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Cougs down Stags for back-to-back Friday sweeps

Sep 9, 2022

FAIRFIELD, Conn. - Laura Jansen finished with a season-high 16 kills and a trio of Cougars finished with four or more total blocks as Washington State volleyball (7-1) swept tournament hosts Fairfield (6-3), 3-0 (25-17, 25-12, 25-22), on Friday night at the Fairfield University RecPlex.

Argentina Ung finished with a career-best 46 assists and Magda Jehlarova (5), Katy Ryan (4) and Jasmine Martin (4) each finished with four or more total blocks in a second-straight sweep to start the Fairfield Invitational for Washington State.  Ung also added three total blocks in addition to helping WSU hit .387 (49-13-93) as a team.

"This is a good Fairfield team and I'm proud of the way our team played tonight," said head coach Jen Greeny.  "I thought we played much cleaner than we did [Friday morning vs Howard].  I thought our hitters did a better job, our defense was better and just all-around passing was much better than it was."

Following a relatively slow start in the match, WSU closed the first set on a 9-1 run to turn a 16-16 set into a 25-17 opening set win.  Jansen had five kills on only six swings in the opening set and Argentina found her rhythm in the Washington State offense with 13 assists to start the match.

A graduate transfer from the University of Arkansas - Little Rock, Jansen finished with a season-best hitting percentage of .565 after tallying a 16-3-23 night.

"She had some great swings, not just from the front row, but from the back row, from the right side and the left side.  It was definitely one of (Laura Jansen's) best matches," said Greeny.

The Cougars carried that momentum into the second set in which they never trailed and opened with a 10-3 run to jump back in front and Jansen followed up with an even stronger second.  WSU went 12-of-13 (92 percent) on sideouts and took a double digit lead late in the set as three Fairfield errors contributed to a 4-0 run for the Cougars that put them ahead, 22-10.

WSU shook off a pair of tight calls down the line in a closer third set, finishing the third 18-of-22 (81 percent) on sideouts and 17 kills as a team. Jansen and Timmer each put up five kills in the third frame as Jansen finished off the Stags with the final three points of the night for WSU.

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