Friday, August 25
Seattle, Wash.
6:00 PM
University of Washington
vs
Pittsburgh
Huskies Open Season With Major Week One Tests
August 22, 2017 | Volleyball
HUSKY INVITATIONAL
ALASKA AIRLINES ARENA
FRIDAY, AUGUST 25
#9 Creighton vs. Saint Mary's • 3:00 pm - Live Stats
#3 Washington hosts Pittsburgh • 6:00 pm - Live Stats - Live on Pac-12 National
SATURDAY, AUGUST 26
Pittsburgh vs. #9 Creighton • 10:00 am - Live Stats
#3 Washington hosts Saint Mary's • 12:00 pm - Live Stats
Saint Mary's vs. Pittsburgh • 4:00 pm - Live Stats
#3 Washington hosts #9 Creighton • 7:00 pm - Live Stats - Live on Pac-12 National
Live Video Stream Link
SEATTLE - Third-ranked Husky Volleyball is ready to kick off the 2017 season with one of the biggest opening home weekends in years. At Alaska Airlines Arena this Friday at 6:00 p.m., the Dawgs take on the Pitt Panthers in their season opener, and Saturday the Dawgs have a double-header against Saint Mary's at 12 noon and then a top-10 battle with No. 9 Creighton at 7:00 p.m.
Three of the four teams taking the floor at Alaska Airlines Arena this Friday and Saturday were among the final thirty-two teams in last year's NCAA tournament, as Pitt made its first NCAA appearance since 2004 and reached the second round, while Washington and Creighton both advanced to the Elite Eight, and both teams begin this year in the AVCA coaches poll top-10.
Not since 2001 has Washington hosted a top-25 opponent in the opening weekend, and this is the first time in school history that a top-10 match has been seen in Alaska Airlines Arena in week one.
Washington's matches against Pitt and Creighton will both be televised live on the Pac-12 Networks, while UW vs. St. Mary's will be streamed free on GoHuskies.com.
Head Coach Keegan Cook is looking forward to the early challenge. "We really wanted to begin with the end in mind and play a couple teams that we thought were the teams we wanted to be playing at the end of the year. These are the teams that are going to be vying for deep runs in the tournament or contending for berths in the Final Four," Cook said. "Let's find out right away. Win or lose, after those opening weekend matches we're going to have a better sense of what it takes to go where we want to go."
An experienced and deep Husky roster will look to get off to a quick start this weekend. Washington returns all six starters from last season's squad that won the Pac-12 title for the third time in four years, and reached the Elite Eight for the second straight season. All-Americans Courtney Schwan, Crissy Jones, and Bailey Tanner lead a big class of seven seniors looking to lead the program to a 16th-straight NCAA tourney and back to the Final Four for the first time since 2013. Washington was voted third in the national preseason poll behind No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Stanford, but was picked first in the Pac-12 Coaches Poll ahead of Stanford and No. 3 Oregon.
The Dawgs' first opponent will be a challenge as Pitt returns five starters from the first Panthers team to win a round in the NCAA tourney since 2003. Pittsburgh went 25-9 and defeated Dayton in the first round of NCAAs before falling to Penn State, 3-1, in the second round. Pitt was picked third in the preseason ACC poll, its highest projection yet, and was just one point behind Florida State for second. Two Panthers were named to the Preseason All-ACC Team, returning ACC Setter of the Year Kamalani Akeo and AVCA Honorable Mention All-America honoree Stephanie Williams, an outside hitter who led the Panthers with 3.77 kills per set last year. Sophomore middle Layne Van Buskirk was named to the All-Freshman Team last year, averaging 2.21 kills per set and hitting .345 and senior Mariah Bell also posted 3.24 kills per set last year. Dan Fisher is in his fifth season as the Head Coach at Pitt. Washington won the only meeting with Pitt in 2010.
Saint Mary's will also bring a very experienced team to Seattle, with six returning starters and 10 letterwinners back. The Gaels went 11-18 a year ago and 6-12 in the West Coast Conference. Top points producer Lindsey Knudsen is back after averaging 3.03 kills per set last year. Senior setter Mary Hernandez split setting duties last year, leading the team with 5.71 assists per set and junior middle blocker Alex O'Sullivan led the team with 1.00 blocks per set. Keegan Cook got his coaching start at Saint Mary's as an assistant under current Gaels coach Rob Browning, helping the Gaels reach the NCAA tourney three times in 2008, 2009, and 2012. The Huskies hold a 3-0 all-time lead in the series.
Creighton advanced to the program's first Elite Eight last season, and returns five starters plus its libero from that squad that finished 29-7 and won the Big East regular season and tournament titles for the third year in a row. The Blue Jays had three straight five-set wins in the NCAA tourney last year, beating Northern Iowa 15-12 in the fifth, then upsetting No. 5 seed Kansas, 20-18 in the fifth, and upsetting No. 12 Michigan, 15-7 in the fifth, before falling 3-0 in the quarterfinals to Texas. Setter Lydia Dimke was the Big East Player of the Year and a Third Team All-American last year. Junior outside hitters Jaali Winters and Taryn Kloth both earned All-America honorable mention and both averaged over 3.20 kills per set. Senior middle blocker Marysa Wilkinson was an All-Region pick last year, hitting .337 with 2.51 kills per set, and libero Brittany Witt was the East Region Freshman of the Year after averaging 4.09 digs per set. Creighton was a unanimous pick to win a fourth-straight Big East title, and its current No. 9 ranking matches the program's all-time best. Kirsten Bernthal Booth is in her 15th season leading Creighton. UW and Creighton have never faced each other.
