University of Washington
NCAA First Round vs. Denver
Huskies Take First Step With Sweep Of Denver
December 05, 2015 | Volleyball
SEATTLE – Washington began its 14th consecutive NCAA volleyball tournament appearance with a 14th consecutive first round victory tonight at Alaska Airlines Arena, as the fifth-seeded Huskies (29-2) took down the Summit League champion Denver Pioneers, 25-12, 25-14, 25-12 in front of 4,231 fans. Sophomore Courtney Schwan matched her career-high with 16 kills, hitting .615 to lead the UW charge.
The Huskies will now take on the Spartans of Michigan State on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m.., as MSU moved on with a 25-23, 25-17, 25-12 victory over Sun Belt Champion Arkansas State in the first match of the day. MichiganState improved to 19-13 on the season and ended the Red Wolves' year at 28-2.
The Dawgs had a large advantage in the kills column tonight, finishing 54 kills compared to just 18 for Denver (27-8), and the Huskies hit .429 as a team and held Denver to .068. Schwan had nine of her 16 kills in the final set, adding nine digs. Sophomore Tia Scambray also had 10 kills on a .350 percentage, Crissy Jones had seven kills on 12 swings without a miss (.583 Att%) and Melanie Wade and Bailey Tanner each had six kills apiece and hit over .400. Senior libero Cassie Strickland had 18 digs in just the three sets.
The Huskies have made at least the second round of the championships every year of its current 14 year streak. This was the first postseason win for first-year Head Coach Keegan Cook.
“Nice job by our team, and a big congratulations to Denver. I think they are a really well-coached team that has quite a few players that were working hard,” said Cook. “I thought we did a good job of being consistent all night.”
Senior Melanie Wade was pleased with how the Huskies continued working to improve in little ways tonight. “The whole match Keegan was telling us hitters to continue doing things that were uncomfortable for us, hitting shots that maybe weren't our favorite,” said Wade. “Maybe everyone struggled a little bit but I think everyone kept working on it and stayed the course, and kept improving.”
An All-Pac-12 dig from Cassie and then Courtney finishes for 18-10 Dawgs in set 2 https://t.co/qtzzfPD1aq
— UW Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) December 5, 2015
Scambray picked up the first two kills of the night for the Dawgs, the second on a Denver overpass that made it 3-1 Huskies. Scambray floated an ace on serve for a 7-5 edge. Bailey Tanner tooled the block to push it to a three-point lead at 9-6, and then Schwan finished in transition to make it 10-6. A Sybeldon kill off an overpass made it 12-7 and Denver called the first timeout. Wade and Tanner scored the first stuff block of the night to make it 18-11 Dawgs. A great up from Strickland let Beals go quick to Schwan for a big swing that made it 20-12 and forced Denver's second timeout. Out of the break, Tanner put one away on the right, and then Schwan hit down an overpass on a Scambray serve for 22-12. Another overpass on the next Scambray serve was hit down by Tanner, and the Huskies closed it out with a Denver error and an ace from Scambray to win, 25-12. The Huskies hit .481 in the first set compared to .120 from the Pioneers, with Scambray putting away four swings and four apiece coming from Schwan and Tanner.
Washington moved out to a 10-6 lead in the second set. Kills from Jones and Wade kept the four-point cushion at 13-9. Wade tipped another into the campfire to make it 15-9 Huskies at the media timeout. Destiny Julye's first kill of the night was a blast on the right to make it 17-10. After a textbook dig off a hard smash by Strickland, Schwan then spun one deep for an 18-10 Husky edge and Denver took timeout. Justice Magraw, Kim Condie, and Jade Finau all subbed in later in the set, with Finau assisting a Julye kill, after Magraw had the serve-receive. Syeldon and Jones got on a Denver swing and sent it back for 23-14, then on set point, Tanner connected with Sybeldon for a heavy smash to end it, 25-14. The Huskies hit .293 in the set and held Denver to .000 with just six kills. Julye had five kills for the Dawgs to lead the way and Strickland had 10 digs in the second set alone.
A hearty crowd is on hand tonight, and the Dawgs hold a five-point lead after a crazy Strickland dig! | 15-10 Dawgs! pic.twitter.com/p5Rc4Vwyot
— UW Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) December 5, 2015
A Pioneer overpass off a Strickland bomb was put down by Wade for a 2-1 lead. Scambray pushed down another overpass, and Schwan sent one deep and found the right spot for a point to make it 7-4. Wade dropped in an ace to extend the run and make it 9-4. Tanner finished in transition on the right pin from Beals, and a Denver error made it 11-4 and forced the Pioneers back to their bench. Out of the break, Sybeldon and Tanner scored a roof to finish a 7-0 Husky run. Jones put away a couple sets from Tanner in the middle part of the frame, and Tanner ended a long rally with a kill off the block, with Strickland bump setting the assist for 18-10. Schwan kept rolling with three more kills in a four point run as the Huskies extended it to 22-12 and prompted the final Denver timeout. On Tanner's serve, the Huskies took care of the final three points in a row, with Schwan finishing the final two on sets from Tanner to close it out, 25-12. Schwan was on fire in the final set, collecting nine kills on 13 swings without an error for a .692 attack percentage, as UW hit .567 as a team and sided out on 11 of 12 tries.
