Huskies Return To Swing Of Things In Exhibition

SEATTLE – For the first time since December 7 of 2019, the Husky volleyball team took to the Alaska Airlines Arena court with an opposing team across the net. With less than a week until the start of an unprecedented winter-spring season, the Huskies matched up against the University of Portland for an exhibition match.
 
Washington took three of the four sets played between the teams, using a variety of new lineups and seeing several new Dawgs contribute both for the first time or in new ways.
 
Head Coach Keegan Cook was most thankful for just the chance to compete, after more than a year away from a gameday experience.
 
"Really feeling grateful that we have the opportunity to be in this space right now," said Cook after the match. "The amount of work that went into being able to play this exhibition match in January, when you really sit and reflect on it, I'm really thankful and I talked to our athletes about that before the match."
 
Cook was able to see a number of fresh faces on the court against the Pilots today including redshirt freshmen Sophie Summers and Olivia Mikkelsen, and true freshman Madi Endsley, while sophomores Sianna Houghton, Dani Cole, and junior Marin Grote had extensive court time. Grote would lead all players today with 17 kills.
 
"A lot of debuts tonight," said Cook. "Really learning a lot about our team, and getting to see a lot of young players on the court for the first time in their careers or in larger roles than they're used to. So there was a lot of learning going on from the coaching and the playing side."
 
Washington is tentatively scheduled to open the season next Friday, Jan. 22, at 3 p.m. at home in a match that will be live streamed via GoHuskies.com.