Friday, September 7
Pittsburgh, PA
10:00 AM
University of Washington
vs
Dayton
Photo by: Red Box Pictures
Huskies Meet NCAA Tourney Regulars In Pittsburgh
September 05, 2018 | Volleyball
THIS WEEK IN HUSKY VOLLEYBALL
PANTHER INVITATIONAL
FITZGERALD FIELD HOUSE • Pittsburgh, PA.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7
Kennesaw State at #13 Pitt • 7:30 am PT
#12 WASHINGTON vs. Dayton • 10 am PT • Live Stats
Dayton at #13 Pitt • 4 pm PT
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8
Dayton vs. Kennesaw State • 8 am PT
#12 WASHINGTON at #13 Pitt • 11 am PT • Live Stats | Live Stream
#12 WASHINGTON vs. Kennesaw State • 4 pm PT • Live Stats
SEATTLE - The Huskies are on the move this week for the first time this season. The Dawgs fly out to Pittsburgh, Pa. for the Panther Invitational, hosted by the 13th-ranked Pitt Panthers this Friday and Saturday. First up for Washington (3-1) will be Dayton (5-2) on Friday starting at 10 a.m. Pacific time, 1 p.m. locally. Saturday will be UW's first double-header of the year, starting with the top-25 battle against Pitt (6-0) at 11 a.m. Pacific time, followed by a meeting with Kennesaw State (6-0) at 4 p.m. Pacific.
The match against Pitt on Saturday will be live streamed free on Pitt's website, but streams will not be available for UW's other two matches.
Washington's three opponents are a combined 17-2 heading into the weekend. Dayton has made the NCAA tournament in 12 of the past 15 seasons, Pittsburgh reached the NCAA second round each of the past two years, and Kennesaw State won its conference last year and made an NCAA tourney appearance, so all four teams come in with serious postseason aspirations.
The Huskies moved up on spot in the AVCA top-25 this week in spite of suffering their first loss in four sets to Illinois last Saturday. Through the first two weeks of the season, junior Kara Bajema ranks third in the Pac-12 with 4.53 kills per set. Ella May Powell is fifth in the league with 11.27 assists per set, and Lauren Sanders is seventh with a .384 attack percentage.
The Huskies will be facing Dayton for the first time ever. The Flyers are 5-2 on the season, with a five-set loss to a talented Kansas squad and a 3-0 loss to 16th-ranked Kentucky. Last year Dayton was second in the Atlantic 10 with a 23-8 overall record, 13-1 in conference. This season, senior outside hitter Lauren Bruns is powering the Flyers so far with a .340 attack percentage and 4.19 kills per set. Another senior, middle blocker Kendyll Brown, is posting 2.36 kills per set, hitting .347, and adding 1.28 blocks per set.
Washington and Pittsburgh met a year ago in the season-opener, which the Huskies won in straight sets in Seattle. However the Panthers return every starter while UW graduated seven seniors. Last year Pitt went on to share the ACC title with Louisville with an 18-2 league record, finishing 26-7 overall with a second round NCAA loss to Penn State. The current No. 13 national ranking is the highest in Pittsburgh history. Pitt was predicted to win the ACC title this year and junior opposite Nika Markovic, junior OH Stephanie Williams and senior setter Kamalani Akeo were named Preseason All-ACC. Markovic and Williams were AVCA All-America honorable mentions last year. Through six matches it's sophomore OH Kayla Lund leading the team with 4.10 kills per set and hitting .350, while Markovic has 3.55 kills per set hitting .316. Pitt as a team is hitting .315 thus far and holding opponents to .160. Pitt has one ranked win, defeating then-No. 24 Cal Poly in four sets.
The Owls of Kennesaw State and the Huskies have never met. Kennesaw State won the Atlantic Sun last year, losing to Oregon in the NCAA first round to end the year 21-5. Their 6-0 start this year includes a win over Clemson from the ACC in their last match. Kennesaw State is hitting .246 for the year compared to .164 for its opponents. KSU is averaging an impressive 1.96 aces per set, 12 aces from setter Lexi Broadwater. Lauren Chastang has a team-high 3.50 kills per set and Liesl Engelbrecht is hitting .339 with 2.46 kills and 0.92 blocks per set.
