Huskies Take Round One With No. 9 Wisconsin, 3-1

Thursday, September 19

Madison, WI

6:00 PM

University of Washington

Wisconsin

September 19, 2019 | Volleyball

Box Score

MADISON, Wisc. – 10th-ranked Washington struck the first blow in the home-and-home series with 9th-ranked Wisconsin tonight, standing strong in one of the toughest environments in college volleyball, the Wisconsin Field House which packed 7,052 fans into the seats. The Huskies (8-1) improved to 4-0 against ranked opponents and 2-0 against top-10 Big Ten squads with a rematch against the Badgers coming this Saturday in Seattle at 6 p.m.

The Huskies won the first battle of the UWs, 25-23, 27-25, 19-25, 25-22. Washington out-hit the Badgers, .276 to .208, and had a big edge in blocks, 14-7. Senior Avie Niece was just one off her career high with 10 blocks tonight, and senior Shayne McPherson had a season-high 21 digs to anchor the defense.

Senior Kara Bajema started the night off with the one-thousandth kill on her first kill of the night, and she would keep rolling from there, getting 19 for the night and hitting .288. She added two aces, 11 digs, and a huge seven blocks. Bajema became the 19th Husky ever to top the 1,000 career kills mark.

Sophomore Claire Hoffman also excelled with 18 kills, hitting .277 and added 15 digs for a double-double. Sophomore Ella May Powell kept the Dawgs on task with 43 assists and added five blocks.

"A lot of gritty performances," said Head Coach Keegan Cook. "A lot of plays being made that we were working on for one day in practice last week. We had one day to try and get better and we gave some people some really specific tasks, and I thought we saw those plays show up, which is exciting when your team can learn that quickly.

"Wisconsin is a really impressive team, especially from the service line. Their ability to put pressure on us, we could not run much of our offense most of the night and kind of had to grind our way through it. I thought Ella May made some great sets on the run, especially late, and I thought Kara Bajema was extremely patient and worked the whole court. Claire Hoffman cleaning up a lot of plays at the net, Samantha Drechsel and Lauren Sanders some big swings late, just gritty is the only word I can think of."

A big turning point was the second set, when the Huskies faced four set points down 20-24, but rallied to grab the set 27-25 and take the 2-0 lead. Maria Bogomolova's tough serving keyed the comeback streak.

"We've seen it from her before where she can hit some serves that give us a chance to make that," said Cook, "but even then you're not thinking you're going to take that, you're thinking let's get one point, okay one more … so that one for sure will stand out for a while."

UP NEXT: Washington will now try to defend its home turf as both teams head to Seattle. The Huskies now host the Badgers this Saturday night, at 6 p.m., in the home opener for the Huskies.

"It will be a new challenge to play at home now, we haven't played at home this season so it's the most foreign environment to us right now. But we're all looking forward to it. We've been all over the country and now we're ready to play in front of our home fans."

SET 1: Claire Hoffman scored the first kill for the Dawgs for 1-1 in the first set. Bajema nailed her career kill No. 1,000 on the third point of the match. Avie Niece and Ella May Powell had the first block of the night for 4-2. A couple Wisconsin errors was followed by an ace for Bajema for 8-5 Dawgs. Niece then destroyed a kill after a Badgers free ball for 9-5 and Wisconsin took timeout. Hoffman pushed one through the block, and then Samantha Drechsel had her first kill from the right for 11-7 Dawgs. Lauren Sanders and Ella May Powell teamed up for a big rejection for 14-10 Dawgs. Wisconsin used a couple service aces to creep back within a point, but a couple kills from Bajema helped UW stay on top, 17-15. A McPherson serve was overpassed and Hoffman was on the spot to strike it down for 19-16. Hoffman had a clutch roll shot straight to the floor for 21-19. Onosko had a perfect pass that let Powell set Sanders for a slide kill for 22-20. Niece and Bajema rejected a Wisconsin slide attempt to get the Huskies to set point at 24-21. After a missed serve, Coach Cook called timeout at 24-22. The Badgers saved another with a transition kill, but on the third chance, Bajema had a perfect pass and Drechsel finished the Powell set to take it, 25-23.

The Huskies hit .297 in the first set and held Wisconsin to .154. Drechsel was on fire with five kills on seven swings without an error to hit .714, Powell had 13 assists and McPherson notched six digs in the frame.

