Endsley Powers Huskies Past Rutgers

Friday, October 25

Seattle, WA

7:00 PM

University of Washington

15-4,5-4Big Ten

Rutgers

5-15,0-9Big Ten

Rutgers

Washington

October 25, 2024 | Volleyball

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By: UW Athletic Communications

SEATTLE – Behind a season-high 19 kills from senior Madi Endsley, just one away from her career-high, the Husky volleyball team won its first ever meeting against Rutgers tonight at Alaska Airlines Arena. Washington (15-4, 5-4 Big Ten) moved back over .500 in conference play with the 25-16, 18-25, 25-17, 25-18 victory before 2,563 fans.

The Huskies played stretches of stellar offense but ultimately it was defense that won out tonight, as UW held Rutgers (5-15, 0-9 Big Ten) to just .083 attacking, although the Dawgs finished below their attacking average at .172. The Huskies had a big edge in kills however, 49 to 34, and led in aces (7-5) and digs (50-38). Rutgers blocked solidly all night, finishing with 14, but UW also was solid at net with 10 blocks.

"It came down to serve and pass, and we lost that in the second set, so I was proud of our passers and their ability to lock back in," said Head Coach Leslie Gabriel. "I'm super proud of Madi Endsley. We worked a ton this week on expanding the toolbox and I thought she did a good job of showing what she's worked on in practice. Our staff also praised Lauren Bays. When we were out of system, Bays did a good job getting our hitters up to the net so they could get a swing. It wasn't a pretty win, but we were able to pull it out."

Endsley hit .353 for her match-high 19 kills, surpassing her previous season-best of 17 at Oregon. She opened the match with five kills on her first five swings in the first set. Emoni Bush was steady with 10 kills on a .240 attack percentage with four blocks, and Kierstyn Barton had 11 kills and nine digs with three blocks and two aces.

Endsley Ends It! ??

The senior's 19th kill, one off her career-high, caps the Husky win!#PointHuskies x @BigTenPlus pic.twitter.com/7WrlKYw23k
— Washington Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) October 26, 2024

Lauren Bays had 12 digs and an impressive eight assists. Molly Wilson had 23 assists, two aces and seven digs, and Alexis Haury had 15 assists and nine digs. Katy Wessels had five blocks and Julia Hunt added four plus five kills.

Up Next: Washington will be right back in action tomorrow night, as Maryland visits to wrap up the weekend at 7 p.m. live streamed on Big Ten Plus.

Set One: UW jumped out to a 3-0 lead to open the match started by a Wessels kill in the middle, then an Emoni Bush block and a kill by Bush on the right. Rutgers inched back to get even, with Bush getting her fourth kill in the early going for a 10-9 lead. The Dawgs got a quick kill from Hunt and then an Endsley kill high hands followed by an ace by Barton to grab the 15-12 lead at the media timeout. Wessels got a kill after Rutgers sent over a free ball to make it 19-14 and the Scarlet Knights called time. Endsley kept rolling from the left with two more to take the lead to a touchdown at 21-14. UW then scored the final three points of the set to secure the 1-0 lead at 25-16.

Endsley was a perfect 5-for-5 in the first set as the Huskies hit .360 and held Rutgers to just .125. UW had a big 10-4 edge in blocks.

Set Two: Rutgers had an early block and an ace to take a 2-5 lead in the second. Hunt and Endsley had kills and a block by Bush and Wessels helped trim the gap to one at 9-10, but Rutgers had a 4-0 run into the media timeout to lead, 10-15. A Fletcher-Hunt block prompted a Rutgers timeout at 13-17, and it paid off as the Scarlet Knights scored three straight out of the break. UW would not have a run in it down the stretch as Rutgers evened things with a 25-18 win.

UW hit just .061 in the set despite another five kills from Endsley.

Set Three: Washington regrouped quickly and took a 3-0 lead, highlighted by Barton putting down an overpass off a Endsley serve. Barton had a big rip up the line after a Bays dig for 6-2. Kiune Fletcher tooled the block on the right and then Bays dropped in a short serve ace to make it 10-4. Then Molly Wilson got into the ace column for 12-5 and Rutgers took time. Wessels caught tape for an ace of her own for 15-9 Dawgs. Bush hammered from the right to spark another 3-0 run to make it 18-11 Dawgs. Hunt snuck one in the corner for 19-14 and Endsley pushed the lead to 22-14 with a solo block. Two more Endsley finishes got the Dawgs to set point and Bush had a kill off a Rutgers block error for the 25-17 win.

The Huskies were back over .300 in the third, hitting .310, and holding Rutgers to .167. Endsley again had six kills and hit .400.

Set Four: Washington's block rejected three straight to start the fourth set, with Wessels in on all three. Barton rifled one through the block for 6-3, and then Barton and Hunt teamed for two more stuff blocks in a row to make it 8-3 Dawgs. But suddenly the Rutgers block became active, earning three blocks in a four-point stretch to close it back to 8-7 and the Huskies took time. Barton got the sideout out of the break, and a Rutgers error was followed by another Endsley finish for 11-7. The Dawgs had a 5-0 run to break it open on Wilson's serve, as she had an ace and Fletcher and Bush had kills during the stretch that made it 17-10. Rutgers made a last push to cut it to four and UW took time at 20-16, but Rutgers missed serve out of the break. Haury connected with barton and Endsley for kills for 23-17, and then Barton dropped in an ace to get to match point. On the second chance, Endsley went crosscourt from the left for her final kill on a tremendous night.

With all the blocks, five per side, neither team hit well in the final set but UW climbed back into the positive percentage at .029, while Rutgers was well in the negatives at -.135.