University of Washington
Oregon
Huskies Treat Fans To Win In First Ever Alki Match
April 17, 2016 | Beach Volleyball
SEATTLE – Nothing quite like a day at the beach. On a beautiful afternoon that only got warmer and sunnier as the day went on, the Washington Beach Volleyball team got to show its fans and the Seattle community what it has to offer in its third season, and the hundreds of fans that came out to Alki Beach got to soak up a quality 3-2 victory for the Dawgs over Northwest rival Oregon.
Today marked the first ever NCAA beach volleyball match hosted by the Huskies in Seattle, and while it will be the only one of the season, the huge success should mean many more to come in future seasons.
While estimates on the size of the crowd lining the steps and lounging on the sand were varied, guesses ranging from five hundred to over a thousand, Head Coach Jonathan Winder was grateful. “For the city of Seattle and Washington sports fans to be here and support this was really, really neat,” said Winder. “It was really competitive, Oregon played a great match, and we were pushed to our limits. It was a good challenge because they're a similar program. All indoor players, with kind of similar teams.”
Not only was the weather and setting as good as could be, but the match provided a dose of drama as well. After Oregon and Washington split the first two matches, at the four and five spots, the Ducks took a 2-1 lead with a three-set win at the No. 3 spot that went to extra points. The Huskies had to win both of the final two matches, and they were able to step up to the challenge.
Washington evened the match at 2-2 when sophomore Tia Scambray and Crissy Jones finished off Oregon's Kacey Nady and Liz Brenner, 21-14, 21-12, in the No. 1 match-up. Scambray and Jones gradually stretched their leads in the second half of both sets, and showed some of the best communication on defense of any pair.
With the outcome falling to the No. 2 match, junior Cassie Strickland and sophomore Courtney Schwan were up a set on Martenne Bettendorf and Lindsey Vander Weide, but the second set lead was swinging back and forth. The Huskies trailed 13-15, but went on a four-point run, the last on a Strickland ace, to take the 17-15 lead and force Oregon into a timeout. The Ducks came back to tie it at 17-17, but the Huskies got the next two. On a second match point, Schwan punched up a dig, and Strickland set her for the kill off the Oregon blocker's hands to end it, 21-19, and seal the 3-2 overall victory.
HUSKIES WIN!!! #LGD pic.twitter.com/FMlCUrTvQF
— UW Beach Volleyball (@UW_BeachVB) April 17, 2016
“I definitely think we have a lot of room to grow, and we have a lot of areas that we can get better,” said Schwan. “But the crowd was contagious. You get a point and you just hear everybody behind you and it adds fuel to your fire, and it's so exciting to play for Washington and have these fans here. It's incredible.”
The Ducks earned the first point of the day, as the pair of Page and Silberger-Franek held off Melanie Wade and Justice Magraw in two close sets, 21-18, 21-19, at the No. 4 position. Moments later the Huskies finished off their first point, as the freshmen duo of Destiny Julye and Lindsay Chalmers beat UO's Raskie and McLaren, 21-17, 21-18.
At the No. 3 spot, Oregon's Taylor Agost and Amanda Benson won the first set over UW's Bailey Tanner and Lianna Sybeldon, 21-16, but the Huskies bounced back, winning the first five points of set two and holding on for a 21-19 win to force a third set. The Huskies were up 13-11 in set three, and thought they had won a joust at the net to get to match point, but an open-palm tip was called to their surprise and Oregon got even. At 14-14, the Ducks earned the final two points to pull out the win, 16-14, and go up 2-1 overall.
The win moved the Huskies to 3-1 on the season. They'll get a major test next weekend with a trip to Honolulu to compete in the Outrigger Resorts Aloha Invitational, which could have them facing such highly-ranked teams as USC, Long Beach State, and Hawaii. The first ever Pac-12 Championships are also just two weeks away, starting Apr. 28 in Los Angeles.
Washington Beach Volleyball
April 16, 2016
Seattle – Alki Beach
Washington def. Oregon, 3-2
1. Jones/Scambray (UW) def. Nady/Brenner (UO), 21-14, 21-12
2. Strickland/Schwan (UW) def. Bettendorf/Vander Weide (UO), 21-17, 21-19
3. Agost/Benson (UO) def. Tanner/Sybeldon (UW), 21-16, 19-21, 16-14
4. Page/Silberger-Franek (UO) def. Wade/Magraw (UW), 21-18, 21-19
5. Julye/Chalmers (UW) def. Raskie/McLaren (UO), 21-17, 21-18
Exh. Julye/Chalmers (UW) def. LaPierre/Hall-Poirier (UO), 21-14, 21-16
Order of finish: 4, 5, 3, 1, 2