SET 2: Powell attacked a tight pass for a kill and 2-2 early in the second frame. Niece and Powell then rejected two in a row on the right pin for 4-2 Dawgs. A third Niece block made it 5-4. The Huskies got caught when Wisconsin saved a kill and got a free ball over and the Huskies let it fall for a point, and that fired up the Fieldhouse and deflated the Dawgs who gave up the next three points after that and needed timeout down 7-10. Wisconsin scored once more out of the break before Hoffman got a kill to snap the 6-0 Badgers run. McPherson got one back with an ace for 9-11. A right side bomb from Drechsel made it 11-12. The Huskies got back even at 14-all after Bajema tipped one down following a great serve from Maria Bogomolova that got UW a free ball. Wisconsin got back up by two, but Niece came up with a huge stuff for 15-16. But Wisconsin scored four of the next five points to go up 16-20 and the Huskies took time. The Dawgs got back in a sideout rhythm out of the break with kills from Drechsel and Hoffman using the block to their advantage. Bajema finished a long rally from the left to get to 20-23 and Wisconsin called timeout. The Huskies had a couple swings at the next point but the Badgers dug and eventually finished for set point at 20-24. Bajema wiped away the first two and Wisconsin used its last timeout with two more chances coming. Wisconsin missed its next swing wide for 23-24, and then the Dawgs tied it up on another Bajema kill up the line in transition. Bajema and Niece then roofed the next Wisconsin swing for a fifth-straight point and suddenly the Huskies had set point. The Badgers got a kill in serve-receive to tie it at 25-all, but Bajema answered in serve-receive for the Dawgs. Wisconsin's next swing was missed long and the Huskies celebrated the huge comeback win, 27-25, having closed with seven of the final eight points. Bogomolova's serving was crucial as she kept her serve in and Wisconsin off-balance during the Wisconsin set point chances.

The Huskies outhit the Badgers in the second set, .213 to .070 with Niece a huge difference maker with five block assists. Bajema dominated late in the set and finished with eight kills on 17 swings in the set without an error.

SET 3: Wisconsin came out aggressive with the first three points of the third, but Hoffman got UW on the board with a smart kill high off the block and out deep. Bajema stuffed one down to get the Huskies even at 3-all. The Badgers had another 3-0 run to go back up, 5-8, but Bajema finished from the right to snap it. Wisconsin aced the Huskies for 6-10 and the Dawgs called their first timeout. Drechsel delivered from the right out of the break and the Huskies added a couple kills from Sanders, but Wisconsin broke it open with another 3-0 run to make it 10-17. Powell dumped for a kill and Niece and Bajema teamed for a stuff block as the Huskies tried to scratch back. Powell floated an ace into the corner for 13-17 before Wisconsin snapped the 3-0 Husky run. Hoffman unloaded on one for 16-21 Badgers. Bajema had a kill up the line but Wisconsin reached set point at 18-24. UW saved one with a block from Powell and Niece but there would not be a repeat of the second set as Wisconsin finished on its second chance for 25-19. The Huskies hit .312 in the set but Wisconsin heated up to a .410 mark.

SET 4: Onosko had a couple huge digs and Bajema finished with a block on a marathon first point of the fourth set. Sanders then blocked the next Wisconsin swing for 2-0. After the solid start, Washington's passing fell apart and consecutive Wisconsin aces made it 3-7 and the Huskies took timeout. Bajema got the Huskies unstuck with a kill set by McPherson. A quick kill from Niece and a Bajema ace was followed by a Wisconsin error for 7-8, and then the Huskies tied it on a Hoffman kill in transition. Wisconsin stopped the 4-0 Husky run, but Drechsel fired from the right for 9-all. Drechsel tied it again at 11-11 with an ace. The Badgers pulled ahead by two, but Sanders killed a slide for 13-14. Bajema broke through the block for 14-15. A Badgers error evened it at 15, and then the Huskies took the lead on a Bajema kill following a diving dig from Niece and Wisconsin took timeout at 16-15 Dawgs. Washington had a great look at the next point but hit one out, and Wisconsin capitalized with the next two points to go back on top, 16-18. Niece tied it up again at 18-all with her 10th block of the night. A Wisconsin double contact after a Bajema tip put Wisconsin in trouble had the Huskies back up, 21-20. Powell then hit Sanders for a slide kill for 22-20 and Wisconsin took its last timeout. Drechsel's serve put Wisconsin in trouble, and after a McPherson dig, Hoffman tooled the block for 23-20. Wisconsin stopped the Husky run with a big swing for 23-21, but Hoffman tooled the block again to reach match point at 24-21. The Huskies missed their serve on the first chance, but on the next point, Hoffman passed it to Powell who found Bajema for a rip off the defense and into the seats as the Huskies took the win, 25-22.