University of Washington
Gonzaga
Dawgs Take Opener In Cook's Coaching Debut
August 29, 2015 | Volleyball
SPOKANE, Wash. – While many outside the program focused on what was gone from the Washington volleyball program, the current Husky players and coaches have simply turned the page and demonstrated in a season-opening sweep of Gonzaga that plenty of firepower remains. Keegan Cook picked up the first win of his head coaching career, and the 10th-ranked Huskies won their opener for the 14th year in a row, downing the Bulldogs 25-19, 25-23, 25-15 in front of 826 fans at the Martin Center.
Three different Dawgs hit over .500 with at least seven kills, led by the career-high 12 from sophomore Courtney Schwan. Schwan hit .500 while senior Lianna Sybeldon had seven kills without an error to hit .583 and sophomore Crissy Jones went 8-for-16 without a miss to hit .500 as well.
Take a peek at match point! pic.twitter.com/H82Oyg2L7R
— UW Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) August 29, 2015
Gonzaga (0-1) figured to be a very tough road opener considering GU had taken Washington into a fifth set in each of the past two seasons, and the Bulldogs are returning all their starters, and were picked fourth in the preseason WCC poll. The end of the second set would be a key turning point, as UW trailed 19-22 before winning six of the final seven points.
“I think set two was a big moment for us,” Coach Cook said after the win. “We talked about this really good Gonzaga team being able to push us and for us having our first opportunity to show some resilience and we saw that in the second set. I think we had one triple block, and a dig from Melanie Wade that gave us a chance to score, so we responded late and that was a bright moment to see something that we've talked about come into play.”
Head Coach Keegan Cook after his first career victory.
Washington's attack percentage improved each set as the Dawgs got comfortable, something Coach Cook said he was happy to see. They hit .265 in the first set, improved to .365 in the tightly contested second set, and then pulled away with a .423 mark in the third. For the overall match, the Huskies hit .340 and held Gonzaga to a .130 mark. The Huskies held a big edge in blocks, 10.0 to 3.5, with Sybeldon earning six block assists. Schwan and Cassie Strickland each had a team-high nine digs.
“I think our attacking was pretty good,” said Schwan, whose previous career-high for kills was 10. “We took a lot of swings, which was good, we were very aggressive. It's good to see a team that's aggressive right off the bat; we didn't play it safe.”
Starting the first set this evening for Washington was Katy Beals, Tia Scambray, Lianna Sybeldon, Melanie Wade, Courtney Schwan, and Crissy Jones, with Cassie Strickland at the libero spot.
In the first set, Jones got the first kill for UW, earning a touch off the block for 1-3 after the Bulldogs had won the first three points. Schwan then delivered twice with a roll shot and a slam off the blockers to tie it up. A great dig from Beals led to a third Schwan kill for UW's first lead at 4-3. Bailey Tanner and Carly DeHoog checked in for the first time at 7-5. Sybeldon got a stuff and then Tanner floated an ace for a 9-5 advantage. DeHoog found empty floor for 10-5 to force the first GU timeout as UW was on a 10-2 run. The Dawgs kept firing with another Schwan kill and then Tanner served a second ace off the defense for 12-5 before the Bulldogs earned a kill to snap it. Strickland's first serve of the year was fittingly an ace, as she banged her signature jump serve off a Bulldog and into the seats. Scambray hammered one from the left pin for 16-7 and then Beals set Wade in serve-receive for a big smash for 18-9. A late Gonzaga run cut into the lead but the Huskies steadied for a 25-19 win, with Sybeldon and DeHoog provided the final two kills to close it out. The Huskies hit .265 for the first set compared to .206 for Gonzaga, with Schwan's six kills leading the offense helped by three from DeHoog.
Gonzaga got out to another lead early in set two, but UW crept back within one at 6-7 after kills from Sybeldon and Scambray. The Bulldogs extended back out to a four-point lead on a couple occasions, with UW getting back to 11-13 after a Jones kill and a Bulldog miss. Jones slammed another from the right and then Schwan tipped to open floor to tie it up at 13-all. A huge rejection from Sybeldon and DeHoog gave UW its first lead of the set at 16-15, but Gonzaga responded with two straight to move back on top. A Gonzaga ace prompted UW into a timeout down 17-19. A three-point Husky surge got them even once again at 22-all and forced a Bulldogs timeout. Jones had a kill to spark it and Schwan turned back a swing that resulted in a GU error for the tying point. The Bulldogs blocked Wade out of the break but Schwan put one down to tie it back up. Wade then got a key dig that led to a Jones right side finish and the Huskies were at set point at 24-23, forcing the last Gonzaga timeout. A tough serve from Wade forced Gonzaga out of system, and the Husky block was lying in wait as Schwan, Sybeldon, and Jones all went up to reject Savannah Blinn and capture the set, 25-23. The Dawgs wound up hitting .353 for the set with four kills apiece from Schwan, Scambray, and Jones. After a hot start, UW cooled the Zags down to .182 for the frame.
Washington built an early lead for the first time in set three, as Sybeldon and DeHoog got a stuff for a 5-3 lead and then the two teamed up with Scambray for a triple block. Schwan then dropped an ace in short to make it 7-3 and force the Bulldogs into a timeout. Another four-point Husky run pushed the lead to 12-5, with Wade putting down a swing and Scambray getting the most of a weak side block. The Huskies broke the final set wide open with another seven-point surge to go on top, 22-9. Tough serving from Schwan forced Gonzaga into a rash of errors, and DeHoog ended a marathon rally with a big swing on the right side to cap the run. The Bulldogs fought back with four points in a row, though UW was hurting itself with attack errors, but Wade put a Tanner set away to get to match point. Senior Kim Condie checked in to serve the point, and earned a dig to set up a Scambray kill off the block to end it, 25-15.
Washington will be back in the Martin Centre twice on Saturday to finish the Northwest Challenge with a 12 noon match against Boise State and a 4 p.m. match against Portland State.
