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No. 13 Cougs Fall to No. 12 Utah

by wsucougars.com
Mar 28, 2021

SALT LAKE CITY – No. 13 Washington State Volleyball fell on the road to the No. 12 ranked Utes of Utah, by a final score of 3-0.

Set scores from the match were: 18-25, 25-27, and 22-25 in favor of No. 12 Utah (13-4, 13-4 Pac-12).

A closely contested match was expected between these two top programs within the Pac-12, as the Cougars (10-3, 10-3 Pac-12) and the Utes found themselves deadlocked at 10-10 early in the opening set. Argentina Ung provided an early offensive spark for the Cougs, with three quick kills within the first seven points scored by WSU. Utah began to create small runs midway through the contest, as the Ute lead grew to 22-15 after five consecutive points by the home squad. The Cougars fought back late in the set as kills from Penny Tusa and Hannah Pukis closed the gap, but Utah ultimately took the opening set at 25-18.

Washington State came out swinging in set number two, posting a 4-1 scoring run to hold down the early 7-4 advantage. During the run kills from Kalyah Williams and Jasmine Martin fueled the offensive attack, and a Julia Norville ace aided in the scoring as well. The Utes were ready to counter WSU, posting a 4-0 run of their own to eventually take a 14-11 lead. This second game featured plenty of back-and-forth between these programs, as the Cougs mounted a comeback of their own, posting a 5-1 run to trail just 18-17. The continued offensive attack of Julianna Dalton, Tusa and Martin anchored this Cougar scoring late into the set. A strong defensive effort from Argentina Ung and Williams gave WSU the lead at 22-21 with a solid block. As these squads traded points down the stretch of this set, the Utes managed to pull ahead after a 4-1 scoring run to claim set two at 27-25 over the Cougs.
 
Utah began set number three with some fire as the Utes posted a 7-1 scoring run to early in this match, forcing a WSU timeout. The Cougars never go down without a fight then, as WSU battled right back into this set, scoring four straight points to trail Utah just 11-10. Kills once again from Tusa, Martin and Ung provided the fuel for a Cougar scoring run during this match. The Utes again however were ready to counter a WSU comeback, posting five consecutive points to force a Cougar timeout at 16-10. Washington State answered back with a 4-0 scoring run to cut into that Ute lead, sparked by a block from Pukis and Martin. The Cougs closed the gap to just 19-17 late in this contest after the kill from Ung, but the Utes generated yet another run to take set three and the match at 25-19.
 
STAT OF THE MATCH
Freshman Argentina Ung in her first career start for the Cougars, led the team with 10 total kills on 16 attacks and only three errors to post a hitting percentage of .438 overall. Ung added two blocks and two digs to her stat line as well.

INTO THE TWITTER-VERSE

MATCH NOTES

  • Jasmine Martin in her first career start for WSU as well, posting nine kills on 21 attacks while hitting .238 overall. Martin added one block to her stat sheet also.
  • Hannah Pukis continued directing the offense for WSU with 29 assists, along with adding three kills, six digs and two blocks in today's contest.
  • Penny Tusa posted a near double-double with nine kills on the day and 10 digs.
  • WSU returns to action next, Thursday, April 1 as the Cougars will host Arizona inside Bohler Gym for a pair of matches. Match one is schedule for a 6 p.m. start.

 

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