ALASKA AIRLINES ARENA
FRIDAY, AUGUST 25
#9 Creighton vs. Saint Mary's • 3:00 pm - Live Stats
#3 Washington hosts Pittsburgh • 6:00 pm - Live Stats - Live on Pac-12 National
SATURDAY, AUGUST 26
Pittsburgh vs. #9 Creighton • 10:00 am - Live Stats
#3 Washington hosts Saint Mary's • 12:00 pm - Live Stats
Saint Mary's vs. Pittsburgh • 4:00 pm - Live Stats
#3 Washington hosts #9 Creighton • 7:00 pm - Live Stats - Live on Pac-12 National
Live Video Stream Link
SEATTLE - Third-ranked Husky Volleyball is ready to kick off the 2017 season with one of the biggest opening home weekends in years. At Alaska Airlines Arena this Friday at 6:00 p.m., the Dawgs take on the Pitt Panthers in their season opener, and Saturday the Dawgs have a double-header against Saint Mary's at 12 noon and then a top-10 battle with No. 9 Creighton at 7:00 p.m.
Three of the four teams taking the floor at Alaska Airlines Arena this Friday and Saturday were among the final thirty-two teams in last year's NCAA tournament, as Pitt made its first NCAA appearance since 2004 and reached the second round, while Washington and Creighton both advanced to the Elite Eight, and both teams begin this year in the AVCA coaches poll top-10.
Not since 2001 has Washington hosted a top-25 opponent in the opening weekend, and this is the first time in school history that a top-10 match has been seen in Alaska Airlines Arena in week one.
Washington's matches against Pitt and Creighton will both be televised live on the Pac-12 Networks, while UW vs. St. Mary's will be streamed free on GoHuskies.com.
Head Coach Keegan Cook is looking forward to the early challenge. "We really wanted to begin with the end in mind and play a couple teams that we thought were the teams we wanted to be playing at the end of the year. These are the teams that are going to be vying for deep runs in the tournament or contending for berths in the Final Four," Cook said. "Let's find out right away. Win or lose, after those opening weekend matches we're going to have a better sense of what it takes to go where we want to go."
An experienced and deep Husky roster will look to get off to a quick start this weekend. Washington returns all six starters from last season's squad that won the Pac-12 title for the third time in four years, and reached the Elite Eight for the second straight season. All-Americans Courtney Schwan, Crissy Jones, and Bailey Tanner lead a big class of seven seniors looking to lead the program to a 16th-straight NCAA tourney and back to the Final Four for the first time since 2013. Washington was voted third in the national preseason poll behind No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Stanford, but was picked first in the Pac-12 Coaches Poll ahead of Stanford and No. 3 Oregon.
The Dawgs' first opponent will be a challenge as Pitt returns five starters from the first Panthers team to win a round in the NCAA tourney since 2003. Pittsburgh went 25-9 and defeated Dayton in the first round of NCAAs before falling to Penn State, 3-1, in the second round. Pitt was picked third in the preseason ACC poll, its highest projection yet, and was just one point behind Florida State for second. Two Panthers were named to the Preseason All-ACC Team, returning ACC Setter of the Year Kamalani Akeo and AVCA Honorable Mention All-America honoree Stephanie Williams, an outside hitter who led the Panthers with 3.77 kills per set last year. Sophomore middle Layne Van Buskirk was named to the All-Freshman Team last year, averaging 2.21 kills per set and hitting .345 and senior Mariah Bell also posted 3.24 kills per set last year. Dan Fisher is in his fifth season as the Head Coach at Pitt. Washington won the only meeting with Pitt in 2010.
Saint Mary's will also bring a very experienced team to Seattle, with six returning starters and 10 letterwinners back. The Gaels went 11-18 a year ago and 6-12 in the West Coast Conference. Top points producer Lindsey Knudsen is back after averaging 3.03 kills per set last year. Senior setter Mary Hernandez split setting duties last year, leading the team with 5.71 assists per set and junior middle blocker Alex O'Sullivan led the team with 1.00 blocks per set. Keegan Cook got his coaching start at Saint Mary's as an assistant under current Gaels coach Rob Browning, helping the Gaels reach the NCAA tourney three times in 2008, 2009, and 2012. The Huskies hold a 3-0 all-time lead in the series.
Creighton advanced to the program's first Elite Eight last season, and returns five starters plus its libero from that squad that finished 29-7 and won the Big East regular season and tournament titles for the third year in a row. The Blue Jays had three straight five-set wins in the NCAA tourney last year, beating Northern Iowa 15-12 in the fifth, then upsetting No. 5 seed Kansas, 20-18 in the fifth, and upsetting No. 12 Michigan, 15-7 in the fifth, before falling 3-0 in the quarterfinals to Texas. Setter Lydia Dimke was the Big East Player of the Year and a Third Team All-American last year. Junior outside hitters Jaali Winters and Taryn Kloth both earned All-America honorable mention and both averaged over 3.20 kills per set. Senior middle blocker Marysa Wilkinson was an All-Region pick last year, hitting .337 with 2.51 kills per set, and libero Brittany Witt was the East Region Freshman of the Year after averaging 4.09 digs per set. Creighton was a unanimous pick to win a fourth-straight Big East title, and its current No. 9 ranking matches the program's all-time best. Kirsten Bernthal Booth is in her 15th season leading Creighton. UW and Creighton have never faced each other.
Players Mentioned
Seniors Markley and Hani team up to extend the match with the rejection!! 😤
Friday, November 28
Washington 3, Maryland 0 | Huskies Highlights
Thursday, November 27
That’s the game ✅
Thursday, November 27
Two sets down for the dawgs 😮💨
Thursday, November 27
