NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS • REGIONAL ROUNDS
LEXINGTON, KY • MEMORIAL COLISEUM
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11 • ROUND OF 16
(4) Nebraska def. (13) BYU, 3-0 • Stats
(5) Washington def. (12) Ohio State, 3-2 • Stats
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12 • QUARTERFINALS
(5) Washington vs. (4) Nebraska • 1:00 p.m. PT • ESPNU | Live Stats
LEXINGTON, Ky. – It was rarely pretty for the Husky volleyball team until the final point fell, and then the Huskies could smile, because in a manic match of momentums wings, Washington locked down late to defeat Ohio State in five sets, advancing to the Elite Eight for the eighth time since 2003. After taking a two-sets-to-one lead, the Huskies (31-2) shrugged off their worst set of the year in set four, and responded with a phenomenal fifth to earn a rematch with familiar NCAA foe Nebraska on Saturday at 1 p.m. Pacific time (live on ESPNU) with a Final Four spot on the line.
It was essentially a tale of five matches tonight at Kentucky's Memorial Coliseum, as the Pac-12 and Big Ten powers traded shots. Ohio State, the 12th seed in the tourney, pulled out the first set, 25-23, but then the fifth-seeded Huskies began to take control, winning sets two and three, 25-20 and 25-18. But suddenly UW's rhythm was lost, and the Buckeyes (25-10) rolled to a 25-12 set four win to force a fifth. But the Dawgs maintained their composure, and after hitting negative numbers in the first and fourth sets, UW hit .571 in set five and got the win, 15-8.
Washington came in leading the NCAA with a .316 attack percentage, but the box score tonight reflected toughness and determination more than the efficiency. The Huskies were outhit overall, .179 to .154. The teams were even with 12 blocks a side, and Ohio State had more digs, 75 to 60. But the Huskies had the edge serving, with six aces to two for OSU.
“What a tremendous amount of heart from this team,” said Head Coach Keegan Cook. “Not a whole lot of things went well or smooth in this match. We got out-dug and out-hit. To still come out with a win, it takes a lot of intangibles. It's a big deal.”
Senior middle blockers Lianna Sybeldon and Melanie Wade led the Huskies offensive, and senior Cassie Strickland had a couple of the greatest plays any volleyball fan will ever see, hurling herself over the scorer's table to keep a ball in play in the fourth set, and then kicking a sure-thing kill by OSU back into play in the fifth set, which led to a huge block for the Dawgs to build momentum. Sybeldon finished with 14 kills and Wade had 10, with both blocking six balls. Strickland had 14 digs and a big ace in the fifth set as well.
Strickland talked about what was said after set four when the Huskies needed to regroup. “Everything was going their way in the fourth set and I think we just told each other, 'Hey, they got that game, they ran away with it.' A lot of things went their way, but it was 0-0 again and we just had to get back out there and fight and play our game,” Strickland said.
“To bounce back from that fourth set says something about us,” Cook added. “I think we're all happy that we get a chance to play again tomorrow and that this wasn't our last match together. We haven't played our best match yet, so tomorrow is that chance.”
Sophomore Courtney Schwan had nine kills and 15 digs while sophomore Tia Scambray had seven kills, two aces and 12 digs. Bailey Tanner added six kills, 21 assists, six digs, an ace and a couple blocks, and senior Katy Beals also finished with 21 assists and nine digs with an ace.
The Huskies will now look to defeat a third consecutive Big Ten opponent on Saturday, and get some payback as well, as Nebraska knocked the Huskies out of the tournament in the round of 16 in 2012 and last season. It is the sixth time the teams have played in the NCAA tourney since 2005, with Nebraska holding a 3-2 edge in that span.
Washington's first kill came from Wade for a 3-2 lead after a couple OSU errors. Bailey Tanner knotted the set at 4-4 with her first swing from the right pin. OSU took a brief 5-7 lead but UW got two back to tie it at sevens. Schwan tagged the defense for her first kill to make it 9-10 Buckeyes. Consecutive kills from Scambray got things even again at 12-12. Washington inched ahead by one, 15-14, at the media timeout on an OSU setting error, forced by a big serve from Strickland. The Buckeyes won three straight out of the timeout, the latter two on blocks, and UW called timeout down 15-17. Wade's third kill got the sideout back for UW quickly, but UW missed its next serve, and then OSU had a fifth block for a three point lead. Wade saved a crucial rally with a solo stuff on a UW overpass to cut it to 17-19. Wade tipped into the campfire for a kill and then OSU swung long as the Huskies crept within 19-20, and the Dawgs then tied it up at 20-all with a stuff by Sybeldon and Scambray on an OSU right side swing. But OSU won a long rally that the Huskies had several swings at, and then the Buckeyes served an ace to make it 20-220 and force UW's last timeout. The Dawgs gave up one more for 20-23, but then OSU missed serve, and a tough Tanner float serve caused another Buckeyes error for 22-23 and OSU called its last timeout. Another tough Tanner serve forced another OSU error and the Huskies were even at 23, but the Buckeyes got the kill on their next swing in serve-receive for set point. The next point was a marathon, but ended on OSU's seventh block of the set, as their middle rejected a Sybeldon swing to end it, 25-23. The Huskies had more errors than kills in set one with nine kills but 10 errors, seven of them on OSU blocks. Wade was the offensive bright spot with four kills on nine swings and no errors.
