University of Washington
Boise State
Dawgs Take Care Of Broncos In Saturday Matinee
August 29, 2015 | Volleyball
SPOKANE, Wash. – The sophomore trio of Tia Scambray, Courtney Schwan, and Crissy Jones all posted double-figure kills to power the 10th-ranked Husky volleyball team past Boise State in straight sets today at the Martin Centre. Washington improved to 2-0 on the season, hitting a sharp .366 as a team en route to a 25-15, 25-23, 25-19 victory.
The Dawgs will be back in action later this afternoon to close out the Northwest Challenge, hosted this season by Gonzaga, with a match-up against Portland State (0-2) at 4 p.m.
Washington wins! Tia serves up an ACE on match point, and the Dawgs take down Boise State in three sets! #PointHuskies #GoDawgs
— UW Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) August 29, 2015
This afternoon's match looked similar to last night's season-opening win over Gonzaga, as the Huskies were in control for much of the first and third sets, but had to rally in the second set, today coming back from a six-point deficit to take the crucial two set lead.
Scambray led the Dawgs with 13 kills on a .476 attack percentage, including a 6-for-6 first set. Schwan and Jones each provided 10 kills apiece. Middles Melanie Wade and Lianna Sybeldon combined for nine kills without an error. Senior Katy Beals posted 20 assists to go with nine digs, with sophomore Bailey Tanner handing out 18 assists and serving a pair of aces. Senior Cassie Strickland came up with 13 digs to lead that category.
“We want to take pride in being able to do certain things for an extended period of time,” said Head Coach Keegan Cook. “We want to serve a certain way, and communicate a certain way. We did a nice job in those areas for part of the first set, and in the third set, so that's why those sets went the way we wanted. I think Boise State is a good physical team that serves and passes well, so overall this is a step forward for us.”
Scambray opened the match with a kill off the block on a set from Beals. The first kill from Jones on the right made it 5-3 Dawgs. A tough dig from Beals led to a Scambray back row kill off a Schwan bump set for 6-3. Sybeldon put one down in transition for a 9-4 edge. The first kill for Carly DeHoog made the score 11-5 and the Broncos took their first timeout. Out of the break, Scambray added two left side kills for 13-5. Schwan tooled the block on the left off a Beals set for 17-10, then the Huskies dug down with several great ups from Wade and Beals before Schwan finished again for 18-10. Bailey Tanner served up UW's first ace to make it 20-11 and Boise State called its last timeout. Schwan rolled one over on the right pin and Scambray added a couple more slams from the left to lock up the first set, 25-13 for the Dawgs. Washington hit a scorching .517 in the first set, with Scambray killing all six of her swings and Schwan getting six kills on 13 swings for a .462 mark, while Tanner had 10 assists in the frame.
Boise State took a 4-1 lead to start the second set but the Huskies closed the gap to one on a Jones kill assisted by Melanie Wade. Tanner's second ace of the afternoon cut it to 5-6. The Broncos picked up some momentum with several digs, but DeHoog and Wade roofed Sierra Nobley to stop the run and make it 8-10. The Broncos answered with three more points to force UW into its first timeout at 8-13. Wade and Jones had back-to-back rejections straight down to cut the gap to 11-14, and then Jones finished a back-and-forth rally with a swing high off the block. Scambray's next serve was into the net to stop the 4-0 run, but Schwan got the serve right back with a kill and then she got the most of a stuff to get the Dawgs within one. Schwan delivered in transition again on the next rally to tie the score at 15-all and force the Broncos to take time. A Broncos misfire out of the break gave UW its first lead of the set. Jones went to the crosscourt corner for a kill and a 17-16 lead. Senior Kim Condie checked in for the first time to serve at 19-18 and the Huskies picked up two straight on her serve on Bronco errors. Scambray hung in the air and smacked one from the right pin to the deep corner to get the Huskies to set point at 24-21, but the Broncos saved two, the last one on a Husky block that barely fell wide, and UW took timeout at 24-23. Out of the break, Schwan executed a perfect pass, and Beals set Wade for a kill on the first swing to clinch it, 25-23. Washington hit just .171 in the set but held Boise State to .103.
Point, Huskies! A high-flying Tia Scambray smacks down her 5th kill midway through the first set. | 14-8 Dawgs! pic.twitter.com/iyYTyjogxo
— UW Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) August 29, 2015
Scambray found the back line for an ace and Jones spun one deep and down for an early 4-2 edge in set three. Sophomore Jade Finau checked in for the first time this season at 5-5 in the third set. Jones and Schwan each padded their kills total as the teams swapped points to 7-7. Boise State overpassed a Strickland serve and Scambray stuffed it down for 9-8. A wall put up by Jones and Wade turned back the Broncos, and then Scambray banged one through the blockers for a 12-9 lead. A diving save from Strickland extended a rally that ended in a Broncos error for 13-9 and a BSU timeout followed. Boise State went on a 4-0 run to get back even at 14-all, but Schwan put the Dawgs back up with a finish from the left. An ace from Schwan off the defender and into the seats was backed up by a Sybeldon tip kill to build the lead back up to 19-16 and force BSU's last timeout. DeHoog buried a perfect back set from Tanner to make it 21-18. The Huskies added two more on kills from Scambray and Wade for 23-18 to cap a 3-0 run. Another quick strike from Wade made it set and match point for the Dawgs, and Scambray ended it quickly by tossing in an ace off the Broncos defense for the final 25-19. The Dawgs were back up near their first set pace in the third, hitting .432 with six kills from Scambray and five from Jones.
The Dawgs will look to close out an eighth consecutive Northwest Challenge title later today when they take on Portland State at 4 p.m.
