2025 Volleyball Season Recap
January 03, 2026 | Volleyball
SEATTLE – The 2025 Husky Volleyball team, led by third-year Head Coach Leslie Gabriel, wrapped up its second year in the Big Ten with a 13-17 overall record, going 8-12 in conference play to finish in a four-way tie for 10th-place out of the 18 teams.
Washington was looking to make a second-straight NCAA tournament appearance, and had an RPi inside the top-50 throughout the entire season, but a couple close losses late in the season put a .500 finish out of reach, which was one of the requirements for postseason selection.
Battled The Best: Washington had the No. 2 toughest strength of schedule in non-conference play, and coupled with the always challenging Big Ten slate, UW tested itself against the best all year. The Dawgs defeated four teams that made the 2025 NCAA tournament, including one top-25 win over then-No. 17 Penn State, also taking down tourney qualifiers UCLA, Arizona and Northern Iowa (all in 3-0 sweeps)
The Huskies frequently took sets against ranked teams but were unable to get over the hump enough times to punch their postseason ticket. UW took sets against No. 11 SMU, No. 18 Minnesota, No. 12 Wisconsin, and in both meetings with No. 22/17 USC
Barton Earns All-Big Ten First Team: Junior outside hitter Kierstyn Barton was one of just five Big Ten players to have 400+ kills and 200+ digs for the season. She ended with exactly 400 kills to lead the Huskies, and had 220 digs, both career highs. Barton earned a spot on the All-Big Ten First Team after earning Second Team honors as a sophomore. She had double-digit kills in all but three matches, and was also named to the AVCA All-North Region Team.
Mateska In Rare Air For Freshman: Serbia native Simona Mateska brought her game to the NCAA with little lost in the translation, as she turned in the most productive freshman season by a Husky in well over a decade. Mateska earned AVCA All-North Region honorable mention, ranking second on the team with 2.96 kills per set with a .257 attack percentage that ranked first among all Husky outside hitters. She became the first Husky freshman with over 300 kills (326) since former National Player of the Year and current assistant coach Krista Vansant in 2011. Mateska led or shared the team lead in kills for UW in eight of the final 13 matches, after not leading the team once in the first 17 matches.
Heard Locks Down At Libero: Senior Zoria Heard, in her second season as a Dawg, moved into the starting libero role and thrived, earning All-Big Ten Second Team honors. Heard was the only Husky to play all 115 sets and she ranked second in the Big Ten with 437 digs, averaging a career-high 3.80 per set. Her 437 digs were the most by a Husky since the 2019 season. Heard surpassed 1,000 career digs during the season, and did so in style with a career-high 29 digs on Nov. 2 at UCLA. Heard was also named to the All-Tournament Team at the DoubleTree Invitational hosted by SMU, averaging 4.70 digs per set over the three matches.
Markley Leaves Mark At UW: Another new face to make a major contribution this season was grad transfer Alexa Markley, who came to UW for her final year after three seasons at Penn State. Markley started every match and ranked second on the team with 330 total kills, hitting .225 with a strong 0.68 blocks per set. She led UW in kills seven times, including powering UW to its one top-25 upset victory of the season, a 3-2 triumph over Markley's former team, the Nittany Lions. Markley had 16 kills in that win, and had the final three Husky kills in the fifth set, including on match point at 14-13.
Ducks Double Swept: For the first time since … the Huskies posted two straight-set wins over rival Oregon. In the first meeting in Eugene, the Huskies had a pair of extra-point wins in the first and third sets for a 27-25, 25-22, 29-27 win. The Dawgs hit .243 and held Oregon to .155 with 11 Husky blocks. In the battle in Seattle, UW was in full control, hitting .372 and holding the Ducks to just .117 for a 25-22, 25-19, 25-16 win. Kierstyn Barton had 15 kills and hit .464 with Alexa Markley adding 11 kills on a .320 percentage, and Elise Hani chipped in seven kills on a .500 mark out of the middle.
Wessels On The Block: Junior Katy Wessels has grown her game at the net significantly every year, and the 2025 season saw her rank among the Big Ten's best. The middle from Idaho finished ranked second in the league with 152 total blocks, and third in blocks per set with 1.35. Wessels has gone from 0.74 blocks per set as a freshman, to 1.06 as a sophomore, up to .135 as a junior. She posted 3+ blocks in all but two matches this year, and had 5+ in 18 of 30 matches.
Husky Nation Shows Up Again: For the 21st year in a row, Washington finished in the top-20 in the nation in home attendance. Husky Nation turned up to Alaska Airlines Arena and voiced their unwavering support, averaging 3,408 fans per match to rank 14th in the NCAA at the end of the regular season. That mark also ranked sixth in the Big Ten.
Dawgs Incoming: At the end of December, the Huskies had officially signed seven new Dawgs for the 2026 season including five high school seniors and two college transfers. Head Coach Leslie Gabriel calls this incoming freshman class "the foundation of our future." The initial five signees include setter Lily Mae Buerkle, middle blocker Hayden Conner, outside hitter Sammy Destler, outside hitter Kylie Kleckner, and libero Kaitlyn Nguyen. Since the end of the season, Coach Gabriel has hit the portal, bringing in outside hitter Addie Kanouff from Texas Tech, who will have two seasons of eligibility. Gabriel then signed setter Andrea Fabikovicova, a native of the Czech Republic who just finished her freshman season at San Francisco.
