University of Washington
NCAA Regional Final vs. Nebraska
Washington's NCAA Ride Ends In Elite Eight
December 13, 2015 | Volleyball
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The six Husky seniors won more matches than any class in the history of Washington volleyball, but a win in the Elite Eight was just out of reach today in Kentucky, as the fifth-seeded Dawgs dropped a typically hard-fought, high-intensity match to fourth-seeded Nebraska in four sets. Washington finishes the season at 31-3, one win shy of reaching the Final Four, as Nebraska (30-4) earned a trip home to Omaha where it will host the championships next week.
With a 25-17, 21-25, 25-20, 25-21 win, the Huskers earned a 14th straight victory and snapped the 14-match streak that the Huskies had been on entering today, and Nebraska earned its first Final Four appearance since 2008. The Huskies and Huskers were meeting for the sixth time in the NCAA tournament since 2005, and while UW won two of the first three in the rivalry, Nebraska has had UW's number of late, stopping Washington's postseason runs in the round of 16 in 2012 and 2014, and in the Elite Eight today.
Yet nothing could be taken away from the effort of Washington today, all season, and for the six seniors, for the past four years as a whole. Katy Beals, Kim Condie, Justice Magraw, Cassie Strickland, Lianna Sybeldon, and Melanie Wade combined to win 117 matches over the last four years, against just 16 defeats. The group helped win Pac-12 titles in 2013 and again this season, and made postseason runs twice to the Sweet 16, this year to the Elite Eight, and to the Final Four in 2013, and won 30-plus matches for an unprecedented three straight years.
The seniors also helped bridge the transition from Jim McLaughlin's 14 successful seasons as head coach to a tremendous year one for Keegan Cook, who talked about his special group after the match.
“Transitions are not easy. It takes a group of amazing people to get through any transition in life,” said Cook. “Certainly without these seniors, we would not be in the situation where we are. They were the magic. They carried us through a tough spring, hard summer, and a long season to a Pac-12 title. I think they exceeded everyone's expectations in terms of what they were able to accomplish with a first-year head coach.”
After the Huskers took early control of set one, Washington responded with a big run from 17-19 down in set two to claim that one, 25-21, and level the match. The teams were even in set three at 16-16, but the Huskers made the late run this time to regain the momentum. In the fourth set, both teams were giving everything they had, with the Huskies siding out at 70-percent, usually a winning number, but Nebraska played its best as well, siding out at 81-percent to keep the Huskies just out of reach until the end.
Husky highlights from the Elite Eight match
Nebraska finished hitting .296 for the match, while the Huskies came in at .204. The Huskers also had slight edges in aces (7-5) and blocks (12.0-11.0) and had 61 digs to 49 for the Dawgs.
Sybeldon, Wade, Strickland and Beals all went out with outstanding efforts today against the Huskers. Sybeldon led the offense with 15 kills and hit .464, ending the season with a .450 mark that ranks second in UW history, and she added six kills, finishing with 543 on her career, third-most in UW history. Wade had 10 kills for the second straight night, hitting .474 with five blocks, and she finishes fifth in total blocks in school history with 485.
Strickland and Beals are now one and two in career sets played at UW, with Strickland first at 462 and Beals second at 460. Strickland hammered three aces tonight, becoming the second Husky ever to pass 150 career aces, finishing with 152. She also had 10 digs, finishing fourth in school history with 1,544. Beals had a double-double today with 21 assists and 12 digs, ending up No. 5 in career assists with 2,704.
“I thought (Nebraska) played an outstanding match tonight, particularly on the defensive end they were tremendous blocking all night,” said Cook. “So congratulations to them, I think they have a real shot to take the title. I'm very proud of the way that my team represented themselves this evening. To be your best when your best is needed is very difficult and these three players (Strickland, Sybeldon, Wade) in particular, as well as the rest of their team, represented their university in the best possible manner. I'm very thankful to have coached this group.”
The Dawgs finished the season with a 31-3 record, a Pac-12 championship, & enough wonderful memories for a lifetime. pic.twitter.com/U1VnwmdKA1
— UW Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) December 13, 2015
After the teams traded service errors to get some nerves out, a long rally on the third point was won by a Tanner kill for 2-1. The Huskers then got the first early run of the match, as UW had some early passing woes, and gave up five points in a row and needed timeout down 2-6. Sybeldon broke UW out of the run with a kill in serve-receive out of the break, and landed another two points later for 4-7. Nebraska had three early blocks and two aces to open the gap up to 4-11 and the Huskies had to take their second timeout. Two more points went Nebraska's way before Scambray landed her first kill for 5-13. An ace from Scambray trimmed the Husker lead to seven at 7-14. The first block for the Dawgs came from Tanner and Sybeldon and Jones and Sybeldon followed it up with another stuff one point later as the Huskies had finally found a spring in their step, cutting it to 12-17 and forcing a Nebraska timeout. Another rip from Sybeldon went down, and then Scambray tooled the block to shave another point off the Husker lead at 14-18. Scambray and Jones picked up two more kills in serve-receive for 16-20, but Nebraska took care of its side out chances. An ace got the Huskers to set point at 17-24, and Nebraska tipped for a kill to end it, 25-17. The Huskies hit .148, moving up throughout the set after the rough start, but the Huskers finished at .304 with three aces and two missed serves, while the Huskies missed five serves and had just one ace.