Schwan fired a kill for UW's first point in set two, but the Huskies fell behind, 1-4. Sybeldon got on track with her first kill and an OSU miss made it 3-4. Strickland's big serve earned UW a free ball and Wade put it down for 5-5. Wade and Tanner put down a block to make it 7-8 after OSU had a three-point run. Schwan tied things up at 10-10 going high off the block's hands, and an OSU error had the Dawgs up for the first time in the set, 11-10. The first Husky ace, served by Tanner, made it 13-11 and the Buckeyes took time with the Huskies on an 8-3 push. The Buckeyes rallied right back with three straight to go back on top before swinging long to make it 14-14. Sybeldon tapped down a ball hanging above the net, and then Schwan dropped an ace in short as UW moved back up 16-14, answering OSU's 3-0 run with a 3-0 run of its own. Scambray got a block back off the Buckeye attacker to keep the run going, but Schwan missed her next serve to snap the streak. Sybeldon had a kill in serve-receive, and then Wade and Scambray sent back a Buckeye swing for 19-16 and OSU used its last timeout. Strickland's next serve was overpassed and OSU got caught in the net for 20-16. Scambray ended a long rally with a tip over the block for 21-17. Another OSU blocking error and a Schwan roll shot kill made it 23-19 Dawgs. Schwan got the Dawgs to set point with a kill off fingertips. OSU saved one, but the Huskies won a long rally on a Buckeyes error to take the set, 25-20, and level the match at a set apiece. The Huskies picked up the offense in set two, hitting .289, while OSU finished the set at .189. Schwan had five kills in the frame, and Sybeldon added three on five swings.
Wade landed a kill on the first point of set three from Beals. Sybeldon connected off the blocker for an early 4-2 lead, then Sybeldon was at the center of a triple block to tally another. A smashing blow from Sybeldon in transition made it 6-2 Huskies and the Buckeyes took an early timeout. The Buckeyes got Schwan off the line with a kill out of the timeout, but Crissy Jones got her first kill from the right for 7-3. Scambray crushed one from the right side to keep the Huskies siding out and up 9-5. Scambray had two straight tough serves, one resulting in an OSU error and the next falling for an ace to make it 11-5 Huskies. Sybeldon and Jones capped a long rally that included a big Scambray dig by rejecting the Buckeye swing straight down to push the lead to 14-7. Sybeldon earned another kill with OSU in the net, and then the Huskies roofed another OSU swing for 16-8 and OSU used its final timeout. A Scambray offspeed shot was effective as the Dawgs held a 19-10 edge. Sybeldon smacked down an OSU overpass off a Wade float serve for 21-12. A huge stuff by Sybeldon and Jones capped another epic rally and made it 23-15 Dawgs. Jones ripped one from the right to the crosscourt corner to get to set point at 24-16. An OSU service error ended it, 25-18. The Huskies hit .265 in the third set, holding OSU to .121, and Sybeldon was on fire with six kills on eight swings with just one error and Jones got going with three kills on five attempts.
Sybeldon's 10th kill on the night made it 1-1 to start the fourth. Schwan's tough float couldn't be handled and the Huskies went up 3-2. On the next rally, Strickland dove over the scorer's table to keep a point going, though the Buckeyes would take it, it earned a big round of applause from the fans and Buckeye bench. However, OSU took the next few points to take the lead, 3-6, and the Huskies took time. Wade and Jones roofed one to cut the gap to 5-7, but the Buckeyes answered with a couple before Jones finished for 6-9. Beals floated an ace to make it 7-9, but again the Buckeyes answered with a 4-0 run to push the lead to six and force UW's last timeout at 7-13. Wade finished a slide to snap the five-point run, but the Huskies could not sustain a run. The Buckeyes had another 5-0 run to double up the Dawgs at 10-20. Ohio State closed it out, 25-12, Washington's worst set loss of the season.
The Buckeyes took the first point of the fifth, but Wade finished a slide in serve-receive, and then Scambray dropped in an ace for 2-1. Tanner and Wade had a right side stuff on the next rally. Another long battle was capped off by another Husky roof, with Wade standing tall in the middle for a 4-1 lead that prompted the Buckeyes to take time. The Buckeyes got a kill in serve-receive, but UW did likewise with Tanner connecting on the Beals set. The play of the season may have come at 6-3, when OSU swung, Jones tipped it back, and Strickland stuck her foot out and saved it back over to OSU's side, and on the ensuing swing, Jones and Sybeldon roofed the Buckeyes to make it 7-3 for the Huskies. The teams swapped sides at 8-4 Dawgs after an OSU error. A nice touch by the block got UW a transition chance and Sybeldon finished for 9-4. A perfect pass from Strickland was set by Tanner to Scambray who smashed crosscourt for 10-5. Strickland then stepped back to the line and delivered a huge ace off the defense for 11-5. Jones converted another transition swing to get it to 12-5 before Strickland's next serve found the net. Ohio State got another back for 12-7 and the Huskies called their first timeout. The timeout paid off, as the Buckeyes served long out of the break, and the Huskies then got to match point on a Tanner right side finish off the block. The Buckeyes saved the first in serve-receive, but Beals went to Tanner and she found the sideline from the left pin to secure the fifth set, 15-7, and send the Huskies into the Elite Eight. The Huskies did not make an error in the final set, hitting .571 to close things on a high note.
