Huskies Drop Pac-12 Opener In Pullman In Four

Wednesday, September 25

Pullman, WA

5:30 PM

University of Washington

9-2

Washington State

12-1

Washington

Washington St.

Photo by: Red Box Pictures

September 25, 2019 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score PDF

By: UW Athletic Communications

SEATTLE – Washington volleyball fell in its Pac-12 opener, and the first match in the Boeing Apple Cup Series, today in four sets at Washington State's Bohler Gym. The Huskies won the first set but then struggled to get its offense in gear the rest of the way, falling 22-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-20 in front of 1,227 fans.

The Huskies hit just .154 for the match compared to .176 for Washington State, which won its 11th match in a row to go to 12-1. The Huskies had a seven-match winning streak snapped to fall to 9-2 and 0-1 in Pac-12 play.

The Cougars out-blocked the Huskies, 11-10, and had one more ace as well, 7-6. They also led in kills, 53-47, while the Huskies had a slim edge in digs, 65-63.

Senior Kara Bajema led all players with 19 kills for the third match in a row, but was limited to a .193 attack percentage. Samantha Drechsel had eight kills and three blocks, hitting .227. Sophomore Shannon Crenshaw got the start and had seven kills while Lauren Sanders had six kills and five blocks and Avie Niece had five kills and five blocks. Senior Shayne McPherson tallied a season-high 25 digs.

"Obviously a disappointing performance tonight. It's not often our offense gets worse as a match goes on," said Head Coach Keegan Cook. "Some very uncharacteristic performances and a lack of connection to each other and the tasks at hand. I'm certain everyone in the program is passionate about getting it right. There's no time in the Pac-12 to dwell on the past. You have to grow quickly."

UP NEXT: Washington won't have much chance to feel sorry for itself as it next heads to No. 1-ranked Stanford for a match this Sunday at 2 p.m. which will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.

SET 1: Bajema's first kill tied things up at 2-2 in the opener. Maria Bogomolova aced the Cougars for 3-2. WSU scored three straight to take the lead before Bajema hammered one and a WSU error tied it at 5-all. A Bajema ace put the Huskies back up, 7-6. Drechsel went off the block and down for a 10-9 lead. Drechsel then had some impressive digs leading to a Crenshaw finish for a 12-10 lead. Bajema kept the run going with a back row kill for 14-10. Crenshaw ripped another down from the left for 15-12 at the media timeout. A tough Crenshaw serve led to a WSU error, and then Bajema used a change-up off the block and down, and a Cougar error on the next point pushed it to 18-12 and the Cougars called time. Niece and Powell posted the first block of the match for a 20-13 lead. Washington State went on a run to get all the way back within two points at 21-19, but Bajema snapped UW out of it with a rightside finish, and then followed that with an ace for 23-19 and the Cougars took time. WSU got back within a pair off an ace, but Drechsel killed in serve-receive for set point at 24-21. A WSU error ended it on the second chance for 25-22.

SET 2: Powell dumped a no-look backwards kill for 2-1 Dawgs. Crenshaw had a dig that let Powell hit Bajema in rhythm for a 4-1 lead. WSU scored three straight to get back even then the teams traded sideouts for a spell. A marathon rally was finally capped by a Drechsel and Niece rejection to make it 7-all. Sanders had a pair of kills but the Cougars edged out to a two-point lead at 11-13. Niece got a solo stuff and then Bajema hit a razor-sharp angle past the block to tie things at 14-14. A Powell dig led to a Crenshaw transition kill as the Huskies retook the lead, 16-15. But the Huskies gave two back on miscues and needed timeout trailing 16-18. Niece got the Dawgs a point with a kill in serve-receive out of the break. A back row kill from Bajema and a Crenshaw ace got the Dawgs within one at 20-21 and WSU took time. Sanders and Powell stuffed down the first WSU swing out of the break to tie it, but the Cougars got a big block on the next point to stop the Husky run. The Huskies had swings to take the lead but couldn't get them down, and a Husky tip went wide for 22-24, and then WSU aced the Huskies to end it, 22-25.

SET 3: WSU carried the momentum from the second set into the third, winning the first four points before Drechsel blasted a kill from the left. A block from Drechsel and Niece was followed by a Crenshaw swing up the line for 4-6. Drechsel floated an ace to the floor for 6-7. The Cougars went back up by four with a 3-0 run that Sanders ended off the block for 8-11. Bajema fired off the defense from the right pin and then had an ace to pull within two again at 11-13. A McPherson serve was overpassed and Powell set Sanders for a kill to get the Dawgs level at 14-all. Drechsel punched up a dig and Powell bumped it back in play to Sanders who finished for 16-all. But WSU scored four of the next five points to go up 17-20 and the Huskies needed timeout. Nothing was able to work for the Huskies as the Cougars ran off with four more points for 17-24. The Huskies saved three set points but it ended there at 20-25.

SET 4: The Huskies found themselves in another four-point hole early in the fourth set and needed timeout down 2-6. Bajema finished off the block out of the break to try and give the Huskies some spark. Drechsel found the block for a kill for 5-6 but WSU answered with a sideout and an ace for 5-8. Drechsel had a pair of kills to keep the Huskies within striking distance. But the Cougars broke it open with a transition kill and an ace off the tape for 8-14. Niece blocked a quick attempt in the middle for 11-15 Cougars, but WSU pushed back up by six points at 12-18 and the Huskies took timeout. Crenshaw had a kill set by McPherson and Sanders tapped down a WSU tip attempt to get within five at 15-20 but a Cougar kill and another WSU ace made it seven again. A long rally ending with a WSU error made it 17-22 and the Cougars called for time. More evidence of things going against UW came when the Huskies had a dig but it hit the rafters and the Dawgs then could not get to it. Sanders and Bajema kept UW with some hope with a rejection for 19-23, then Sanders stuffed another for 20-23. But the Cougars got the next kill in serve-receive for match point at 20-24. WSU ended it on their first chance with a kill off the block.