University of Washington
Oregon
Dawgs Top No. 11 Ducks To Set New Win Streak Mark
November 08, 2014 | Volleyball
SEATTLE – In front of a season-high crowd of 4,803 at Alaska Airlines Arena, the second-ranked Husky volleyball team dispatched 11th-ranked Oregon in straight sets to set a new school record with a 24th-straight win, and a new best start in school history at 24-0. The Husky right side hitters could do no wrong, as senior Kaleigh Nelson and freshman Crissy Jones combined for 19 kills on a .548 attack percentage to lead the way over the Ducks (17-6, 7-6 Pac-12) by a count of 25-20, 25-18, 25-20.
With setters Bailey Tanner and Katy Beals feeding the right side, Nelson, a third team All-American last year, hit for 11 kills on 16 swings with just one error for a .625 attack percentage. From the same spot, Jones had eight kills and hit .467. Senior All-American Krista Vansant led all players with 15 kills, hitting .250, and she passed the 1,700 career kills mark in the first set, the third Husky ever to do so. Washington hit .366 as a team to the .261 mark of Oregon.
UW also got big contributions from Melanie Wade, who had five kills on a .455 percentage, and eight kills from freshman Tia Scambray at a .304 clip. Junior Cassie Strickland had 18 digs as the Huskies outdug Oregon, 50 to 44, and Strickland also had three of UW's five aces plus a career-high seven assists from her libero spot. Tanner had 22 assists and nine digs, with Beals adding 18 and 6.
Watch 60 seconds of Husky highlights from the 3-0 win over the Ducks.
Washington moved past the previous school record for best start to a season, and the best overall win streak, it shared with the 2005 NCAA Championship team, which went 23-0 before suffering its only loss of the year.
Head Coach Jim McLaughlin said that while it might be getting repetitive, the team continues to believe that the most important match is the next one in front of them.
“The most important match of the year now is OregonState,” said McLaughlin. “We've been saying that every week. I know it's a cliché, but … that's been the deal. The streak is part of just playing good volleyball and having that focus match to match.”
“We'll look at the film and find stuff that we've got to improve on like always,” he said. “They're a good team, and we stayed mostly in control the whole time which is a good thing. We played pretty good from start to finish.”
The Huskies opened the first set with a bang, as Sybeldon crushed down a quick set from Bailey Tanner, and then Strickland hammered an ace up the right sideline. Vansant got her first kill in transition for a 3-0 lead before Strickland missed a serve. A Melanie Wade dig led to a Vansant finish for 5-2, and Wade killed her first swing for a 6-3 edge. Beals dug one and Sybeldon stepped in for a bump set to Nelson who finished on the right for a 9-4 edge and Oregon called a timeout with UW hitting .750 to that point. The Ducks had a kill in serve-receive to snap the run but Sybeldon answered with a quick strike. Oregon put a free ball over off a tough Tanner serve and Crissy Jones finished for 12-5. Oregon had its best early run, taking three straight for 13-9 before Vansant snapped one down from high for her third kill and the 1,700th of her career. The Ducks had two straight kills on second contacts from Martenne Bettendorf and Kacey Nady to get within one at 15-14 before missing serve. Nelson provided two kills from the right to keep the Huskies on top. A sprawling dig from Tanner kept one point alive and Scambray finally finished it off the block for 19-16 and forcing Oregon's second timeout. Scambray hammered another from the right side this time for 20-17. A huge rejection straight down by Vansant and Sybeldon got the Dawgs another key point, and then Jones killed in transition to make it 22-17. Vansant came inside the pin to smack off the block and down, and then Strickland walked back and spun an ace to the back line for set point at 24-18. Strickland missed serve and Oregon saved one more, but they misplayed a free ball attempt to end the set, 25-20. Washington finished at a .484 clip in the set with 17 kills and just two errors, with Nelson killing all four of her swings, while Oregon hit .257 with seven kills from Bettendorf.
