University of Washington
NCAA Second Round vs. Michigan State
Huskies Move On To Fourth Straight Sweet 16
December 06, 2015 | Volleyball
SEATTLE – The fifth-seeded Husky volleyball team got its first big test of the NCAA tournament tonight, and stood tall against a physical Michigan State squad, wearing down the Spartans in four sets to move on to the round of 16 for the fourth year in a row. Washington improved to 30-2, reaching the 30 win plateau for an unprecedented third straight season, and the Huskies completed a perfect 17-0 home season at Alaska Airlines Arena.
A crowd of 4,028 cheered the Huskies on to the 25-17, 20-25, 25-21, 25-13 victory; a win characterized by big swings, tough serving, and several ebbs and flows. But Washington held steady most of the night, hitting over .300 in all four sets, and finishing at .330 overall compared to a .205 mark for MichiganState, which finished the season at 19-14.
The Dawgs will now meet a second Big Ten foe next Friday in Lexington, Ky., as they go against 12th-seeded Ohio State in the regional semifinal. The other semi in Kentucky will have fourth-seeded Nebraska against 13th-seeded BYU, as one of the four will play its way to the Final Four in Omaha, Neb. Washington, Nebraska, and BYU were all in the same regional last year in Seattle as well, with BYU going on to finish as national runner-up.
Husky seniors Katy Beals, Kim Condie, Justice Magraw, Cassie Strickland, Lianna Sybeldon, and Melanie Wade played their final match at Alaska Airlines Arena tonight, and wouldn't be denied one last win.
The senior class of Mel, Cassie, Kim, Justice, Katy and Lianna finished their careers 64-3 at home.
— UW Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) December 6, 2015
Beals and sophomore Bailey Tanner spread the ball around to the Husky attackers, as four Dawgs finished with either nine or 10 kills. Sybeldon and sophomore Tia Scambray each had 10, and sophomores Courtney Schwan and Crissy Jones had nine each.
The Husky block came up big, especially in the fourth set as UW pulled away. UW had a 10.0 to 5.0 edge in total blocks, with Wade getting six, and Jones assisting on five. Strickland had some fantastic digs to spark Husky transition kills, as she finished with 13 digs and one more big service ace for the home fans.
“MichiganState is an impressive team. They're really, really physical, and they played extremely well and they've shown that they can go toe-to-toe with the best teams in the country,” said Head Coach Keegan Cook. “So nice job by our girls to be consistent, especially in the first, third, and fourth sets.”
After the Huskies took set one, MSU came out with the first five points of the second set, and although the Huskies came back to tie it up several times, they could never grab the lead, and the teams were tied heading into intermission. Sybeldon talked about the team's focus during the break. “I think we understood what was on the line, and we understand what we're capable of,” she said. “So we just talked about what the situation meant to us, and what we want to go out and do, and we just played our hearts out.”
The first point of the match came on a deft tip from Sybeldon to the middle of the floor. The Spartans had an early four-point run, but a couple Crissy Jones kills tied things back up at 5-5. Wade had a solo block of a dump attempt by MSU's setter for 7-all. Strickland dove for a dig and Scambray bump set across the court to Tanner, who put one over the block and to the back line, capping a four-point UW run that made it 9-7. The right side was working for the Dawgs, as Beals went that way to find Scambray and Tanner for kills as UW built a 13-10 lead. Strickland hammered a serve that led to an overpass, and Scambray finished from the left, and after MSU hit one long, the Spartans took timeout at 18-13 Dawgs. Wade smacked down a quick set from Tanner, and then Scambray tapped one over the block and it fell to get the Dawgs a 20-14 edge. A sweet connection from Beals to Wade in serve-receive was hit into the corner for 23-16, and MSU used its last timeout. A roof from Sybeldon and Tanner got the Dawgs to set point after the timeout. Tanner clocked her fourth kill of the set on the right side to end it, 25-17. The Huskies hit .344 in the frame compared to .107 for the Spartans.
