SEATTLE – In the first of two matches today back in Alaska Airlines Arena, the seventh-ranked Husky volleyball team quickly dispatched the Buffalo Bulls, hitting .500 as a team to post a 25-13, 25-15, 25-9 victory. Washington (4-0) will be back in action tonight at 7:00 p.m. against defending Ohio Valley Conference champion MurrayState.
The Huskies made just two errors out of 76 swings against Buffalo (0-4), and at one point in the third set, UW went on a 14-0 run behind the serving of Crissy Jones. Sophomore Courtney Schwan led the team with nine kills on 21 swings without a miss (.429) while senior Melanie Wade had six kills on eight swings (.750) and fellow middle blocker Lianna Sybeldon killed seven on 12 swings with one miss for a .500 percentage.
Senior Cassie Strickland had a season-best 17 digs while senior Katy Beals had two kills on two attempts, the first time she's ever had more than one kill in a match, and she also handed out 18 assists. Sophomore Bailey Tanner also had 17 assists. Wade led the blocking efforts with one solo and four assists. Senior Kim Condie also had the first two service aces of her career.
Beals dumped for a kill for UW's first point of the match. A bump set by Scambray to Schwan was put away for a 3-2 lead. The teams went back and forth over the next few rallies, until Scambray ripped one up the line from the left to extend the Husky lead to 11-8. After a couple errors from the Bulls, Wade hit down a quick set from Beals for a 15-9 lead and Buffalo called timeout. Consecutive transition kills from Schwan and DeHoog upped the lead to 19-12. Scambray added two more finishes and Schwan served up an ace to make it 23-13. Another Scambray kill got UW to set point, and then a second ace from Schwan closed it out, 25-13. The Huskies hit .536 in the frame with 16 kills on 28 swings with just one error.
Freshman Destiny Julye checked in to start the second se and she got the kill on a Tanner set for the first point. Buffalo won six of the next eight points to take a 6-3 lead, but the Dawgs then reeled off five in a row to retake the lead, 8-6. Wade had a tip kill and she and Crissy Jones teamed for the first block of the match during the run. Senior Kim Condie checked in and dropped in two straight aces to the same spot for a 11-7 edge. The Buffalo setter tried to dump a tight pass but Wade was there to collect the solo block for a 13-7 lead and the Bulls took time. The Huskies kept rolling out of the break, as Wade got into a serving groove, posting consecutive aces, and Schwan added two more kills on the left for a 17-8 lead. Julye checked back in and picked up another right side finish, and Jones and Wade teamed for a booming rejection for 22-14. Senior Justice Magraw made her first appearance and earned herself a dig, as the Huskies got to set point on a couple of Buffalo errors. Schwan and Wade got together for a block to cap the set, 25-15, as the Huskies hit .316 and held Buffalo to -.062.
The third set started in the same fashion as the second, with a kill from Julye on the right side. Jones got going with a couple kills and then Schwan crushed one crosscourt to get the Huskies a 9-6 advantage. Sybeldon and Beals combo'd a stuff to make it 11-6, then Schwan rolled one over and down and Jones served up an ace to make it 13-6 and Buffalo took time as UW was on a 6-0 run. The run hit double-digits, as Beals set Sybeldon on a slide, and then dumped one into the middle for a kill for 18-6. Sybeldon finished another rally as Buffalo used its last timeout at 19-6, with Jones still serving the long Husky run. Out of the break, Buffalo overpassed and Sybeldon hit it down. The Bills finally snapped the run with a kill in serve-receive, ending what was a 14-point UW roll. The Huskies finished off the sweep a few points later, with July hitting off the block and out to end the set, 25-9. Washington rolled to a .586 attack percentage in the final frame with four kills from both Schwan and Sybeldon and seven digs in the set by Strickland.