The Huskies jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second set as Vansant rolled one over the block and down and then rocketed another crosscourt, but Oregon took five of the next six points to take a 5-6 lead. Vansant tooled the block to get it back level at 6-6. The teams continued swapping points with ties at the next four points, Wade and Scambray adding kills to keep the Huskies level. Jones had a roof to make it 10-10. Oregon broke the back and forth with a second point for 10-12. A right side finish from Vansant and an Oregon error tied things up again at 13-all. Scambray went up the sideline to get the Dawgs back in front, and then Wade was on the spot for a solo block on an Oregon quick attempt to make it 15-13 Dawgs at the media timeout, in the midst of a 4-0 run. After the break, a lengthy rally was capped by a Nelson slam through the block for 16-13 and Oregon took a timeout of its own. Strickland bump set to Scambray for another kill off the block's fingers, and then Vansant came out of the back row for another transition kill and 18-13, which would be the last of the seven-point Husky run on Vansant's serve. The Ducks got back within three, but a service error and a bad set got it back to five at 20-15 and UO took its final timeout. Oregon got a kill on a UW blocking error out of the break, but the Ducks gave it back with a blocking miscue of their own for 21-16. The Ducks had a tip kill and then Jones was blocked on a tough set and the Huskies took their first timeout at 21-18. Oregon nearly had two stuffs on the next point but UW picked them both up, and Vansant then tipped over and down for the big kill. She then had a more conventional crosscourt crush for 23-18. The Ducks then hit into the net and it was set point, 24-18. Another quality point was ended as Tanner back set to Jones for a sharp kill to the court to end it, 25-18, as the Huskies closed on the four-point run after taking timeout. Vansant piled up eight kills in the set on a .438 percentage as the Dawgs hit .350 overall to Oregon's .256.
Jones started the third set as she ended the second with a right side missile set from Tanner. Beals ran down a deflection and bump set it back into play, then Scambray hit it out of the back for a kill and 3-3 in the third. The teams continued to swap points with Oregon continuing to inch ahead by one. Oregon took a 6-8 lead but Tanner found Jones again from the right for the sideout. Vansant then finished a long rally with a blast off the defense and out. A rocket from Strickland bounded off the Ducks and into the seats to get the Huskies back on top, 9-8. A transition Nelson finish off the block got the Huskies a two-point edge, 11-9. Scambray hit deep up the line, and Nelson terminated another Beals set for a 14-11 edge. Nelson banged through the block again to get to the media timeout with a 15-12 lead. The Ducks took the first two out of the break but then missed serve. The Ducks were within one again, but Vansant ripped one down, and then Wade and Jones got the rejection against Brenner for 18-15. Tanner went to Jones again on the right for a hard swing to the floor and Oregon called timeout as UW led, 19-15. After the break, Tanner dove to pop one up and Strickland went to Jones again and she put it down once again for 20-15, and Oregon went right back to its bench for a its last timeout. Jones continued to shine as she teamed with Wade for another roof on the next point, making it 21-15 before Strickland's serve found the net. Vansant mishit one long and then the Ducks dialed up an ace to cut it to 21-18 and the Huskies called their first timeout. The Huskies were out of sorts again on the next rally but kept fighting, kept it alive, and Vansant got one short that the Ducks couldn't pick up for 22-18. Nelson bailed UW out of another point as she cleaned up a tough set off the block and wide for 23-19. After a Ducks kill, Nelson banged one swing that was dug back over to UW's side, and Beals set Nelson again who put it to the floor for match point, 24-20. On the first try, Wade drove a float serve into a jumble of Ducks, and Oregon mishandled it for an ace, as UW closed it out, 25-20. The Huskies hit .293 in the final set compared to .270 for the Ducks, and it was the right side firing on all cylinders, as Nelson had six kills on eight swings and Jones had four on five, neither making an error.
Washington will be back on their home court on Sunday evening for a 5:00 p.m. start against OregonState. That match will air on the Pac-12 Networks.
