Huskies Off To Omaha For NCAA Opener

THIS WEEK IN HUSKY VOLLEYBALL

NCAA Championships
First and Second Rounds
Omaha, Neb. | D.J. Sokol Arena

Friday, Nov. 30 | First Rounds
Washington (18-12) vs. Saint Mary's (19-9) - 1:30 p.m. PT | Live Stats | Live Video
(9) Creighton (28-4) vs. South Dakota (21-9) - 4:00 p.m. PT | Live Stats | Live Video

Saturday, Dec. 1 | Second Round
Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 - 5:00 p.m. PT | Live Video

**BROADCAST INFORMATION**
> All three matches from Omaha this weekend will air on FOX Sports Go at no charge.
> Live streaming video of each match will be available via FOXSportsGO.com for desktop users, and via the FOX Sports GO app for mobile devices (iOS, Android, Kindle Fire tablets and Fire phones and select Window devices).
> The FOX Sports GO mobile app can be downloaded for free from the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Amazon App Store or the Windows Store, and the games are now available internationally.

SEATTLE - Tournament time returns for Washington Volleyball as the Huskies head into the NCAA Championships after a long and winding 30-match regular season. The Dawgs will have to be road warriors this year, as they play the first round away from home for the first time since 2011. Washington is one of four teams headed to Omaha, Neb. this week as Creighton is one of the sixteen schools chosen to host first and second round matches. The Huskies will face Saint Mary's in the opening round this Friday, Nov. 30, at 1:30 p.m. Pacific time, with the winner advancing to face either No. 9-seed Creighton or South Dakota on Saturday at 5 p.m.

This is the 17th consecutive year that Washington has qualified for the NCAA Championships, the eighth-longest active streak in the nation. The Dawgs have won their first round match every one of the previous 16 trips, and reached at least the round of 16 from 2012-16 before that streak was snapped in the second round last season against Illinois. Two wins this weekend and the Huskies could start a new streak.

Washington finished the regular season at 18-12 and 10-10 in Pac-12 play to tie for sixth in the conference that produced the most NCAA tournament teams with eight. The Huskies certainly tested themselves this year, as they faced 11 teams that reached the postseason, posting a record of 8-10 against eventual NCAA qualifiers.

The story all season for UW was a young team with players taking on new roles. Every player on the roster was either in a brand new or expanded role this season, with six players officially making their Husky debuts this year after UW graduated a class of seven in 2017.

Tuesday saw the release of the All-Pac-12 Teams, with three Huskies earning recognition. Junior outside hitter Kara Bajema made the 14-player first team, and sophomore middle blocker Lauren Sanders was an honorable mention. Freshman setter Ella May Powell, who has played every set this year, was named to the seven-player Pac-12 All-Freshman Team.

Two of the three teams joining the Huskies in Omaha have some recent history with Washington. Saint Mary's and Creighton were both in Seattle just last year, in the opening weekend of the season, with the Huskies winning in straight sets against the Gaels but falling in four sets to the Bluejays. UW and South Dakota have never met.

The Gaels were one of five West Coast Conference teams to make the tournament, finishing 19-9 overall and 11-7 in conference play for a fourth-place finish in the league. Saint Mary's is making its seventh NCAA tournament appearance and first since 2012, when current Husky Head Coach Keegan Cook was an assistant for the Gaels. Saint Mary's went 2-0 against Pac-12 teams this year, upsetting Utah in five sets in the opening weekend of the season, and sweeping California on Sept. 15. SMC also had two wins over San Diego, the team the Huskies opened their season against. The Gaels hit .234 on the year and allowed a .209 mark by their opponents. Four different players average between two and three kills per set, led by senior Lindsey Knudsen who averages 2.84 and hits .252. Junior setter Alexsa Parker leads the team in assists with 6.97 per set and has racked up the aces with 46 total or 0.42 per set. Junior middle Alex O'Sullivan leads at the net with 1.19 blocks per set. Washington at Saint Mary's met once in the NCAA tournament, a 2004 Round of 16 win for the Huskies.

Creighton is making its seventh consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, and eighth overall. The Bluejays were the No. 9 seed a year ago as well, suffering an upset in the second round to Michigan State. Creighton reached the Elite Eight in 2016 and the Sweet 16 in 2015. The Big East Champions went 18-0 in league play and 28-4 overall this season, having not lost a match since a 3-1 loss at then-No. 8 Illinois on Sept. 15. Creighton also had a five-set loss to Nebraska and lost twice back in the first week of the season to Northern Iowa and USC. Three times Creighton defeated Marquette, the No. 14 seed in the tournament. Creighton had four women earn All-BIG EAST honors, including first-team selections Madelyn Cole (10.89 aps., 0.43 saps.), Taryn Kloth (4.13 kps., .281%) and BIG EAST Player of the Year Jaali Winters (3.85 kps., 3.10 dps.). Junior middle blocker Megan Ballenger (2.53 kps., .306%) was named Second Team All-BIG EAST.

South Dakota reached the NCAA tourney for the first time ever this year thanks to a five-set win in the Summit League title match over Denver, which received an at-large bid. The Coyotes went 21-9 on the season and 13-3 in the Summit League regular season. Senior outside hitter Hayley Dotseth leads the team with 4.04 kills per set and senior middle blocker Taylor Wilson adds 3.24 kills per set and hits .372 on the year. Junior libero Anne Rasumussen posts 5.45 digs per set and South Dakota had a big edge on its opponents in aces, averaging 1.57 per set and allowing 1.01 per set. The Coyotes also had a Pac-12 win on their slate, as they beat Cal, 3-1, back in August.

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Players Mentioned

Kara Bajema

Ella May Powell

Lauren Sanders

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