Split Day For Dawgs To Conclude Husky Invite

Madison MacPhee
April 17, 2021
 
SEATTLE - To start off the second day of competition at the Husky Invite on Alki Beach, the Dawgs were able to pull off a close win against Oregon 3-2 to advance to the finals against 15th ranked Hawaii. In the finals, they fell to the Rainbow Wahine by a 4-1 count for the second day in a row. The win came from Shayne McPherson and Chloe Loreen in the one seed with an epic 20-18 third set win.
 
During the duel with Oregon, McPherson and Loreen's scrappy defense combined with smart offense led them to a comfortable 21-10, 21-6 victory over the Ducks.
 
Avie Niece and Natalie Robinson at the two seed were dominant at the net which led them to a 21-16, 21-12 defeat over Oregon's Cole and Lima.
 
To round out the UW wins, Scarlett Dahl and Kyra Petersen defeated the Ducks by establishing an early lead and capitalizing off of Oregon's errors. They won 21-9, 21-18.
 
At the five spot, Washington's duo of Callie Weber and Cassidy Schilling came out hot winning 21-9 in the first set. After that, the Ducks came back to win the second and third at 21-17, 15-13.
 
Ashley Shook and Hannah Yerex, the four seed pair for the Huskies, won the first set 21-17. In the second set, it was back-and-forth until Oregon pulled away for a 22-20 win. In the final set the Ducks sealed the deal at 15-9. 
 
In the finals against Hawaii, the dominant one seed duo for the Huskies, McPherson and Loreen, proved why they are in that spot. They fell to The Rainbow Wahine's Napoleon and Santer in the first set, 21-11. In the second, it was a battle of deep line shots and sharp cross swings on both sides of the sand. The Huskies won 21-17.
 
In the final set to 15, both teams were neck-and-neck the entire stretch. When the score was tied 15 all, there was a deep ball hit by the Huskies that the referees couldn't make a call on, so it was a re-do. On the following play Loreen went up for a big block that just barely was out of bounds to put Hawaii up one. In the end, it was UW's ability to side-out and minimize their own errors that led them to a 20-18 victory.
 
"It sparks the whole team," Head Coach Steve Whitaker said about the one seed win over Hawaii. "I still have butterflies, Shayne and Chloe have come a long way in their partnership. It was cool to see them stick together and pull that one out".
 
At the four spot for Washington, Shook and Yerex went to three sets, falling in the first, 15-21, only to come back 21-16 in the second. In the end the duo had good looks that just weren't falling due to Hawaii's disciplined defense, the final there 15-10.
 
Robinson and Niece at the two seed put up a good fight but ultimately couldn't keep up with Hawaii's aggressiveness at the net and strong serving. They fell 21-15, 21-12.
 
The pair at the three seed, Dahl and Petersen, who beat Hawaii in the first day of the tournament, couldn't keep Hawaii out-of-system. The Rainbow Wahine were able to run their dominant offense, despite scrappy defensive efforts from the Dawgs. Final scores there, 21-9, 21-14.
 
Finally, at the five spot, Weber and Schilling lost 21-16, 21-13. It was a close game in the beginning of set one, until Hawaii pulled away at the half-way point and gained momentum.
 
The Dawgs played hard in the last day of tournament play and are improving with every match. "We have been getting better every single time we play," Whitaker said. "That's what coaches dream about--they also dream about wins so we are on our way."
 
Tomorrow, the Huskies will face Hawaii for a third time, and also a new face, the Arizona Wildcats, to conclude the weekend out at Alki.

Husky Invitational Match Results
 
Saturday, April 17, 2021
Alki Beach
 
Match 1
(1) Hawaii vs. (4) Portland
 
Hawaii - 5
Portland - 0
 
1. Napoleon/ Santer (UH) def. Hoeft/ Wodke (UP) - 19-21, 21-11, 15-9
2.  Van Sickle/ Igiede(UH) def. Helm/Hughes (UP) - 21-7, 21-7
3. Glagau/ Huddleston(UH) def. Harris/Zilbert (UP) - 21-6, 21-10
4. Kekauoha/ Hardisty(UH) def. Hirahara/Nolan (UP) - 21-9, 21-10
5. Maidment/ Russo(UH) def. Reich/ Bugarin (UP) - 21-6, 21-11
Order of finish: 2, 4, 5, 3, 1
 
 
Match 2
(2) Washington vs. (3) Oregon
 
Washington - 3
Oregon - 2
 
1. McPherson/ Loreen (UW) def. Wallace/LaFollette(UO) - 21-10, 21-6
2. Robinson/ Niece(UW) def. Cole/Lima(UO) - 21-16, 21-12
3. Dahl/ Petersen(UW) def. Wetton/Schroeder (UO) - 21-9, 21-18
4. Hopen/ Siegrist (UO) def. Shook/ Yerex(UW) - 17-21, 22-20, 15-9
5. Rotshtein/ Plevin (UO) def. Weber/ Schilling(UW)- 9-21, 21-17, 15-13
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3, 5, 4
 
 
Third-place match
 
Oregon - 4
Portland - 1
 
1. Hoeft/ Wodke (UP) def. Wallace/LaFollette(UO) - 10-21, 21-19, 25-23
2. Cole/Lima (UO) def. Helm/Hughes(UP) -  21-19, 21-15
3. Wetton/Schroeder(UO) def. Harris/Zilbert(UP) - 21-11, 21-10
4. Hopen/ Siegrist(UO) def. Hirahara/Nolan(UP) - 21-13, 21-14
5. Rotshtein/ Plevin(UO) def. Reich/ Bugarin(UP) - 21-17, 21-6
Order of finish: 3, 5, 4, 2, 1
 
 
Championship match
 
Washington - 1
Hawaii - 4
 
1.McPherson/ Loreen (UW) def. Napoleon/ Santer(UH)- 11-21, 21-17, 20-18
2.  Van Sickle/ Igiede (UH) def. Robinson/ Niece(UW)- 21-15, 21-12
3. Huddelston/Glagau(UH) vs. Dahl/ Petersen(UW) - 21-9, 21-14
4. Hardisty/ Kekauoha(UH) def. Shook/ Yerex (UW) - 21-15, 16-21, 15-10
5. Maidment/ Russo (UH) def. Weber/ Schilling(UW) - 21-16, 21-13
Order of finish: 3, 5, 2, 4, 1