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Tusa Becomes WSU's New Queen of Aces in Loss at No. 20 Stanford

by wsucougars.com
Nov 13, 2021

STANFORD, Calif. – Washington State volleyball fifth-year senior Penny Tusa etched her name in program history Saturday, Nov. 13, as the senior became the Cougar's new ace queen in a four-set loss at No. 21 Stanford.

Set scores from the match were 19-25, 25-20, 26-24, 22-25 in favor of the Cardinal.

Tusa collected three aces in the match to now give her 145 in her career, putting her atop WSU's all-time ace list. The senior from Long Beach, California came in to match one-ace shy of LaToya Harris' previous record of 143. Tusa became the program's all-time leader in aces in the second set, as she landed a serve nearly simultaneously as the official called Stanford for out of rotation. None-the-less, the play resulted in Tusa passing Harris on WSU's all-time career ace list.

Sophomore Argentina Ung picked up her first career start on Saturday night and made the most of the opportunity, as the Sonora, Mexico native collected the first double-double of her WSU career. Ung landed a personal-best 15 kills, while digging out a career-high 15 digs against the Cardinal, leading WSU in both categories on the night.

Tusa also posted a double-double on her record-setting night with 12 digs and 10 kills. The 5-8 outside hitter hit a team-best .346 against the Cardinal, as she committed only one attack error in the match.

Neither team could gain much of an edge through the night's first 28 points, as the Cougars stood even with the Cardinal at 14-all midway through the first set. Stanford ended the opening frame on an 11-5 run to claim the 25-19 victory in the opening frame.

Washington State responded in the second set, as the Cougars doubled-up the Cardinal, 8-4, to begin the frame. The Cougs used a 7-4 spurt midway through the frame to expand their lead to 15-8 lead after a kill by Ung. WSU took an eight-point lead at 22-14 after back-to-back aces from Tusa. Ung put the finishing touches on WSU's second-set victory with a kill to give the Cougs a 25-20 win and pull even with the Cardinal at 1-1 heading into the break.

The Cougars found themselves in an 8-3 hole to start the third set but was able to chip away at the Cardinal lead throughout the frame. Trailing 19-12, Washington State used an 8-2 run to pull even at 20-all after a kill by redshirt junior Kalyah Williams. Stanford called a timeout after the Williams' kill to slow down WSU's momentum, as Stanford scored three-straight points out of the break to take a 23-20 lead. Washington State responded with a 3-0 spurt of its own to pull even at 23-all after back-to-back attack Cardinal attack errors. Stanford finally broke the 24-24 tie by scoring the final two points of the set to claim the 26-24 set victory.

The Cougs once again got off to a slow start against Stanford in the fourth set, with the Cardinal jumping out to a 9-3 advantage. Stanford maintained its nine-point lead throughout the majority of the frame, as it held a 20-11 lead late in the fourth. Washington State wouldn't go down without a fight at Maples Pavilion, as the Cougars scored 11 of the match's next 14 points, capped off by three-straight kills from Ung, to pull within a point of Stanford at 23-22. That would be as close as the Cougars would get to the Cardinal, as Stanford closed out the match with a kill and a WSU attack error to take claim the 3-1 match victory.

Player of the Match
Fifth-year senior not only became the Cougar's all-time leader in aces tonight, but she also collected her second double-double of the season with 12 digs and 10 kills against Stanford. The Long Beach, California native also hit a team-best .346 and landed a team-best three aces.

Into the Twitter-Verse

 

Match Notes
- The Cougs end their road trip to the Bay at 1-1.
- Washington State falls to 6-2 on the road in Pac-12 games.
- Argentina Ung's 15 kills and 15 digs are new career highs for the sophomore from Mexico.
- Ung's 15 kills marks the third time in her career that she has record 10-or-more kills, while it is also a new season-high mark in kills.
- Tonight's 15-dig performance marks the first time that Ung has record double-digit digs in her WSU career.
- WSU landed seven service aces on Saturday, compared to Stanford's three.
- Karly Basham's 13 digs extends her double-digit dig streak to 16 matches.
- Penny Tusa' 12 digs marks the seventh match this season with double-digit digs.
- Washington State returns to action Nov. 18, when they host Oregon in Bohler Gym. First serve is set for 6 p.m. PT.

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