Washington was looking to make a second-straight NCAA tournament appearance, and had an RPi inside the top-50 throughout the entire season, but a couple close losses late in the season put a .500 finish out of reach, which was one of the requirements for postseason selection.
Battled The Best: Washington had the No. 2 toughest strength of schedule in non-conference play, and coupled with the always challenging Big Ten slate, UW tested itself against the best all year. The Dawgs defeated four teams that made the 2025 NCAA tournament, including one top-25 win over then-No. 17 Penn State, also taking down tourney qualifiers UCLA, Arizona and Northern Iowa (all in 3-0 sweeps)
The Huskies frequently took sets against ranked teams but were unable to get over the hump enough times to punch their postseason ticket. UW took sets against No. 11 SMU, No. 18 Minnesota, No. 12 Wisconsin, and in both meetings with No. 22/17 USC
Barton Earns All-Big Ten First Team: Junior outside hitter Kierstyn Barton was one of just five Big Ten players to have 400+ kills and 200+ digs for the season. She ended with exactly 400 kills to lead the Huskies, and had 220 digs, both career highs. Barton earned a spot on the All-Big Ten First Team after earning Second Team honors as a sophomore. She had double-digit kills in all but three matches, and was also named to the AVCA All-North Region Team.
Mateska In Rare Air For Freshman: Serbia native Simona Mateska brought her game to the NCAA with little lost in the translation, as she turned in the most productive freshman season by a Husky in well over a decade. Mateska earned AVCA All-North Region honorable mention, ranking second on the team with 2.96 kills per set with a .257 attack percentage that ranked first among all Husky outside hitters. She became the first Husky freshman with over 300 kills (326) since former National Player of the Year and current assistant coach Krista Vansant in 2011. Mateska led or shared the team lead in kills for UW in eight of the final 13 matches, after not leading the team once in the first 17 matches.
Heard Locks Down At Libero: Senior Zoria Heard, in her second season as a Dawg, moved into the starting libero role and thrived, earning All-Big Ten Second Team honors. Heard was the only Husky to play all 115 sets and she ranked second in the Big Ten with 437 digs, averaging a career-high 3.80 per set. Her 437 digs were the most by a Husky since the 2019 season. Heard surpassed 1,000 career digs during the season, and did so in style with a career-high 29 digs on Nov. 2 at UCLA. Heard was also named to the All-Tournament Team at the DoubleTree Invitational hosted by SMU, averaging 4.70 digs per set over the three matches.
Markley Leaves Mark At UW: Another new face to make a major contribution this season was grad transfer Alexa Markley, who came to UW for her final year after three seasons at Penn State. Markley started every match and ranked second on the team with 330 total kills, hitting .225 with a strong 0.68 blocks per set. She led UW in kills seven times, including powering UW to its one top-25 upset victory of the season, a 3-2 triumph over Markley's former team, the Nittany Lions. Markley had 16 kills in that win, and had the final three Husky kills in the fifth set, including on match point at 14-13.
Ducks Double Swept: For the first time since … the Huskies posted two straight-set wins over rival Oregon. In the first meeting in Eugene, the Huskies had a pair of extra-point wins in the first and third sets for a 27-25, 25-22, 29-27 win. The Dawgs hit .243 and held Oregon to .155 with 11 Husky blocks. In the battle in Seattle, UW was in full control, hitting .372 and holding the Ducks to just .117 for a 25-22, 25-19, 25-16 win. Kierstyn Barton had 15 kills and hit .464 with Alexa Markley adding 11 kills on a .320 percentage, and Elise Hani chipped in seven kills on a .500 mark out of the middle.
Wessels On The Block: Junior Katy Wessels has grown her game at the net significantly every year, and the 2025 season saw her rank among the Big Ten's best. The middle from Idaho finished ranked second in the league with 152 total blocks, and third in blocks per set with 1.35. Wessels has gone from 0.74 blocks per set as a freshman, to 1.06 as a sophomore, up to .135 as a junior. She posted 3+ blocks in all but two matches this year, and had 5+ in 18 of 30 matches.
Husky Nation Shows Up Again: For the 21st year in a row, Washington finished in the top-20 in the nation in home attendance. Husky Nation turned up to Alaska Airlines Arena and voiced their unwavering support, averaging 3,408 fans per match to rank 14th in the NCAA at the end of the regular season. That mark also ranked sixth in the Big Ten.
Dawgs Incoming: At the end of December, the Huskies had officially signed seven new Dawgs for the 2026 season including five high school seniors and two college transfers. Head Coach Leslie Gabriel calls this incoming freshman class "the foundation of our future." The initial five signees include setter Lily Mae Buerkle, middle blocker Hayden Conner, outside hitter Sammy Destler, outside hitter Kylie Kleckner, and libero Kaitlyn Nguyen. Since the end of the season, Coach Gabriel has hit the portal, bringing in outside hitter Addie Kanouff from Texas Tech, who will have two seasons of eligibility. Gabriel then signed setter Andrea Fabikovicova, a native of the Czech Republic who just finished her freshman season at San Francisco.
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/ VolleyballSeniors Markley and Hani team up to extend the match with the rejection!! 😤
Friday, November 28
Washington 3, Maryland 0 | Huskies Highlights
Thursday, November 27
That’s the game ✅
Thursday, November 27
Two sets down for the dawgs 😮💨
Thursday, November 27
