Endsley’s Big Day Leads Dawgs Over Bears

Sunday, October 8

Seattle, WA

12:00 PM

University of Washington

11-6,2-4Pac-12

California

12-5,1-5Pac-12

California

Washington

October 08, 2023 | Volleyball

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By: UW Athletic Communications

SEATTLE – An eighteen kill effort from Madi Endsley powered Washington to a 3-1 win over the visiting Cal Bears today in front of 2,864 fans at Alaska Airlines Arena. Endsley hit .400 as the Dawgs improved to 11-6 and 2-4 in Pac-12 play with another two home matches next week where they will look to climb back to the .500 mark after a tough road stretch.

Former Husky All-American Crissy Jones Schoonderwoerd got a nice reception back as the interim head coach of the Bears, but UW did not want to be too welcoming. The Dawgs controlled the first set from the jump, but Cal evened things with a set two win. Washington then dominated the third, and pulled away in set four to earn a 25-20, 20-25, 25-11, 25-19 victory.

After struggling with some passing in the second set loss, the Huskies went to a two-woman serve-receive in set three, with Audra Wilmes and Grace Zilbert working to stabilize things. May Pertofsky also moved into the front row for the first time all weekend, and made a big impact with six kills over the final two sets.

"It was nice to see Audra and Grace step in and be able to manage a two-man serve-receive," said Head Coach Leslie Gabriel. "That helped us out a ton. The addition of May Pertofsky in the lineup brought a force blocking and attacking and that also was a difference maker."

Washington hit .294 overall while Cal finished at .217. The Dawgs hit an incredible .769 in the second set blowout, with 10 kills on 13 swings without an error. UW had a 9-4 lead in aces and a 43-37 edge in digs.

Grace denies the tape-ace with a ?? and K.B. ends the first set! ???#PointHuskies pic.twitter.com/960f7ZhhdK
— Washington Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) October 8, 2023

Endsley hit .400 with her 18 kills on 35 swings. Wilmes added 11 kills on a .292 percentage, with seven kills from Kierstyn Barton and six from Pertofsky. Katy Wessels had three kills on her five attempts without an error. Zilbert had 14 digs and 3 aces in her second-straight match as libero, as Lauren Bays remained out.

Gabriel got to coach against one of her former players for the first time as Head Coach. Jones was a standout outside hitter for the Huskies from 2014-17, earning All-America Second Team honors in 2016 when the Huskies won the Pac-12 and reached the Elite Eight.

"I loved it," Gabriel said of facing Jones Schoonderwoerd. "In the middle of the match I was thinking about how hard it is to coach against someone you care about. I'm so proud of her and what she's doing at Cal. She has made a difference in that program. They're competitive, they get after it, they embrace a lot of who she is and who she was as a player, and I love that for her. She's making a difference in those women's lives."

Set One: Zilbert had UW's first ace on the second point, and Wilmes had another ace for an early 5-1 cushion. The Huskies kept up the pace, with consecutive kills by Wilmes and Endsley making it 13-7. Cal took timeout after a kill from Barton made it 18-11. The Bears made a small run to trim it to four at 22-18, ut the Dawgs finished it out at 25-20 on a Barton kill from Wilson. Endsley terminated six in the opener, hitting .400, and Barton had four kills, hitting .500. Molly Wilson had 12 assists as the Huskies hit .269.

Set Two: Zilbert bump set two straight Barton left-side kills for a 4-2 Husky lead, but Cal scored seven of the next nine to force a UW timeout at 6-9. The Bears lead hit five at 8-13. Wilmes killed two-straight on the right for 10-13. The Dawgs got within two at 15-17 to force a Bears timeout. But the Dawgs didn't get closer, falling 20-25. Cal hit .364 in the second and UW hit just .182.

Set Three: Cal started the third set with an ace but then the Huskies scored six unanswered on Zilbert's serve. Pertofsky's big rejection on the right pin for 5-1 really set the tone. Pertofsky then added two rocket shots for 8-3. Endsley had a kill then went back and served an ace for make it 14-6 and force a Cal timeout. Pertofsky had back-to-back aces, one she hammered that spun straight to the floor, and another she hit spinning short that was shanked into the seats, making it 18-9. A final 6-0 run on Wilmes' serve put it away, 25-11. Washington hit 10-0-13 for a whopping .769 attack percentage. Pertofsky was 3-for-3 and Endsley was 5-for-7.

Set Four: Zilbert opened the set with her third ace. Wilmes finished a Wilson set for 5-2. The Dawgs led 10-5 but Cal scored three straight to stay in it. Three times Cal got within a point, but a Cal error and an Endsley kill extended back to three at 17-14. More put-aways by Endsley and Pertofsky kept the Dawgs trading points. Wilmes then gave them some space with consecutive kills for 23-18. At match point, Elise Hani got the finishing kill on a Cal back-row block for 25-19. The Huskies held Cal to .057 and hit .243 with Wilmes leading with five kills.

UP NEXT: Washington stays at home for the second week in a row, hosting Colorado and Utah next Friday and Sunday. Colorado comes in first on Friday, Oct. 13, for a 7 p.m. match.