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Huskies Serve Up Sweep Of Sun Devils

by gohuskies.com
Nov 5, 2021

SEATTLE – No. 12 Washington bounced back in a big way from its first loss in more than a month, emphatically ending Arizona State's five-match win streak in straight sets, 25-16, 25-17, 25-16, in front of 3,026 fans at Alaska Airlines Arena. The Huskies (17-4, 10-3 Pac-12) earned their tenth win in their past 11 matches by winning the serve-and-pass battle and siding out over 70-percent in each set.
 
The Huskies stayed one game behind UCLA in the Pac-12 race, after the Bruins snapped UW's nine-match win streak last Sunday. Washington was back on its game tonight at home, stopping a Sun Devils squad (13-11, 6-7 Pac-12) that had upset three ranked teams in its last five wins, including the Bruins, and was receiving votes in the most recent coaches poll.
 
"Rarely does this group have two tough ones in a row, and I think the defensive intensity is what I enjoyed most," said Head Coach Keegan Cook. "There was a real commitment from start to finish to be great on that side of the ball."

 
Washington had a huge edge in kills, 44-26, and fired 11 aces, a season-high for a three setter. The UW passers also did not surrender an ace to the ASU serve, and kept setter Ella May Powell in-system. Powell dished out 38 assists as the Huskies hit .278 compared to .177 for Arizona State.
 
Claire Hoffman led the attack with 15 kills on a .351 percentage. It's the seventh-time in Pac-12 play that the All-American outside has hit over .300 with double-digit kills. Samantha Drechsel had a double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs, while Marin Grote hit .429 with six kills and Madi Endsley added seven kills. Freshman libero Lauren Bays dug 14, and had a team-high 25 serve-receptions without an error.
 
"I thought Lauren Bays was pretty fantastic back there (in serve-receive). A lot of balls came her way and she was ready for it and responded and kept the ball on our side of the net. I thought the serve-and-pass was in our favor from the very beginning, and you're going to win a lot of matches when that happens."

 
UP NEXT: Washington looks to back up tonight's great effort with another one on Sunday against Arizona. The Wildcats come in chasing a postseason bid with a 6-7 conference record. First serve will be at 12 noon, and the match will be live on Pac-12 Networks.
 

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