followed by a Cougars timeout. Schwan covered a tip attempt and Scambray killed again to keep the run going until WSU earned a kill in serve-receive for 19-15, snapping the 5-0 run. Strickland stepped back and hammered her 44th ace of the season for a 21-15 lead. Washington State staged a rally, floating an ace to the back line that UW let go to cut it to 22-19 and the Huskies took timeout. Out of the break, Strickland had a perfect pass and Beals found Melane Wade for a kill off the block. The longest rally of the match ended with a Beals set to Vansant who rocketed one to the floor for set point at 24-20. A tough Wade serve led to a free ball on the next rally, and Vansant disposed of that one as well to end it, 25-20. The Huskies hit .364 in the frame compared to .206 for the Cougars, with Vansant's five kills leading the way.
A Nelson kill and an ace floated by Scambray had the Huskies with a slim 3-2 lead to start the second set. Long rallies characterized play with several digs for each side, but Vansant put an end to one and sparked the Huskies. The senior crushed two more in a row, the second set up by a great serve from Wade that led to a free ball, and WSU needed timeout at 6-3. Sybeldon and Schwan rolled a couple short to the floor to maintain the lead, and Tanner was credited with a rare kill as she bumped a would-be free ball over and down for 10-6. The Cougars got a couple off the deficit, but UW answered back with a three-point run, Schwan putting one away off an overpass, and then Wade and Nelson rejecting two in a row for a 13-8 lead and a Cougars timeout. WSU earned a pair out of the break but Wade squashed that rally with a quick strike from Beals for 14-10. A one-handed punch from Wade kept a rally alive and Vansant rolled up the line for a 16-11 lead. Vansant and Sybeldon sealed a block on the left side to push the lead to 18-12, but the Cougars used a 3-0 run to climb back into it and force Washington into a timeout. WSU had a big dig of Vansant out of the break, but misplayed the set to give UW a free point. The next WSU swing caught the antenna, and then Sybeldon and Schwan roofed the next one as the Huskies quickly reestablished the 21-15 lead. WSU got within four but then made two more errors, as the Huskies reached set point at 24-18. Another swing came up short for the Cougars and the Huskies sealed it, 25-18. The Huskies hit only .146 in the set but held Washington State to a .041 mark.
Nelson fired a sharp angle from the right for a kill and a 2-1 lead in the third set. A perfect Strickland pass led to a quick Sybeldon smash for 5-5. The Cougars had a 3-0 run to take the lead, 6-9, before Nelson tipped over the block and down to get back on track. Vansant took three swings before getting one high off the hands and down for 8-10. Another marathon rally with a big dig from Beals was finished from Vansant to cut it back to a one-point set. Sybeldon tipped over the block and down to get the Huskies back even at 12, then Vansant obliterated a Tanner set out of the back row for a 13-12 lead. The Huskies gave two back on errors until Sybeldon tied it again at 14-14. Strickland's big serve took WSU out of rhythm and Scambray converted in transition to get a 15-14 lead into the media timeout. Wade slammed a perfect Beals set for an 18-16 edge, and a WSU error on a slide attempt made it 19-16 and the Cougars took time. A frightening moment for the Huskies followed, as a WSU ball was dug up into the rafters. As Strickland and Beals ran backwards to track it down, the ball hit off some of the scaffolding and bounced back towards the court. Beals tried to slam on the brakes and change directions, but fell to the court with an injury. She was helped off the court by Coach McLaughlin and the UW training staff. Jade Finau checked in and took the first pass and set it to Vansant who hammered it for 20-17. Two points later, she set up Sybeldon for a blast for 21-18. The Cougars got a sideout, and then Vansant rolled one long for 21-20. The next WSU serve dropped short for an ace to tie it and the Huskies had to take timeout. Tanner set Vansant on the right side in serve-receive and she got the clutch kill to regain the lead, and she followed that right up with an ace for 23-21 and the Cougars took time. WSU had a quick kill in serve-receive, and then UW had a poorly timed set connection that led to a Cougars kill for 23-all. Washington State made a double on a set on the next point to get the Dawgs a match point chance, but WSU dug a Schwan swing and tipped to open space for 24-all. Scambray hammered one to get another match point try at 25-24, with Finau coming in to serve. Her line drive float put the Cougars in some trouble, and Wade and Nelson were on the spot to reject the Chelsey Bettinson swing and snag the win for the Dawgs, 26-24. The Huskies hit .351 in the final set, with six kills from Vansant and five from Sybeldon.
