University of Washington
Utah
No. 2 Huskies Win 10th-Straight, Sweeping Utah
November 26, 2015 | Volleyball
SALT LAKE CITY – Second-ranked Washington worked up an appetite with a straight set victory today in its first and only meeting of the season with Utah, and heads home to spend Thanksgiving in Seattle before hosting Washington State this Saturday to close out the regular season. The Huskies (27-2, 17-2 Pac-12) won their 10th-straight match by a count of 25-17, 25-18, 25-19 at the Huntsman Center led by the 10 kills of Tia Scambray and seven blocks from Lianna Sybeldon.
After the Huskies wrapped up their win, No. 1 USC fell in a five set thriller to No. 13 UCLA, bringing the Huskies into a tie for first in the Pac-12 standings with one match to play for both the Dawgs and Trojans. Washington can now claim a share of the Pac-12 title with a victory over the Cougars.
The Huskies had a big edge over the Utes (10-20, 2-15 Pac-12) in kills, 40 to 26, and hit .243 for the match while holding the Utes to just .042. The Dawgs had nine blocks compared to five for Utah, and served up six aces while the Utes had three. Washington also had an edge in digs, 42-38.
Watch the best plays of UW's win in 3 minutes
Scambray filled up the box score as usual with 10 kills, hitting .280, and she added two aces, six digs, and four blocks. Sybeldon had seven kills to go with her seven blocks, hitting .417. Sophomore Crissy Jones had eight kills on a .318 percentage with a pair of blocks, and sophomore Courtney Schwan had eight kills and 10 digs with two aces. Katy Beals and Bailey Tanner each had 16 assists, while Cassie Strickland had five assists and 10 digs with an ace.
“We spent a lot of time doing things we don't normally do, to get better, and sometimes you're not going to get the performance because of that because you're in a learning process,” said Head Coach Keegan Cook. “So I was proud of the team for sticking with it through those three sets and spending time in those areas where we need to improve. I liked our response when things weren't going well particularly in the third set. We had pretty steady passing all night.”
Definitely the point of the match right here, check out this save and stuff block by Tia and Lianna! https://t.co/xLMyJ01JUM
— UW Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) November 26, 2015
The teams split the first six points of the first set, with Sybeldon getting a kill on a Utah back row attack violation, and Crissy Jones putting one away from the left. Scambray put one to the floor for her first kill and a 5-4 Husky lead. Bailey Tanner had her first kill on the right and then she had a booming block along with Wade for an 8-5 lead. An ace off the defense from Scambray pushed it to a 10-6 lead. Schwan got her first kill and Tanner added one on the right for a 12-7 Husky advantage. A big block from Sybeldon and Jones gave the Huskies a 15-10 lead and then Strickland hammered an ace to the floor to push it to a six-point edge. Schwan had a couple kills to keep UW moving forward with a 20-14 edge, and then Sybeldon picked up two straight kills, one on a tip and another with force after a Tanner serve earned the Dawgs a free ball, making it 22-16. A Jones crosscourt kill from the left got UW to 23-17 and Utah took timeout. Out of the break, Sybeldon picked up a solo block to reach set point, and on the next rally, Scambray and Sybeldon teamed up for one more block, the fourth of the set for the Dawgs, to finish things off at 25-17. The Huskies hit .242 in the set while Utah wound up in the red at -.034.
The Huskies had three nice swings early in the second set from Schwan, Scambray, and Jones plus a block from Scambray to take the early lead, but the Dawgs missed three serves in a row. Wade put away a quick set from Beals and Destiny Julye registered her first kill of the match to make it 7-5. Tanner ran down a pass and bump set to Jones who hit a sharp angle off the Utes for a 9-7 lead. Scambray went high off the hands for a kill to extend it to an 11-7 advantage and Utah took timeout. Schwan dropped a short serve in for an ace out of the timeout. Utah got within three, but Scambray terminated twice both times using the block to her advantage. A strange call went against the Huskies as Schwan's usual roll shot was called a double contact, after initially being called a kill, but the Dawgs bounced back with the next three points, getting back to a 19-13 lead and forcing Utah's last timeout. Julye pounded one up the line from the right for a 20-14 lead. A second ace in the set from Schwan made it 23-17, and then Jones and Sybeldon blocked one right back off the Utah block to get to set point at 24-17. Utah found the net two points later to end it, 25-18. Washington again hit .243 in the second set, holding Utah to .028. Scambray's four kills led the way and Sybeldon had three block assists.
Beals went quick to Sybeldon after a perfect Scambray pass for the first kill of the third set. The teams were even through the first 10 points, with a block from Wade and Julye giving the Huskies a 6-5 lead. The Utes went on a four-point run, one point coming on what the Huskies thought was a clear touch on the Utah block. Julye snapped that with a frozen rope kill, and Schwan put one into the seam in transition to get it back within one at 8-9. Utah got back to a 10-13 lead, but then the Huskies strung together a tremendous four-point run to retake the lead, 14-13, and force a Utah timeout. Jones put one through the block to get the sideout to start the run, then Sybeldon finished a Tanner set. The next play saw a Utah swing off the block that Scambray dropped down to punch up, and Sybeldon deflected it up and Schwan put it back over, and on Utah's next swing, Scambray and Sybeldon swung over to stuff it for the big momentum boost. That made it 13-all, and Scambray put away a Strickland bump set on the next point to put UW up one, and prompt a Utah timeout. The Utes got one back, but Scambray blasted past the blockers from the left and then Wade put one away in transition for a 16-14 lead. Senior Justice Magraw subbed in, and after a perfect dig from Schwan, Scambray put away another Tanner set to keep the run going. Magraw then dropped an ace short, the third of her career, and Utah took its last timeout with UW up 18-14 and on an 8-1 run. Utah got the kill in serve-receive, and earned one more as the Dawgs passed one too tight, but Washington bounced back after a Utah double, and Scambray crushing another sharply past the block and to the floor for 20-16. Scambray and Schwan each rolled over the block for kills, and Scambray then put an ace off the top of the net to get to match point at 24-17. The Utes saved two but then hit into the net to finish the sweep, 25-19. Stats looked similar again in the third, as UW outhit the Utes, .242 to .133. Scambray had five kills in the last frame.
Washington will now turn its attention to Senior Night at home on Saturday, as Washington State comes to town to close out the regular season. The Huskies and Cougars go off at 8 p.m. with six seniors set to be honored before the match.
