Huskies Top Terps As Tulino Provides Spark

Saturday, October 26

Seattle, WA

7:00 PM

University of Washington

16-4,6-4Big Ten

Maryland

10-11,1-9Big Ten

Maryland

Washington

October 26, 2024 | Volleyball

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By: UW Athletic Communications

SEATTLE – Senior Sophia Tulino seized her moment tonight, hitting nearly .500 with nine kills to help lead Washington to a 23-25, 25-17, 31-29, 25-19 home win over Maryland in front of 2,846 fans. The transfer from Santa Clara had just one kill on the year coming in, having seen only brief action, but Tulino came through when her team needed her most as the Huskies (16-4, 6-4 Big Ten) won their third-straight match.

Tulino brought nearly a thousand career kills to the squad when she joined this fall, but strong depth at the outside hitter positions had kept her from seeing much action. But with starter Emoni Bush missing tonight's match and Audra Wilmes also unavailable, Tulino stepped in with nine kills on 19 swings and no errors, including a second set display where she killed all five of her attacks.

But Tulino's efforts were but a piece of a total team effort that saw the Huskies hit .331 as a team, their third time in conference play hitting over .330. Kierstyn Barton had a huge double-double with 16 kills and 20 digs. Kiune Fletcher had 12 kills, her most since Sept. 8, hitting .333 with seven digs. And Madi Endsley had 15 kills on a .303 percentage with three aces and seven digs.

"Maryland came out on fire and we weren't ready even though we talked about coming out and competing. But I was proud of how they responded," said Head Coach Leslie Gabriel. "We locked in and were able to slow them down a little and kicked in offensively. I'm super proud of (Sophia). Exactly what you saw tonight is what we see in the gym. She's just a phenomenal person and she had a great night attacking and hitting high hands. I'm proud of her."

Sophia Tulino WOW ????

Ties us back up!#PointHuskies x #B1GVolleyball pic.twitter.com/3kxaGgdNsN
— Washington Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) October 27, 2024

Molly Wilson and Alexis Haury were each one dig away from a double-double, as Wilson had 29 assists and nine digs, and Haury had 21 and nine. UW got strong middle production as Julia Hunt had seven kills, hitting .429 with four blocks, and Katy Wessels had six kills, hitting .364, with three blocks. Lauren Bays had six digs, seven assists, and three aces.

After the teams split the first two sets, the Huskies had to win a thriller of a third to take the critical 2-1 lead. UW had two looks at set point but Maryland saved them and then the Terrapins earned four set point chances that the Huskies had to fight off, before UW pushed back in front and won the set, 31-29, on its third set point opportunity.

UW's passers also managed to hold the NCAA's leading server in terms of aces in check, as Samantha Schnitta did not get an ace on the board against the Dawgs.

Up Next: Washington stays home for a huge midweek match-up with No. 11 Oregon, this coming Wednesday, Oct. 30, at 6:30 p.m.

We get it to tweet it again!! ENDSLEY ENDS IT!!

Dawgs take down the Terrapins in four for their third-straight DUB!#PointHuskies x @B1GVolleyball pic.twitter.com/KYtxmtfdMC
— Washington Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) October 27, 2024

Set One: Endsley got the first Husky kill on the second point of the match but Maryland opened up an early 1-4 advantage. UW got a stuff from Julia Hunt and Kierstyn Barton for 4-6 but Maryland scored five of the next six points to force a Husky timeout at 5-11. Washington marched right back with a 8-0 run on Endsley's serve, as Barton had three kills in a row from the left to help the Dawgs tie it up. Kiune Fletcher gave UW the lead with a right side finish for 13-12 then Maryland missed wide and used another timeout at 14-12. But just when UW had taken control, Maryland came back with a 5-0 run to go back up by three at 15-18. The Dawgs rallied again, tying it on a Hunt kill, and two in a row by Endsley for 20-20. Sophia Tulino crushed her first kill up the right sideline for 21-21, but then Maryland scored three straight to reach set point. UW saved two on a Fletcher kill and a Barton tip, but Maryland converted its third chance to end it, 25-23.

The Huskies hit .314 in the first set but Maryland was slightly better at .333 despite six kills from Barton.

Set Two: Washington had another Madi Endsley serving run early in set two, scoring seven in a row to force a Maryland timeout at 7-2. Endsley then came out of the break with an ace to cap her second 8-0 run of the match. Washington's six point lead was cut to three after a Terps run, but Barton answered with a couple more sideout kills for 10-6 and 11-7. Tulino got one down for a five-point edge at 13-8. Wessels and Endsley got a big block and then Fletcher tapped down an overpass to build a 17-10 lead. The Huskies broke it open on back-to-back aces by Lauren Bays and two more Tulino kills for 23-14. Wessels finished it off with a quick kill for 25-17.

The Huskies hit a phenomenal .621 in the second set with 18 kills and no errors on 29 swings, while Tulino killed all five of her attacks in the set.

Set Three: Washington jumped on Maryland 5-0 to start the third, opening with an Endsley-Wessels block and getting two Endsley kills to force the early Terps timeout. But Maryland chipped away and eventually tied it up at 13-13, at which point the Dawgs took time. The teams traded points until the Dawgs got another kill from Tulino and an ace from Bays to earn a 20-18 lead and Maryland used its last timeout. Endsley blasted one out of the break for a three-point lead, and then Wilson aced the Terps for 23-19. But Maryland got the late run it needed and scored four straight to tie it up again before an attack error gave UW a set point at 24-23. The Dawgs missed serve, but Fletcher earned another chance with a big swing. Maryland saved that one and then went on top on a Husky miscue. Fletcher finished again from the right to save it for 26-26. After swapping service errors, Endsley had to save a third set point with a rip off the block for 28-28. Endsley got another down to erase a fourth set point, and then a Terps error put the Huskies back up, 30-29, and on the next rally, Endsley pushed one past the block up the line and it landed just in to finish it, 31-29.

The Huskies got seven kills from Endsley in the third, and Barton had eight digs as UW limited UMD to just .116 in the third.

Set Four: Maryland grabbed four of the first five points but the Dawgs regrouped quickly. Wessels served up a 4-0 run that included two kills from Fletcher as the Huskies took a 5-4 lead. After one Maryland point, UW ran off another four straight on Haury's serve to force a Terps timeout at 9-5. Maryland ended the run and pulled back within a point at 11-10 but Endsley answered with a crosscourt kill and Fletcher got one down from the right for 14-11. An ace from Endsley forced a timeout one point later. Hunt had a transition finish and a Maryland mistake made it 19-14 Dawgs. Barton dropped in an ace for a 22-16 lead, but Maryland complicated things again with a 3-0 run to force a Husky timeout. A long rally followed that finally ended with an emphatic stuff by Hunt and Tulino, and then Tulino got a kill off a Maryland net violation to reach match point at 24-19. UW only needed one try this time, as Endsley hammered one down for the 25-19 final.

In the last set, the Huskies hit .229 and Maryland was held to just .059.