Dawgs Prevail In Five Set War With No. 15 Ducks

Wednesday, October 11

Seattle, Wash.

7:00 PM

University of Washington

15-3, 5-2Pac-12

Oregon

10-5, 3-4Pac-12

Oregon

Washington

October 11, 2017 | Volleyball

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By: UW Athletic Communications

SEATTLE – Close in the rankings and even closer on the court, 14th-ranked Washington volleyball outlasted 15th-ranked Oregon tonight at Alaska Airlines Arena, reaching the finish line first in the back-and-forth battle. The Huskies had 15 kills apiece from senior All-Americans Courtney Schwan and Crissy Jones, with three more players in double figures as well, to pull out the 20-25, 25-19, 25-21, 24-26, 15-13 win in front of 2,536 fans.

"Certainly it's great to win a rivalry game and it's great to win it in dramatic fashion," said Head Coach Keegan Cook. "It's great to have to make plays in really critical moments. Those things are all good for us, and so I love those moments for our team, even when they don't go our way. Just loving that we're in these really critical moments that we know we're going to need to be in later on, that we have the confidence to execute."

After building a five point lead in the fifth set, the Huskies (15-3, 5-2 Pac-12) were tested as the Ducks (10-5, 3-4 Pac-12) inched back and tied it up for the first time at 12-12. But a kill from Marion Hazelwood off an Oregon overpass was followed by an ace from Tia Scambray for match point. The Ducks saved the first after a long rally, but UW regrouped and freshman Natalie Robinson went to Hazelwood in the middle who hit a sharp angle to the sideline for the final kill.

"Saw (Marion) in that moment and thought she had a good matchup," said Cook. "She had missed it a few plays before by an inch, so I asked her, 'Do you want to make a memory?' and we called that play for her and she went for it, and got to have a nice Husky moment there."

This was the third five setter through seven Pac-12 matches for the Dawgs, who improved to 2-1 in fifth sets this year. The stat sheet reflected the tightness of the match, as both teams finished with 66 kills, both had six aces, and both had 78 digs. Oregon outhit the Huskies, .257 to .219, but made 12 service errors to just three for the Dawgs. Washington stepped up on offense when it mattered most, however, hitting .360 in the final set, its best of the match.

"You saw two Pac-12 teams who are good, who are going through adversity, who are sensing that this is a pivotal match," said Cook. "You saw some nervous volleyball at times from both sides, and so there were big swings. Teams would score four points, then be down by four points, and it swung our way there in that last set, but certainly we only had one hitting error, played really clean in that fifth set, and we needed it because we won by two."

Schwan had 15 kills and a team-high 17 digs for a double-double, hitting .255, while Jones hit .333 on her 15 kills and added five digs and five blocks. Senior Carly DeHoog recorded 12 kills and Scambray added 10 plus 16 digs. Hazelwood had 11 kills and three blocks. Shayne McPherson dug 16 and Lauren Sanders had seven blocks to help the defense.

Robinson and Jade Finau spread the ball around all match, with Robinson finishing with 29 assists and 10 digs for her first double-double, and Finau had her third in a row with 25 and 10.

The Huskies will not have much time to celebrate or rest up, as they finish a stretch of four matches in eight days with a Friday night encounter with the Oregon State Beavers, starting at 7 p.m.

On the first point of the match, Jade Finau lined an ace crosscourt to the sideline. Jones and Sanders ended a rally with UW's first rejection for a 3-2 lead as the teams felt each other out early. Natalie Robinson served up an ace for 5-3 and then Scambray hit off the block and out on UW's side for 6-3. Washington made three consecutive errors as the Ducks took the lead, 7-8, and the Huskies took the first timeout. The Ducks scored one more before DeHoog notched a kill followed by a Duck error to tie it back up at 9-9. Finau ran down a short pass and sent a perfect set to Schwan for a kill for 11-12. Oregon had another three point run to make it 11-15 before Jones finished high hands on the right to snap it. The teams traded sideouts with Jones and DeHoog adding kills, and a big blast crosscourt from Schwan making it 15-18. Schwan assisted DeHoog for a kill off the block to creep UW within two points, but a couple back Oregon's way pushed it back to 18-22 and UW used its last timeout. Finau set Scambray who crushed one in serve-receive out of the break, but UO responded in kind. The Ducks forced a Husky error to reach set point at 19-24. Scambray saved the first with a kill, but the Ducks put their second chance away to take it, 20-25. DeHoog had five kills in the set and hit .333 to lead the Huskies, but Oregon hit .389 as a team and outblocked the Dawgs, 3-1.

A marathon rally started set two and Scambray ended it with a kill through the block. Hazelwood had a solo stuff in the middle and DeHoog went off the block on the left side as the teams were even through the first eight points. Schwan dug one and Robinson hit DeHoog on the right who spiked straight to the floor for 6-5. DeHoog and Sanders then roofed the Ducks for a 7-5 lead. Schwan bombed one to the back line and then went back to serve and dropped in an ace for 11-8. Oregon then overpassed Schwan's serve and Jones hammered it down. Another point on a Jones transition kill made it 13-8 Dawgs and forced an Oregon timeout. Out of the break, UW got another swing and Scambray spun it up the left sideline and down for 14-8 before the Ducks broke the 5-0 Husky run. A big block from Hazelwood and Scambray pushed the lead to 16-9 and forced Oregon's final timeout. Jones crushed one up the line on the right to keep UW siding out at 17-10. Schwan rolled one over and down for a 21-15 advantage. Jones and Sanders roofed a transition chance for Oregon for a big point for 22-16. Hazelwood got two swings from Finau and the second found the seats off an Oregon player for a point, and then Scambray tooled the block to bring UW to set point at 24-17. The Ducks saved a couple but Hazelwood beat a triple block on the third to get the Dawgs the win, 25-19. Washington hit .286 in the second set compared to .200 for Oregon, with Schwan doing damage with four kills on six swings and an ace.

