University of Washington
CSUN
No. 8 Dawgs Handle Matadors In Straight Sets
September 11, 2015 | Volleyball
SEATTLE – The eighth-ranked Husky volleyball team showed its proficiency at scoring points in a variety of ways tonight, dropping in service aces, stuffing Cal State Northridge at the net, and swinging away with precision at Alaska Airlines Arena. Washington (6-0) filled up the stat sheet to defeat the Matadors (1-7) in three sets, 25-15, 25-11, 25-10.
After a bit of a messy first set, the Huskies went a set and a half without making an error, hitting at a .519 clip in set two and a .480 mark in set three to finish up at .395 for the match. UW came in leading the NCAA in hitting percentage through the first two weeks at .396. The Huskies dominated the Matadors at the net, with a season-high 11 blocks while Northridge failed to earn a block. Six different Husky servers had an ace for eight total, compared to just one for the Matadors.
Senior All-American Lianna Sybeldon put down nine kills on 14 swings without a miss for a .643 attack percentage, and added six block assists for a team-best 12.0 points. Sophomore Courtney Schwan had 10 kills and six digs, hitting .474, while sophomore Carly DeHoog had a career-high seven kills on a .429 clip plus three blocks in just two sets. Sophomore Tia Scambray had nine digs and a pair of aces and freshman Destiny Julye put away five kills all in set three.
Did you miss tonight? Two chances to see the Dawgs on Friday! Here's match point pic.twitter.com/DYdP0Q5J1Q
— UW Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) September 11, 2015
“Northridge has a lot of different lineups that they run, so we couldn't really have a set game plan for them,” said Head Coach Keegan Cook. “But it also gave us a chance to just focus on what we do and spend time in areas where we're not good. The first set was maybe not as clean or polished as we liked, but we'll continue to focus on areas where we need improvement, so this match will have a lot of value for us for sure.”
Melanie Wade and Scambray scored a stuff on the first rally of the night. Schwan put one away from the left pin and then a series of Matador errors made it 6-2 Huskies early. DeHoog finished from the right and Sybeldon killed an overpass for a 9-3 lead and Northridge took the early timeout. Out of the break, UW's blocked took care of a pair of points, with Sybeldon and Jones finishing one and Sybeldon and Schwan getting the second for an 11-3 lead. Cassie Strickland's first serve of the night found the far corner for an ace and a 15-7 advantage. Another ace from Katy Beals made it 17-8 and the Matadors took their last timeout. After Strickland covered a Northridge block, Schwan pushed it over on a second contact to open space for a kill. DeHoog got a touch for a kill and a 21-10 Husky lead and she added another from the right moments later. Bailey Tanner knocked a service ace off the defense for 23-12. Tia Scambray finished the set off with a blast up the sideline, ending things at 25-15. Washington hit .207 but held Northridge into negative numbers at -.032. Three Husky aces and three blocks helped UW cruise.
Starting set two, Sybeldon tipped one over the block and down for the first point. Scambray put away a crosscourt set from Tanner for an early 4-1 edge. A roof from DeHoog and Wade made it 7-4 Dawgs and moments later Wade and Schwan stuffed another for 8-4. Wade then served the Dawgs on a 10-0 run that grew the lead to 13-5 and forced Northridge into a timeout. DeHoog had a kill, Wade floated a service ace, and Sybeldon and DeHoog rejected a Northridge swing during the run. The timeout wouldn't disrupt the Dawgs, as DeHoog finished in transition, Schwan put down an overpass, Sybeldon had a kill and teamed with DeHoog for yet another block. It was 18-5 before a Husky blocking error snapped the string. Strickland rocketed her second ace of the night to get the Huskies to set point at 24-10, and the Matadors served long to end the set, 25-11. Washington heated up to .519 in set two while still holding the Matadors to just .036 on their side. Sybeldon put down five kills on six swings in the set, witch Schwan and DeHoog both adding four each, and UW rejecting four Northridge swings.
In the third set, freshman Destiny Julye checked in, and on the first point, the Matadors overpassed the serve from Beals and Julye was right there to kill her first swing. Wade sniffed out a solo block, and then had a kill off one foot to make it 4-2 Dawgs. Julye had two more quick kills and Sybeldon pounded down a quick transition set from Beals to cap a three-point run that had the score 7-2. Crissy Jones hammered her first kill of the night from the right to force a Matadors timeout at 11-4 Dawgs. Wade earned her second solo block of the set for 14-5. Jones went back to serve for the first time and made it count, floating an ace off the defense for a 16-6 edge. Scambray unloaded on one crosscourt slam, and she got into the ace column as well with a spinless float for 18-7. Schwan posted three more kills late, with sophomore Jade Finau getting the assists after checking in midway through the set. Julye picked up her fifth kill of the set for 23-9 and a Schwan roller fell in to get UW to match point. Sybeldon and Jones closed it down with Washington's 11th block of the match, ending things, 25-10. The Huskies sided out at one-hundred percent in the last frame, and hit .480 while holding the Matadors to .045.
Washington will get a second helping of Northridge tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m., before an evening meeting with St. Mary's, which defeated Cal State Northridge earlier today in five sets. The Huskies and Gaels will play at 7 p.m.
