Cougs Pick up Fifth Straight Win, Down OSU 3-1
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Washington State Volleyball took care of business on the road Friday evening against the Beavers of Oregon State, earning the win in four sets at 3-1.
Set scores from the match were: 25-19, 25-19, 22-25 and 25-16 in favor of No. 16 WSU (9-2, 9-2 Pac-12).
Washington State shook off any rust built up with having only played two matches in three weeks quickly against Oregon State (5-8, 5-8 Pac-12), as the Cougar offense got rolling from the start inside Gill Coliseum. Kills from Pia Timmer and Julianna Dalton led the way for WSU, along with strong offense provided by Madga Jehlářová for the early 10-7 advantage. The Cougs found some separation against OSU after a 6-1 scoring run, anchored by multiple Kalyah Williams kills, along with an ace from Timmer and a block from Hannah Pukis and Dalton. Set one was capped off by numerous Oregon State errors, which led WSU to take advantage and win it at 25-19 overall.
The Cougars came out firing in set number two, posting a 6-2 scoring run, which featured kills from Alexcis Lusby, Jehlářová, and a block from Timmer and Magda as well. WSU maintained a solid lead over the Beavers throughout this second game, until another Cougar run of 5-1 put the visitors in total control at 22-16. During this run WSU saw more positive offensive numbers from Williams, Timmer and Dalton, along with a block added from Pukis and Jehlářová. Washington State took set two at 25-19 once again, after a service error from the Beavers.
Set number three was much more tightly contested between these two programs, as seven overall ties would occur leading up to a 9-9 score. A 5-1 scoring run from the Beavers was answered quickly by Washington State with three consecutive Timmer kills to retake the lead at 13-12. These two squads continued trading points late into the set, until Oregon State would post a 5-2 run, and claim set three at 25-22.
The final set of this match began much like the previous, as both squads were locked in on trading points leading to an 8-8 score. Washington State found its groove once again though, posting a 10-2 scoring run, and taking back full control of this contest, leading 18-10 overall. During this run the Cougs saw contributions from just about everything, including back-to-back kills from Williams, along with a kill from Penny Tusa. Oregon State managed to post a quick 3-0 run of their own late in the set, but by then it was too late, the Cougar offense was zoned in on victory, as Dalton, Lusby and Timmer all posted kills down the stretch to seal the match at 25-16.
STATS OF THE MATCH
Sophomore Pia Timmer posted a career-high 18 kills in the match against Oregon State, along with a hitting percentage of .277. Timmer added eight digs, three assists, three blocks and one ace to her overall stat line as well to help the Cougs secure the 3-1 victory over the Beavers.
INTO THE TWITTER-VERSE
Player of the Match tonight goes to @PiaTimmer who posted a career-high 18 kills for the Cougs!!#GoCougs | #BeUncommon pic.twitter.com/i7ZqW6P6Nt
— Cougar Volleyball (@WSUCougarVB) March 13, 2021
MATCH NOTES
- Madga Jehlářová posted yet another impressive offensive night with 11 kills on 18 attacks with just two errors. Magda finished the match hitting .500 overall and added three total blocks to the winning effort.
- Hannah Pukis continued to lead the Cougar offensive attack, totaling 41 assists. Pukis also added six kills, five digs and two blocks to her stat sheet as well.
- Kalyah Williams and Julianna Dalton each added nine kills apiece in the winning effort, along with Alexcis Lusby totaling eight overall.
- WSU Volleyball returns to action next, Sunday, March 14 as the Cougs will wrap up the series with Oregon State at Corvallis with first serve set for 12 p.m.