Huskies Heat Up, Take Down Spartans

Sunday, October 20

East Lansing, MI

10:00 AM

University of Washington

14-4,4-4Big Ten

Michigan State

7-12,0-8Big Ten

Washington

Michigan St.

October 20, 2024 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score PDF

By: UW Athletic Communications

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Husky Volleyball got back in the win column with a key road victory at Michigan State this afternoon, shaking off a slow start to power past the Spartans with three matching 25-18 set wins. Kierstyn Barton hammered out 17 kills on a .424 attack percentage to help Washington (14-4, 4-4 Big Ten) win its first trip inside the Breslin Center.

The Dawgs snapped a four-match skid and will now return home to try and move back up the conference pecking order with home matches against Rutgers and Maryland next Friday and Saturday nights.

Michigan State, hungry for its first conference win, came out of the gate and took set one, 25-17, and then put UW in a five-point hole in set two. But Washington went on an extended run to turn things around in the second, and did the same thing from six points down in set three, before controlling the fourth set from start to finish to complete the victory.

Washington hit .255 for the match, impressive due to the fact that the Dawgs hit .000 in set one. But in set four UW was firing on all cylinders, hitting .621. The Huskies also got their second-highest block total of the season, putting down 18 at the net, to help hold Michigan State to .148 hitting for the match.

"The women have been working really hard on their games every day so it was nice to see the fruits of their labor," said Head Coach Leslie Gabriel. "We started slow, I thought we were competing well it just didn't happen, but Audra (Wilmes) and Katy (Wessels) brought some energy off the bench and we really played well for long stretches. Julia (Hunt) coming back healthy was able to have a great day, and Kierstyn was really consistent for us today."

Barton was a consistent weapon all match long, getting a double-double with 17 kills, 13 digs, plus five block assists. Madi Endsley had 11 kills and two blocks, and Emoni Bush had nine kills and three blocks.

Kierstyn Barton showed up in the @UWVolleyball win over Michigan State:

?? 17 Kills
?? 13 Digs#B1GVolleyball pic.twitter.com/7dkoYOOtBJ
— Big Ten Volleyball (@B1GVolleyball) October 20, 2024

After missing her first match of the year on Friday, freshman Julia Hunt was right back to business today with seven kills on 12 swings to hit .583, and her nine blocks led the team. Katy Wessels came in as a sub and tied her career-high with three aces, while putting down seven blocks. Alexis Haury had a double-double with 18 assists and 11 digs, and Molly Wilson had 24 assists and put down her one and only attack on match point to end it. Lauren Bays had 15 digs and 26 receptions without an error.

Up Next: UW hosts Rutgers this Friday night at 7 p.m. and follows that up hosting Maryland on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Set One: Endsley tooled the block on the right and Barton put away her first two swings out of the gate from the left. Fletcher's first kill gave UW a 4-3 advantage. Endsley had the right read for a rejection for a 6-5 lead. The Spartans retook the lead and a handful of Husky errors forced Coach Gabriel to take time at 8-12. A tough serve from Elise Hani forced a Spartan error for 10-12. A running dig from Heard let Hunt bump set Barton for a kill to pull UW within one. Hunt and Barton then teamed for a block to tie it up at 13-all. But MSU had a 3-0 run to go back up 15-18 and the Huskies used their second timeout. The Dawgs couldn't stop the bleeding until the gap hit seven, and UW didn't have time left for a run, falling 17-25. The Huskies hit .000 in the opener with seven kills and seven errors, falling despite six team blocks including five from Hunt.

Set Two: It wasn't the quick turnaround UW wanted as Michigan State took the early lead, 3-8, and forced a Husky timeout. But UW started to find its footing and Audra Wilmes and Emoni Bush had consecutive kills, and then Katy Wessels put down a third-straight kill for the Dawgs for 7-9. After one MSU sideout, the Dawgs went on another run, with back-to-back blocks from Wessels and Barton to tie it up at 10-10. MSU went back up one but then the Dawgs got a huge serving run from Wessels including back-to-back aces to force a Spartans timeout at 14-11. Haury then kept the ace train rolling with two in a row to extend the lead to 18-12. Hunt put down two straight quick kills in transition from Haury for 22-14. Hunt won a joust at the net and UW soon reached set point on an Endsley finish for 24-17. Michigan State saved one but Endsley terminated on the second chance to end it, 25-18.

Washington heated up in a big way, hitting .350 in the set and holding MSU to .171. Hunt and Barton both had four kills without an error and Bush had three.

That's the 15th Husky ROOF!! Audra and Katy in sync ??

S4 | 11-5 (2-1) Timeout, MSU#PointHuskies x @BigTenPlus pic.twitter.com/g6rXTK1yMP
— Washington Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) October 20, 2024

Set Three: Wessels had another ace early in set three for a 3-2 Husky advantage. But the Spartans then went on a 4-0 run to put the Dawgs in an early three-point hole. Two kills by Barton kept UW in contact, but the Spartans had another 4-0 run to make it 5-11 before they missed serve to end it. Wessels and Endsley teamed for a block to draw one closer. Another Wessels block got it within three at 9-12. A couple MSU errors and a Barton kill pulled it back to 12-13 and the Spartans took time. Michigan State came out with two points but a service error and a Barton kill off a Wessels bump set got it back within one at 14-15. Bush put away a Wilson set and then two straight Spartan errors and the Dawgs moved in front for the first time since 3-2, taking a 17-16 lead and MSU took time. Hunt had a solo rejection of a quick attempt out of the timeout for a two-point cushion. Endsley drilled back to back kills from the left off Haury assists and then Wilmes and Hunt blocked down another for 23-17. Another Endsley swing reached set point at 24-18 and Wilmes hit through the block on the right side to end it, 25-18.

UW hit .152 in the set but held Michigan State to .050, with four more blocks. Endsley's four kills were crucial down the stretch.

Set Four: Bush had three kills early in the fourth set as the Huskies were determined not to dig another hole. Barton then landed two in a row to build a 6-2 lead and the Spartans used the early timeout. A 3-0 Husky run pushed it to 11-5 and MSU had to use its last timeout. Wilmes and Wessels rejected the Spartan swing to prompt the T.O. Michigan State wouldn't go away, as the teams traded sideouts for a long stretch, with the Huskies converting first-ball swings seemingly every chance, and the lead going between four and five up to 18-13. Michigan State finally got an ace to cut it to three but Wessels and Bush assisted on a big block to push it back to 20-16, and then Bush hit a deflection above the net down for another point, and Bush and Hunt roofed the next one and it was back up to six at 22-16. Two more kills for Hunt pulled the Huskies to match point, and on the first chance, Wilson, in the front row for just one rotation, called her own number and dumped for a kill on her only attack of the match. UW won 25-18 for the third straight set, hitting a blistering .621 with 19 kills on 29 swings with just one error. Bush had five kills on seven swings, and Barton had six on nine.