The Spartans came out swinging in the second set, taking the first five points with some tough serves, one ace coming off the top of the tape and dropping over. The Huskies took timeout, and got three points back in a hurry on MichiganState errors. A textbook dig from Strickland got the crowd murmuring, and then it roared as Jones finished the play with a kill. MSU hit one long, and the Dawgs were back even at 7-7. The Spartans got back up by two, but UW tied it again at 11-all as Schwan tooled the block on the left. Again MSU rallied to keep the lead, winning four of five points to make it 12-15, but Jones and Wade got a crucial side out with a block on the right pin. Jones hammered crosscourt on the right, and the Huskies got within a point at 15-16, but MSU earned two more to push back to 15-18 and the Huskies took their last timeout. Wade hammered a quick kill out of the break from Beals. UW pulled back within one, but MSU had a kill on a tip and then served an ace for 18-21. The Huskies could not close the gap, as the Spartans grabbed the final three points to claim the set, 25-20. The Huskies hit a solid .308 in the set but MichiganState turned in a .345 rate. Jones had four kills on seven swings to lead the way.
The start of the third set was much like the second, only in Washington's favor this time, as the Dawgs took the first four points, Sybeldon getting a kill in transition, and then teaming with Jones for a stuff in the middle. Jones converted the Tanner back set in serve-receive, and then Wade slammed through the block in transition for an 8-3 lead. Strickland popped up a dig on an MSU blast, and Scambray hit off the block and out on UW's side for 10-3, and the Spartans took timeout with the Dawgs on a 4-0 run. The Spartans got a couple back out of the timeout, but Scambray hammered from the right to make it 11-5. MichiganState continued to chip away, cutting the Husky lead to 12-10 and forcing UW into a timeout. Schwan pushed one deep for a kill out of the break to snap the Spartan run, and a Sybeldon kill made it 14-11 Dawgs. Strickland took a little off a serve, and it was just what the Huskies ordered, as it was shanked for UW's first ace and a 16-12 lead, prompting an MSU timeout. The teams traded sideouts, with Jones and Wade roofing the Spartans on the right, and Schwan rolling one for a kill for 19-15. Another offspeed swing from Schwan made it 21-16 Dawgs, but MSU came back with two as the Huskies went long on a free ball attempt, and then had an ace drop in short, and UW took timeout at 21-18. The Spartans got one more in transition, but on the next point, Tanner set Schwan and she tipped it over and down for 22-19. Scambray lasered a huge kill at the left pin for 23-20, and a Spartans service error got the Dawgs to set point at 24-21. Scambray crushed another crosscourt from the left to end it on UW's first chance, 25-21. Scambray and Schwan each had five kills apiece in the set, as UW hit .314 compared to a .226 mark for MichiganState.
Kim Condie started off serving in set four, and got MSU out of system, leading to a Husky chance that Sybeldon put away. Tanner put an ace off the defense to make it 3-1. Sybeldon had two more kills in a short span to make it 5-2 Dawgs, and Schwan floated an ace off the arms of MSU. The Spartans sent their next swing wide and took their first timeout at 7-2. Another Spartans miss was followed up by a booming stuff block from Jones and Sybeldon to keep Schwan's serving run going. The Spartans snapped it on the next rally, ending the 5-0 Husky run, but the Dawgs got rolling again a stuff from Wade and Scambray, and then a Beals ace to the corner that made it 13-4. Another MSU hitting error made it 15-6 and the Spartans used their final timeout. Sideouts were traded, with Tanner getting a kill on an MSU net violation, and Jones putting one out deep off the block's hands for 19-10. A big Strickland serve led to an overpass, and Scambray converted it for a 21-11 Dawg lead. Jones and Wade put down another emphatic block, and Scambray served up UW's fourth ace of the set to get to match point at 24-13. On the first chance, one more big block from Wade and Tanner closed out the victory, 25-13. The Huskies hit .364 in the final set and held the Spartans to .138, thanks partly to four blocks.
Here's the clincher! Dawgs march on to the Sweet 16 for the fourth year in a row! https://t.co/fD4Eo28sCx
— UW Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) December 6, 2015
