No. 20 Huskies Cruise By Buckeyes In Columbus

Friday, October 9

Columbus, Ohio

4:00 PM

University of Washington

13-1,4-1Big Ten

Ohio State

9-6,2-3Big Ten

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Washington	25	25	25	3
Ohio St.	11	14	16	0

October 09, 2026 | Volleyball

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By: UW Athletic Communications

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The 20th-ranked Huskies are off to their best start in Big Ten play since joining the league in 2024, sweeping aside Ohio State to reach 4-1 in conference play and 13-1 overall. Washington earned its first ever win in Columbus, controlling all phases of a 25-11, 25-14, 25-16 victory in front of 2,303 fans at the Covelli Center.

Washington hit .333 and locked down the Ohio State attack, limiting the Buckeyes (9-6, 2-3 Big Ten) to just .019. The Dawgs had 38 kills to just 23 for OSU, along with a 7-2 advantage in aces, a 45-38 lead in digs, and a 7.0 to 3.0 edge in blocks.

The Huskies jumped out to big leads in each of the first two sets, going up 14-4 in the first, and 7-0 in the second. OSU kept things closer early on in the third, cutting the Husky lead to just one at 12-11, but UW put the hammer down with an 8-0 run to pull away.

FOR THE NGUYEN!!! ?? Kaitlyn dials up the ace to end the Husky SWEEP!! ?? #PointHuskies // @BigTenPlus https://t.co/0HXpKjiEGd
— Washington Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) October 10, 2026

Julia Hunt excelled close to her hometown of Independence, Ky. with a large group of friends and family in attendance. Hunt had nine kills without an error on 13 swings to hit .692 with an ace and a solo block.

Second-year Simona Mateska led the Dawgs with 11 kills and hit .375 along with nine digs and a solo block. First-year Kylie Kleckner had seven kills and seven digs, Maija Howse had five kills and Katy Wessels had four kills and four blocks. First-year Kaitlyn Nguyen was a wall in the back with 13 digs and she wrapped up the match with her first ace on match point. Andrea Fabikovicova had 27 assists and seven digs and led the serving with three aces.

"We've been talking about preparation," said Head Coach Leslie Gabriel. "How can we get ready to do our assignments from the start and keep it up throughout the match? I thought the girls did that well, so that's something we want to continue to build on."

Dawg defense unrelenting ?? Kleckner finishes it off to keep the Dawgs marching. #PointHuskies // ?? B1G+ https://t.co/BPbr1g21BL
— Washington Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) October 9, 2026

"Our servers deserve credit. We came out and served tough which makes it easier for our block. I think one of our middles even thanked the servers during a timeout. Our defense starts there, and the block did a good job with their assignments and the defense behind, Kaitlyn and Simona and Kylie and Addy Azavedo, kept the ball off the floor."

Up Next: Washington now sets its sights on a marquee Sunday road battle at 18th-ranked Penn State. The Huskies will try to follow their first win at OSU with their first road win at PSU, starting at 9 a.m. Pacific time and airing live on Big Ten Network.

For news, scores, highlights and more, download the Go Huskies app on your mobile device. Follow @UWVolleyball on Instagram, X, and Facebook and subscribe to UW Athletics on YouTube for the latest on the Dawgs.