Huskies Host Bay Area Schools Wednesday-Thursday

THIS WEEK IN HUSKY VOLLEYBALL

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8
#13 Washington hosts #2 Stanford • 7 pm
Alaska Airlines Arena
Live on Pac-12 Networks National - Live Stats
Krista Vansant Jersey Retirement - Prematch

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9
#13 Washington hosts California • 7 pm
Alaska Airlines Arena
Live on Pac-12 Networks Washington - Live Stats

SEATTLE - For the second week in a row, the Huskies play back-to-back nights, but this time without a flight in-between as the Dawgs are back in Alaska Airlines Arena. This Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 8-9, the 13th-ranked Dawgs take on the Bay Area schools, both matches starting at 7 p.m. and airing on the Pac-12 Networks. Wednesday's battle with No. 2 Stanford, still undefeated in the Pac-12 at 14-0, will feature the jersey retirement ceremony for 2014 graduate and AVCA National Player of the Year Krista Vansant.

Vansant will be the second Husky volleyball player and fourth Husky student-athlete in any sport to have her jersey retired. Her #16 will join Courtney Thompson's #3 for volleyball, alongside men's basketball legends Brandon Roy (#3) and Bob Houbregs (#25). The Washington career kills leader with 1,893, Vansant was the Pac-12 Player of the Year in 2013 and 2014, the AVCA National Player of the Year in 2013, the Honda Award winner in both 2013 and 2014, and the CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year in 2014. She currently serves as a program assistant for the Huskies.

Washington went 1-1 on its road trip to the mountain schools last week, struggling in a loss at Colorado but rallying one night later to defeat 15th-ranked Utah. Head Coach Keegan Cook made some lineup moves against the Utes, with Kara Bajema making the most of a starting nod as she had a career-high 21 kills, most by a Husky this season. Courtney Schwan continued her strong play of late, averaging 4.00 kills per set on the road trip and hitting .358. Tia Scambray moved to libero in the Utah match and had 19 kills, and the Huskies hit .307 against the Utes, their best mark in Pac-12 play so far.

Stanford has still yet to drop a match in conference and has won 16 in a row overall. Its only two losses on the year were both against Penn State. Washington took Stanford to five sets in Palo Alto on Oct. 19, one of just two five setters for Stanford in league play, the other being at Colorado. The Cardinal just swept both Oregon schools at home last weekend and Merete Lutz was named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week after hitting .526 with 4.00 kills per set in the wins. Sophomore Kathryn Plummer has continued her impressive season with 4.35 kills per set in Pac-12 play, second in the league. In conference only matches, Plummer's 22 aces lead the league, and junior middle blocker Tami Alade is hitting a league-best .519 in Pac-12 play. Jenna Gray's 12.24 assists per set are No. 1, while Audriana Fitzmorris is second in blocks per set at 1.39. In the first meeting in Palo Alto, Stanford hit .262 to .225 for UW while Plummer had 20 kills and Alade had 14, hitting .632. The teams are the two top blocking squads in conference play, UW with 2.98 and Stanford 2.84. The Huskies had 16 blocks in the first match while the Cardinal had 14.5.

Washington will go for a season sweep against the Golden Bears (13-12, 4-10 Pac-12) following a 3-0 win in Berkeley on Oct. 22 that included a pair of tight 26-24 wins for UW in the first two sets. In that first match, UW outhit Cal, .254 to .194, with Tia Scambray posting 13 kills to lead UW and Antzela Dempi getting 11 to lead Cal. The Bears lost both home matches to Oregon and Oregon State last weekend after winning at Arizona State in their previous match. Dempi ranks second in the Pac-12 with 0.40 aces per set in conference, while sophomore Emma Smith is seventh in digs per set with 3.88. Freshman Preslie Anderson is seventh in conference with a .340 hitting percentage while Dempi leads the offense with 2.87 kills per set and Mima Mirkovic adds 2.58. Cal is hitting .195 as a team in Pac-12 matches and allowing a .279 opposing mark.

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Players Mentioned

Kara Bajema

Tia Scambray

Courtney Schwan

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