Cougars to renew Apple Cup rivalry in Wednesday night's conference opener

PULLMAN, Wash. - Washington State volleyball (8-3), the top-ranked hitting team in the Pac-12 (.295) heading into the first week of conference play, gets set to renew its cross-state rivalry with 18th-ranked Washington (8-2) as the teams officially open the 2022 Pac-12 season in Seattle this week.  The two will take center stage on Pac-12 Network Wednesday night from Alaska Airlines Arena with first serve scheduled for 6:04 p.m.
 

The Cougs have won three of the last four meetings with Washington which includes a pair of five-set wins and a pair of wins on the opening week of conference play.  WSU has also won three-straight Pac-12 openers overall including a sweep over 24th-ranked Colorado in last season's conference opener.

WSU at #18 Washington (8-2) Match Info:

>> Wednesday, Sept. 21 // First serve - 6:04  p.m. (PST)
>> Seattle, Wash. - Alaska Airlines Arena

>> Live Stats // wsucougars.com/sports/womens-volleyball

>> Listen Live // KQQQ - 1150 AM/102.1 FM (wsucougars.com)
>> Full notes PDF

Cougar Quick Notes:

>> Washington State is the top-ranked team in the Pac in hitting (.295) going into the week and ranks 12th in the NCAA.

>> The Cougars are second in the Pac and 29th in the nation with 1.97 aces/set.  They are second in the Pac with 77 total aces heading into conference play.

>> WSU is 14-2 against Pac-12 northwest schools (Oregon, Oregon St. Washington) since 2019.

>> The Cougars are the only Pac-12 school to finish top-five in the final conference standings each of the past four seasons.

>> Head coach Jen Greeny, last year's Co-Coach of the Year in the Pac-12, owns the 15th-most Pac-12 conference wins all-time (83).

>> Magda Jehlarova ranks No. 6 in the conference in hitting (.351), having put up a line of  88-23-185 from the middle so far this season.

>> Argentina Ung is fourth in the Pac-12 with 9.82 assists/set and third with 383 total assists.

>> Pia Timmer is sixth all-time in kills/set at 3.17 over 305 sets played and holds the third-highest mark since sets were shortened to the 25-point scoring system that was implemented in 2008.  At 969 career kills heading into the week, she is also quickly closing in on joining the 1,000 career kills club.

>> Magda Jehlarova is top-10 in all major career blocking categories at WSU including her 1.40 blocks/set which ranks second all-time.  Jehlarova passed Taylor Mims earlier this season for fourth all-time in total blocks (472) and is now into the top-five in block assists (382) as well, surpassing head coach Jen Greeny (Stinson) in that category earlier this season in a win over Belmont.

>> Jen Greeny captured career win number 300 as a college head coach against Rider (8/26) and is now only nine victories from her 200th win leading her alma mater.

Washington Notes

>> After dropping its season-opener on the road at Arkansas, Washington has rebounded to win eight of its last nine.  Washington defeated Cal Poly, 3-2, in its first five-setter of the season and went on to sweep all three of its matches last week (vs North Texas, at Montana State, vs Boise State).

>> Claire Hoffman ranks sixth in the Pac-12 in kills (3.92) and Marin Grote ranks third in the conference in hitting (.398).  Hoffman leads the conference with 21 aces and Ella May Powell is second in the conference with 10.86 assists/set.

Up Next:
Washington State closes out the first week of Pac-12 play in Los Angeles at USC on Saturday afternoon beginning at 2 p.m. (PST).  The Cougars will be back on the road for a fourth-straight weekend the following week, as it travels to Cal (7-3) on Fri., Sept. 30, and fifth-ranked Stanford (5-3) on Sun., Oct. 2.  WSU will host No. 21 Oregon in its first home Pac-12 match of the year on Fri., Oct. 7, beginning at 7 p.m.

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