Four-Match Road Stretch Starts At Arizona
THIS WEEK IN HUSKY VOLLEYBALL
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8
#11 Washington at Arizona • 6:00 pm
Tucson, Ariz. • McKale Center
Live on Pac-12 Networks National
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 10
#11 Washington at Arizona State • 12:00 pm
Tempe, Ariz. • Desert Financial Arena
ASU Live Stream | Live Stats
SEATTLE -- No. 11 Washington kicks off a pivotal four-match road stretch this week, with the first two stops taking the Dawgs to Tucson and Tempe. The Huskies (9-3, 2-2 Pac-12) are coming off two big home wins and looking to keep building momentum and climbing up the rungs of the Pac-12 standings after an 0-2 start. First up will be the Arizona Wildcats on Friday, Oct. 8, at 6 p.m. Pacific time in a match televised live on Pac-12 Networks. Sunday, Oct. 10, the Huskies travel to Tempe to meet Arizona State at 12 noon in a webstream-only match.
Two key factors for UW's home wins over UCLA and USC last week were the Husky attack percentage shooting back up, and the UW block doing damage. Washington hit .273 against the Bruins and then raised that to .368 against the Trojans. When the Huskies hit above .200 they are 9-1 this year, and above .250 the Huskies are 7-0. Washington outblocked the L.A. schools by a combined 28.0-15.0 and the Huskies are 7-1 when leading in blocks. Marin Grote earned Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week this week for her 15 individual blocks.
Arizona is 11-4 on the season and one of five teams tied for first in the Pac-12 at 3-1. The Wildcats opened Pac-12 with a 3-2 road win at Arizona State, then defeated Oregon State and California before falling on the road at Stanford. In nonconference, Arizona pushed No. 1 Texas in Austin, taking a set and playing close the whole way. UA is hitting .233, eighth in the league thus far, and serving tough with 1.58 aces per set. Middle blocker Merle Weidt leads the Pac-12 with a .451 attack percentage. Last year's Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, Sofia Maldonado Diaz, ranks second in the Pac-12 with 0.39 aces per set and is averaging 2.68 kills per set. Jaelyn Hodge leads Arizona with 3.56 kills per set and setter Emery Herman has 9.23 assists/set and 0.35 aces/set. Libero Kamaile Hiapo is seventh in the league with 3.72 digs/set.
Arizona State is 1-3 in Pac-12 play and 8-7 overall, having earned a road win at Cal but losing to Top-25 teams in Stanford (1-3) and Oregon (2-3), and a five set loss to the Wildcats. ASU took unbeaten and No. 3 Louisville to five sets on Aug. 28. The Sun Devils have gone five sets on seven occasions this year, going 2-5 in those matches. ASU is hitting .221 for the year compared to .229 for its opponents. Iman Isanovic leads ASU with 3.67 kills per set, and Marta Levinska adds 2.78. Claire Jeter is posting 2.27 kills/set and hitting .356 with 1.02 blocks per set. The Huskies were upset by ASU in the first match of the delayed 2020 season in Seattle, but were able to win the rematch and go on to win the Pac-12.