PANTHER INVITATIONAL
FITZGERALD FIELD HOUSE • Pittsburgh, PA.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7
Kennesaw State at #13 Pitt • 7:30 am PT
#12 WASHINGTON vs. Dayton • 10 am PT • Live Stats
Dayton at #13 Pitt • 4 pm PT
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8
Dayton vs. Kennesaw State • 8 am PT
#12 WASHINGTON at #13 Pitt • 11 am PT • Live Stats | Live Stream
#12 WASHINGTON vs. Kennesaw State • 4 pm PT • Live Stats
On this journey together. #PointHuskies // #GoHuskies pic.twitter.com/f74bkdLyAG
— Washington Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) September 4, 2018
SEATTLE - The Huskies are on the move this week for the first time this season. The Dawgs fly out to Pittsburgh, Pa. for the Panther Invitational, hosted by the 13th-ranked Pitt Panthers this Friday and Saturday. First up for Washington (3-1) will be Dayton (5-2) on Friday starting at 10 a.m. Pacific time, 1 p.m. locally. Saturday will be UW's first double-header of the year, starting with the top-25 battle against Pitt (6-0) at 11 a.m. Pacific time, followed by a meeting with Kennesaw State (6-0) at 4 p.m. Pacific.
The match against Pitt on Saturday will be live streamed free on Pitt's website, but streams will not be available for UW's other two matches.
Washington's three opponents are a combined 17-2 heading into the weekend. Dayton has made the NCAA tournament in 12 of the past 15 seasons, Pittsburgh reached the NCAA second round each of the past two years, and Kennesaw State won its conference last year and made an NCAA tourney appearance, so all four teams come in with serious postseason aspirations.
The Huskies moved up on spot in the AVCA top-25 this week in spite of suffering their first loss in four sets to Illinois last Saturday. Through the first two weeks of the season, junior Kara Bajema ranks third in the Pac-12 with 4.53 kills per set. Ella May Powell is fifth in the league with 11.27 assists per set, and Lauren Sanders is seventh with a .384 attack percentage.
The Huskies will be facing Dayton for the first time ever. The Flyers are 5-2 on the season, with a five-set loss to a talented Kansas squad and a 3-0 loss to 16th-ranked Kentucky. Last year Dayton was second in the Atlantic 10 with a 23-8 overall record, 13-1 in conference. This season, senior outside hitter Lauren Bruns is powering the Flyers so far with a .340 attack percentage and 4.19 kills per set. Another senior, middle blocker Kendyll Brown, is posting 2.36 kills per set, hitting .347, and adding 1.28 blocks per set.
Washington and Pittsburgh met a year ago in the season-opener, which the Huskies won in straight sets in Seattle. However the Panthers return every starter while UW graduated seven seniors. Last year Pitt went on to share the ACC title with Louisville with an 18-2 league record, finishing 26-7 overall with a second round NCAA loss to Penn State. The current No. 13 national ranking is the highest in Pittsburgh history. Pitt was predicted to win the ACC title this year and junior opposite Nika Markovic, junior OH Stephanie Williams and senior setter Kamalani Akeo were named Preseason All-ACC. Markovic and Williams were AVCA All-America honorable mentions last year. Through six matches it's sophomore OH Kayla Lund leading the team with 4.10 kills per set and hitting .350, while Markovic has 3.55 kills per set hitting .316. Pitt as a team is hitting .315 thus far and holding opponents to .160. Pitt has one ranked win, defeating then-No. 24 Cal Poly in four sets.
The Owls of Kennesaw State and the Huskies have never met. Kennesaw State won the Atlantic Sun last year, losing to Oregon in the NCAA first round to end the year 21-5. Their 6-0 start this year includes a win over Clemson from the ACC in their last match. Kennesaw State is hitting .246 for the year compared to .164 for its opponents. KSU is averaging an impressive 1.96 aces per set, 12 aces from setter Lexi Broadwater. Lauren Chastang has a team-high 3.50 kills per set and Liesl Engelbrecht is hitting .339 with 2.46 kills and 0.92 blocks per set.
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