Huskies Fall In Five Despite NCAA Record 46-44 Fourth Set
PULLMAN, Wash. – In spite of tying an NCAA record with an unbelievable set four 46-44 victory, the sixth-ranked Husky volleyball team dropped its second straight five setter today at Washington State in front of 1,535 fans at Bohler Gym. Washington (7-3, 0-2 Pac-12) saved twelve match points in the fourth set and won it on its tenth set point chance, but the Cougars (8-4, 2-0 Pac-12) regrouped to win the fifth set and the first meeting of the Boeing Apple Cup Series.
After winning six consecutive five set matches including three in a row in the 2020 NCAA tournament, the Huskies lost in five sets for the second time this week, as margins remain as slim as ever in the Pac-12 conference.
The fourth set equaled the NCAA record in the 25-point-set scoring era, set in 2017 when Santa Clara beat Saint Mary's by the same 46-44 score. In just the fourth set alone, the teams combined for 51 kills and 83 digs. Samantha Drechsel had 10 kills in the fourth set and Ella May Powell had a double-double with 13 assists and 13 digs, just in that set.
The longest,(and greatest???) set in Husky Volleyball history, is won by WASHINGTON????
FORTY-SIX TO FORTY-FOUR
We have another set to play!!
?? Pac-12 Networks#PointHuskies x #BoeingAppleCupSeries @ncaavb pic.twitter.com/W3NNRgyB2l
— Washington Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) September 26, 2021
"A match that had a lot of a lot," said Head Coach Keegan Cook. "We had changes of personnel and lineups, putting people in different positions with some younger players and it was tough to try to get organized defensively. But I cannot knock my team for their heart and their effort. Just some things we need to address offensively and defensively. Problems don't age well, we have to address them."
The Cougars finished hitting .250 for the match, while UW hit .159. WSU also had a 8-5 advantage in aces and a 17.0 to 13.5 lead in blocks.
Drechsel's 20 kills led the Huskies and Marin Grote had 14 kills and hit .333. Powell had 46 assists and a huge career-high 29 digs. Her previous career-high for digs was 22. It's the most digs by a Husky since Courtney Schwan had 31 in 2017, and it's the second-most by a Husky setter in history, behind just the 31 digs from Michelle Patton at USC on Oct 24, 1997. Freshman Lauren Bays also stepped into the libero jersey starting in the second set and had a season-high 16 digs.
UP NEXT: Washington will be back home for another Top-25 match-up next week, as 19th-ranked UCLA comes to town on Friday, Oct. 1, for a 8 p.m. first serve.