The Ducks got the first kill of the third set but the Huskies then scored three in a row with a great set from McPherson to Scambray accounting for one point. A roll shot from Schwan found the campfire on Oregon's side for a 5-3 lead. Jones approached in the middle and Finau found her for a kill to tie it, 8-8. Robinson's second ace of the night tied up the set again at 11, but Oregon had an ace on its side to retake the lead, 11-13. UW answered with two Hazelwood kills out of the middle and an Oregon error got UW back on top, 14-13. A pancake dig from Scambray led to a Schwan offspeed kill and a 15-13 Husky lead at the media timeout. Out of the break, UO freeballed the Scambray serve and Hazelwood slammed a Robinson set down. Hazelwood's fourth kill in a six-point span made it 17-13 and forced an Oregon timeout. The Ducks got a tip kill and then the Huskies shanked a pass and followed with a swing long for 17-16, and UW needed its own timeout. Washington made another error and was aced a second time as the Ducks retook the lead, 17-18, before DeHoog slammed one from the right to end the five point Duck run. Down 18-20, the Ducks missed a serve, and then UW won one of the wildest rallies of the year, with Jones and Finau digging point-blank shots from the Ducks just in front of the net, and Schwan finally finished it off. Jones and Sanders then stuffed an Oregon swing to push UW back on top by one and force a Duck timeout. After a big Scambray dig, Jones dropped a tip over for a fourth point and 22-20 Dawgs. Sanders then had a one on one monster rejection in the middle to keep it going, and an Oregon error got the Huskies to set point at 24-20. The Ducks snapped the 6-0 run with a kill to save the first chance, but on the second, Finau hit Sanders on a transition quick strike to put it away, 25-21, as the Dawgs closed on a 7-1 run. UW had 25 digs in the third set alone, 10 from Scambray.

Sanders and Jones teamed up to send back the first Oregon swing in the fourth set. Hazelwood slammed an overpass down and Scambray finished in transition for a 4-1 lead and the Ducks called a quick timeout. Oregon jumped right back to even with a 3-0 run for 6-all. Another 3-0 Oregon run pushed it to 8-11 and the Huskies needed their first timeout. Oregon served into the net out of the break to end its run. The Ducks pushed to a four-point lead but Scambray came through with a big right side finish and then Schwan tipped in transition for a point for 12-14. The teams traded sideouts for eight points in a row until a bad set by the Ducks got UW within one at 17-18. But Oregon answered back with three in a row to force the Huskies into a timeout back down four at 17-21. An Oregon ace added one more before Hazelwood had a quick kill in serve-receive for 18-22. With Robinson serving, Scambray and Hazelwood rejected one on the left pin, and then a McPherson dig led to a DeHoog kill on the right as UW got back to 20-2 and forced a UO timeout. Oregon got a kill in serve-receive and then blocked the Dawgs to reach set point at 20-24. DeHoog saved the first with a big hit off the block on the left. Schwan then also tooled the block to get a second off the board, and the Ducks hit the antenna on their next swing for 23-24. Oregon then found the net on its next attempt and the Huskies had tied it up at 24-all. UW nearly had a sensational dig but couldn't quite get it back over on the next rally for 24-25, and after the Huskies had to tip their next attack, the Ducks finished on their fifth set point to take it, 24-26. UW made it close despite hitting just .128 in the fourth with UO at .250.

Jones opened the fifth set with a kill off the block touch, and then Destiny Julye dropped an ace short for 2-0. Jones then crushed a right side swing in transition and the Ducks missed wide on their next attempt for a 4-0 Husky lead as the Ducks needed time. Oregon got on the board with a kill but Jones answered back through the block. DeHoog got two straight kills, one from the left and one from the right, for a 7-2 lead. Oregon ended a long rally by poking to the deep corner for a kill and then UO served an ace to cut the Husky lead to 8-6 and UW called timeout. Out of the break, Schwan found a seam in the block for a big kill. After a Duck sideout, Jones and Sanders threw up a sound wall for a rejection and 10-7. The Dawgs missed one wide as Oregon pulled back within one, but Jones answered with a missile up the line for 12-10. The Ducks tied it at 12, but Hazelwood regained the lead with a slam off an overpass. Scambray then drove a serve that the Ducks shanked into the seats to get the Huskies to match point at 14-12 and the Ducks used their final timeout. Washington had multiple chances to close it out on the next rally but the Ducks saved a couple and eventually tooled the Husky block for 14-13 and the Huskies took their final timeout. Looking to finish, McPherson handled the serve and put it right to Robinson, who went to Hazelwood in the middle and she hit a sharp angle away from her to the right sideline and in to seal the Husky win, 15-13. Jones had four kills on seven swings in the final set as the Dawgs hit .360, enough to hold off Oregon which hit .292.