Huskies Go The Distance To Outlast Dayton

Friday, September 7

Pittsburgh, PA

10:00 AM

University of Washington

4-1

Dayton

5-3

Washington

Dayton

Photo by: Red Box Pictures

September 07, 2018 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score PDF

By: UW Athletic Communications

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – What was nearly a tidy three-set sweep turned into a gut check for the young 12th-ranked Husky volleyball squad today, but after Dayton rallied back from two sets down and sent the fifth set to extra points, the Huskies held their nerve to grab the last two points and the match by a count of 25-19, 27-25, 24-26, 23-25, 17-15. The Huskies improved to 4-1 with the win, their first of three matches this weekend at the Panther Invitational at Pitt's Fitzgerald Fieldhouse.

"It came down to so few plays as it often does," said Head Coach Keegan Cook. "A couple really nice serves, a couple nice block moves especially by Avie Niece on match point. A couple nice swings in tough situations by Samantha Drechsel. We saw how few plays can determine the outcome of a match."

After Dayton (5-3) rallied from 0-2 down, the Huskies looked to be pulling away in the fifth set, leading 13-9, but the Flyers fought back with four straight points to tie it up. Drechsel, the sophomore transfer outside hitter, had her 19th and 20th kills to give UW match points but Dayton saved both. Freshman setter Ella May Powell earned a third chance with a kill and then the Dawgs ended it with a stuff block from Powell and Avie Niece.

Bajema and Drechsel both carried the offense at times, with Bajema ending up with 22 kills on a .327 attack percentage and Drechsel getting 20, hitting .250. It's the first time since Nov. 1, 2013 that two Huskies reached 20 kills in the same match. All-Americans Krista Vansant (22 kills) and Kaleigh Nelson (20 kills) did it the last time in a match against Utah.

Drechsel's 20 kills were a career-high and she also served a career-high four aces, adding up to 26.0 points, yet another career-best. Senior Destiny Julye also had a strong match with 13 kills, hitting .323, plus a pair of aces.

The Huskies wound up hitting .256 overall while Dayton hit .247. The Dawgs led in aces, 8 to 5, but Dayton had a blocking edge (13.0-9.0) and an edge in digs (69-61) despite junior Shayne McPherson finishing just one off her career-high with 24 digs today. Dayton's Lauren Bruns led all players with 26 kills.

Coach Cook said the Flyers do a number of things very differently than the Huskies with short serving and attacking patterns that challenged the Dawgs. "They do many things that we don't see in our practice gym," he said. "So those things can be hard to see. That outside for Dayton was a very experienced player and she can do a lot of things, so we wanted to do enough on everyone else to manage a player like that. We are looking to improve our blocking, no question."

UP NEXT: Washington will have its first double-header of the season tomorrow, taking on 13th-ranked Pittsburgh at 11 a.m. Pacific time followed by a match against Kennesaw State at 4 p.m. Pacific.

SET 1: The Huskies quickly claimed a 3-0 lead in the first set with kills by Destiny Julye and two from Drechsel. Dayton tied it for the first time at 9-9 but UW then had another 3-0 run for 12-9 and a Flyers timeout as Avie Niece had two-straight kills and then a block with Julye. Drechsel gave the Huskies some breathing room with two straight aces for a 19-15 lead and after a setting error made it 22-17 the Flyers used their final timeout. The Huskies sided out to the finish with kills by Bajema, Drechsel and Julye to end it, 25-19. Washington did not make a single attacking error in the first set, hitting .538, while Dayton was also hot at .429. Drechsel killed five of her 10 swings and Bajema and Julye had three kills each.

SET 2: The teams traded points early in the second set with seven ties up to 10-10, when the Dawgs got the first lead with a kill by Drechsel then an ace from Julye for 13-10. A few points later, Drechsel fired another ace for 16-12 and Dayton called timeout. Lauren Sanders and Powell teamed for a block out of the break and a five point lead, but the Flyers rallied with four straight to close within a point at 17-18 and the Huskies took time. Bajema broke that run out of the timeout on a set from Niece and a Dayton error made it 20-17 Dawgs. But Dayton again ran off four in a row to tie it back up at 22-all and force the last Husky timeout. Julye regained the lead on a Powell assist and a Flyers error made it set point at 24-22. Dayton wouldn't quit, saving both, but Drechsel and Sanders put up a roof for 25-24. Again Dayton answered, and Drechsel came up with a finish for a fourth set point chance at 26-25. Finally Powell hit Bajema for a kill to end it, 27-25, for a 2-0 lead. The Huskies hit .209 compared to .256 for Dayton but made three fewer errors. Bajema and Drechsel each had five kills in the set.

SET 3: Down three points in the third set, the Huskies tied it at 8-8 with a Bajema blast, a block by Niece and Powell, and a Dayton error. But the Flyers had a 3-0 run right back to leave the Huskies chasing. A 5-1 Husky run tied it again at 16-16, as Julye killed two straight and Bajema finished one to get even. The Huskies couldn't get over the hump, however, as Dayton retook the lead with three in a row, forcing a Husky timeout. Again the Dawgs rallied for a tie at 21-21 on a block assist by Julye and Niece, prompting a Dayton timeout. The Flyers scored out of the break but Drechsel answered for another tie. Julye tied it again at 23-all and then a Dayton service error cost them a set point and it was 24-24. But Dayton got a second chance with a kill and then claimed the set on a block on the next point, taking it 24-26. This time it was the Huskies who fell short despite superior hitting numbers, as they hit .273 compared to .200 for Dayton, but the Dawgs missed four serves in the set without an ace while Dayton had one ace and two missed serves.

SET 4: The fourth set saw the Flyers carry the momentum from the third set to an early three point lead in the fourth. The Huskies would rally once again as Shayne McPherson served a 4-0 run to take the lead, 9-8, but Dayton came right back with a bigger five-pont run for 9-13 and UW called time. Down five, the Huskies chipped away with a kill by Bajema, a solo block for Niece, and two more Bajema kills. Drechsel finished a set from Niece to get it tied back up at 17-17 and Dayton called time. The Flyers got back to a two-point lead, but the Huskies used a 4-0 run to move ahead, Powell dumping for a kill for 21-20 and then Drechsel finishing a Powell set for 22-20. But the Huskies stalled there as an error and a Dayton ace tied it, and then Dayton went back on top with a transition kill and a block for set point at 22-24. Dayton misfired on its first chance but finished the next one to send it to a fifth set, 23-25. Bajema had five kills and hit .444 in the set but the Huskies hit just .105 in the set compared to .154 for Dayton.

SET 5: Avie Niece got the Huskies started with a kill on the first point of the fifth. The teams were even at 5-5 through ten points, with consecutive Bajema kills putting the Dawgs up, 7-6. Bajema put another down and then a setting error on Dayton made it 10-8 and the Flyers called time. A Powell to Julye combination and a McPherson service ace made it 12-9 and forced the final Dayton timeout. Out of the break, Drechsel finished a McPherson bump set for another point. But on the verge of closing it out, Dayton rallied with two points and the Huskies took time, but a Husky error and a Dayton kill forced UW right back into another timeout with the lead gone at 13-13. Drechsel came up with the big kill to stop the run and get to match point at 14-13. Dayton saved it and Drechsel connected again for a second chance, but then missed serve. Powell made it 16-15 with a kill and on the third try the Huskies finally got it done on a block by Powell and Niece. Both teams hit .250 in the final set, but the Huskies had three more kills than the Flyers. Bajema had four in the final frame and Drechsel had three kills.