Senior Kim Condie was in to start the second set serving for the Dawgs. Her first serve produced an overpass, but Tanner's swing at it was blocked. Sybeldon notched another kill, and Tanner floated an ace to get the Huskies out to a 3-1 lead. A tip fell for Sybeldon for one kill, and then she hammered another for her sixth kill of the early going to make it 5-3. The Huskers scored three to move up one, but Wade hit off the block and out to tie it at 6-6. The teams swapped leads, Tanner tying it at 8-all with a tip over the block. Nebraska opened up a three-point lead at 8-11 on a couple Husky errors and the Dawgs took time. The Huskers added an ace out of the break, before Wade snapped the run with a swing out of the middle. Sybeldon got another down after a long rally to trim it to 10-12 Huskers, and Nebraska sailed one long to get back within one. Tanner and Sybeldon had a big block to make it 12-13. Freshman Destiny Julye checked in and got her first kill on her first swing, and a block by Sybeldon and Jones kept it tight at 14-15. The Huskies got back even at 15-all after Jones capped a long rally with a crosscourt kill from the right, and Nebraska called time. The Huskers tipped for a kill out of the timeout, but Jones answered with a big swing on the right. The Huskers cracked open a two-point lead, 17-19, and UW called its last timeout. Tanner had a great swing high off the block for a kill to get the big sideout for 18-19, and then Wade tied it up at 19 with a tip that dropped. Washington moved in front after winning a long rally on a Nebraska error for 20-19, and then a sensational dig by Strickland was backed up by a Courtney Schwan kill and Nebraska called time with the Dawgs on a 4-0 run. Another big point was capped by a roof from Wade and Tanner to extend Scambray's serving run. UW had a swing at another point, but Schwan's swing hit just wide. A Nebraska block cut UW's lead to one, but they missed their next serve for 23-21 Dawgs. A Husker error got the Dawgs to set point at 24-21, and Nebraska sailed another on its next swing as the Huskies leveled the match at a set apiece with the 25-21 win. The Huskies outhit Nebraska, .146 to .093 in the set, with four kills from Wade and Sybeldon, and UW eliminated its serving errors after missing five in the first.
Schwan tipped for a kill and then Sybeldon pushed one through the block for the first two points of the third set. Strickland found the range on her serve, ripping an ace straight to the floor, and then following up with a second in a row off the defense to build the Huskies a 6-2 lead and force the early Nebraska timeout. Strickland missed her next serve, and the Huskers got two more to get right back within one at 6-5. Tanner had a big kill off a long Beals bump set, going off the side of the block for 8-6 Dawgs. Nebraska aced UW up the sideline to tie it at 8-8, but Wade got the lead right back with a quick kill, and then Sybeldon and Tanner shut down the next Husker swing for a 10-8 lead. Again Nebraska responded with two, but Sybeldon tapped down a tight set for a kill for 11-10. Tanner found Sybeldon in serve-receive for another bomb that made it 13-12 as the teams went back and forth. The Huskers took their first lead of the set at 13-14, but Jones responded with a right side finish to tie it. Nebraska got two more points with kills in transition to make it 14-16 and the Huskies took their first timeout. Out of the break, Beals sent a long set to Tanner who converted on the left pin, and then Tanner went over to the right pin and teamed with Wade for a stuff that tied it back up at 16s. But the Huskers fought back with a 3-0 run, getting a big kill from its setter on an attack to the back of the court, to open up a 16-19 lead and force UW back to its bench. Wade had a finish on a quick set out of the break to steady the Dawgs, but the Huskers answered right back, and then served up an ace to stretch the lead to four. Another serve hit the net and just dropped over for a second ace, as the breaks all seemed to suddenly go Nebraska's way. Tanner and Sybeldon got a block to snap that streak and make it 18-23, and Schwan got another through the block after a diving Tanner dig, but the Huskers won a long rally to reach set point at 19-24. Schwan saved the first off the block and down, but Nebraska got a change-up to drop in the middle to win it, 20-25. Washington had its best offensive output of the match at .286, but the Huskers hit .278 and had seven more kills and 10 more digs in the set to make up for the three blocks the Huskies had compared to none for Nebraska. Sybeldon had four kills on six attempts in the frame.
Washington gave up the first three points of the fourth before Wade got things on track with a kill. Sybeldon beat a triple block, and added yet another big swing two points later to keep the Huskies siding out down two. The Husker block finally got Sybeldon for a point to make it 3-7 and UW took time. The Dawgs got one back as Strickland banged her third ace of the night to cut it to 5-8. Wade won a joust at the net as the Huskers overpassed the Beals serve, getting the Dawgs back within two at 7-9. Nebraska missed a couple serves as UW hung in down two. Schwan put one down after a back-and-forth for 10-12 Huskers. Washington could not slow down the Husker attack, however, as NU kept converting in serve-receive, and after NU hit down an overpass and followed it with a block against Jones, the Huskies needed their last timeout down 10-15. The Husker block got the Dawgs again out of the break, but Sybeldon finished to snap the 4-0 NU run and make it 11-16. Scambray hammered one off the defense from the left, and then she teamed with Wade for a block that trimmed it to 13-17. Jones and Wade each had kills but UW could not make a dent when serving. Wade's 10th kill made it 16-20, but the Huskers converted again in serve-receive. Sybeldon finished a Tanner set to keep the sideout war going, and finally the Huskies scored after a short Schwan serve let Scambray bury a big swing for 19-22, prompting a Nebraska timeout. That snapped a string of 11-straight sideouts. Schwan's serve earned UW a free ball, but Scambray's swing was blocked back down, making it 19-23. Jones answered back on the right side for 20-23, but the Huskers had a back row kill in serve-receive to get to match point. Jones and Wade saved the Dawgs with a roof on the first NU chance, sending Beals to serve. The Dawgs couldn't stop the Husker's first swing up the line, as it went down to end the set and the match, 21-25. While UW hit .250, the Huskies could not slow Nebraska down in the fourth, as the Huskers hit .436 and Kadie Rolfzen had nine kills on 11 swings in the fourth set alone, while Sybeldon and Wade combined for seven kills on 13 attempts.
