Set Points Get Away As Dawgs Fall In Pullman

Friday, November 25

Pullman, WA

6:00 PM

University of Washington

20-10,12-8Pac-12

Washington State

22-9,14-6Pac-12

Washington

Washington St.

Photo by: Red Box Pictures

November 25, 2022 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score PDF

By: UW Athletic Communications

SEATTLE – Husky Volleyball had set point opportunities in the first two sets but was unable to capitalize, and instead found itself in an 0-2 hole, ultimately leading to a 25-27, 25-27, 20-25 loss to Washington State in the regular season finale in a packed Bohler Gym with 3,005 fans. The Dawgs finished the regular season at 20-10 and 12-8 in conference play, and will await their postseason fate on Sunday.

UW had a set point leading 24-23 in the first set and 25-24 in the second set but WSU made the crucial plays when needed. The Huskies struggled with the Cougar block, which had 14 blocks compared to 5 for UW. The Huskies hit .219 while WSU hit at a .343 mark.

"A disappointing result but also long stretches of high level play against a tough opponent on their home floor," said Head Coach Keegan Cook. "The margins are thin at this stage and we had opportunities to take the first two sets. I never felt panic or distress from our group in the environment and that's the kind of mentality and communication we need next week. I have confidence in where we are physically and mentally."

The teams split the Boeing Apple Cup season series, each sweeping on its home court. Washington State also expects to make the tourney with a 14-6 conference record.

Claire Hoffman led all players with 17 kills, hitting .256, while Ella May Powell had 36 assists and two aces with nine digs. Emoni Bush had 10 kills hitting .261, and Sophie Summers had a strong match with seven kills on a .417 percentage. Marin Grote had nine kills and four blocks and Lauren Bays had 10 digs.

Whoa... ??#PointHuskies // #BoeingAppleCup // ?? https://t.co/P1QhVnUWaX pic.twitter.com/FYiIcrFUdb
— Washington Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) November 26, 2022

UP NEXT: Washington will learn its NCAA tournament fate this Sunday in the Selection Show at 4:30 p.m. Pacific time, as it airs on ESPNU. The Huskies are hoping for a 21st straight NCAA tournament bid.

SET ONE: Sophie Summers had the first kill for the Dawgs on the second point. Summers soon had a second kill, and Hoffman's first made it 3-4. A block from Grote and Powell evened it at 4-4. UW took its first lead with a Grote slide kill for 6-5. But the Cougars came back with three straight until Grote terminated again for 7-8. Crenshaw slammed off the block for 10-11. A long rally was finished by Hoffman from the left to push the Dawgs back in front, 13-12. But the Huskies then missed serve, made a block error, and then got aced short for 13-15 at the media timeout. Powell threw down to tie it at 16-16 and then Bush had a block for a 17-16 lead. Another block on the next rally from Grote and Powell made it 18-16 and forced a Cougar timeout. Grote added another on a slide for 19-16, but WSU then answered with a 3-0 run to tie it again at 19-19, and UW took time. Bays had a pancake dig on the next point and Bush tipped one down for 20-19. But UW missed two serves in a row, and then WSU had a transition kill for 21-22. Bush hammered from the right to retie it at 22-all. Hoffman tooled the block for 23-all, and then WSU missed one wide to give the Huskies a set point at 24-23. After a timeout, WSU saved it with a kill in serve-receive. UW had two swings on the next point but the second was blocked for a WSU set point. Hoffman saved it with a finish for 25-all. The Cougars earned a second chance with a kill, and Grote had a rare miss on the slide as the Huskies fell short, 25-27.

WSU had five blocks in the set to hold the Huskies to a .182 percentage. Lauren Bays dug six in the opening frame.

SET TWO: Bush opened the second set with an ace. She had two kills to keep things even at 5-5 through the first ten points. Crenshaw pounded one from the left for 8-8, and Hoffman got a touch for 9-9. But the Cougars went on a 3-0 run for 9-12 to force UW's first timeout. The Huskies had a 3-0 run to pull back within a point at 13-14 as Bush had two-straight transition kills from the left, one after a one-fisted punch dig from Crenshaw. Crenshaw then finished a Powell set for 16-17. Summers and Crenshaw had a crucial block to keep UW close at 18-20. Powell threw down for 20-22, and Grote and Hoffman had kills to get the Dawgs within one at 22-23. WSU called time and then got a kill to reach set point at 22-24. Summers saved the first set point with a kill out of the middle, then Powell went back and got the Dawgs even by dropping an ace to the back line. She then went shorter and it was misplayed for a second ace and the Dawgs suddenly were up, 25-24, and WSU used its last timeout. WSU saved it with a kill, and then blocked the Dawgs to retake the lead and earn a third set point. The Cougars then blocked the Dawgs again on the next point to end it, by the same score as the first set, 25-27.

The Cougars outhit the Huskies, .357 to .250, in the set. The Dawgs had an 18-13 edge in kills but missed five serves. Bush put away five kills and hit .444 in the set.

SET THREE: Hoffman go the Dawgs going with three kills on UW's first four points of the third set as the teams were even at 4-4. Consecutive kills from Summers and Crenshaw made it 6-5 Dawgs, but WSU answered with three in a row. Summers kept rolling with two more from the middle, and then Grote had a finish for 10-10. Grote put it past the block on the right for 11-12 and then she and Powell rejected one to even it at 12-all. Hoffman then dropped an ace in the corner for a 13-12 lead to cap the 3-0 run. Bush finished for 14-13, but WSU scored twice to retake the lead at the media timeout, 14-15. Another Cougar block pushed the lead to three at 15-18 and UW took time. The Cougars added one more before Bush snapped the 3-0 WSU run for 16-19. But WSU scored twice more to push the gap to five and force the final Husky timeout. Hoffman finished two straight long rallies to get the Dawgs back within three at 18-21. Grote finished for 19-22 but WSU got the sideout right back. UW challenged for a touch on an out of bounds shot on the next rally but the refs didn't spot it, so the Huskies were down five match points. Hoffman saved one, but WSU put it away on the next point, 20-25.

WSU had its best hitting in the third, hitting .405 while the Huskies hit .227 led by six kills from Hoffman.