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Dawgs Storm Past Cougars In Pac-12 Opener

by gohuskies.com
Sep 21, 2022

SEATTLE – This Husky Volleyball senior class has accomplished a remarkable amount, but one thing they had yet to do was post a sweep in the Boeing Apple Cup Series rivalry with Washington State. The Dawgs checked that one off the list tonight at Alaska Airlines Arena, rolling to a 25-15, 25-14, 25-22 win in front of a season-high 3,838 fans in the Pac-12 opener.
 
UW (9-2, 1-0 Pac-12) is chasing a third-straight Pac-12 title, and started that pursuit in impressive fashion, hitting a scorching .412 for the match to get the first sweep in the series for either team since Nov. 24, 2017, which was another 3-0 win for the Huskies at home. In-between the two Husky sweeps, the teams had gone the full five sets on four occasions, and to four sets twice.
 
"Outstanding execution from our group from start to finish," said Head Coach Keegan Cook. "It was a great environment, and I liked the message that it sends to the rest of the conference that we're here to compete again, despite what people think we may or may not be at this point."

 
Washington got phenomenal offensive showings from Claire Hoffman, Emoni Bush, and Marin Grote, with a lot of credit for that as usual going to the passers and setter Ella May Powell, who had 40 assists.
 
Hoffman put away 18 kills and hit .394, while Bush hit a career-high .550 with 13 kills on 20 swings and just two errors. Grote killed nine of 12 swings with just one error for a .667 attack percentage and a pair of blocks.
 
Lauren Bays returned to action after missing last week's road trip and led the defense with 12 digs, as UW held the Cougars to a .146 attack percentage and owned a 42-30 edge in digs.
 
"The first two sets looked like Washington volleyball. I think we had three total errors, which is just going to create pressure on your opponents to find answers that may not be there. Most improvement was behind the block. Our defenders are creating more than they did last year. All sorts of people are making contributions."
 
UP NEXT: The Huskies have their next three on the road, starting this Sunday in Los Angeles with the only meeting of the year between UW and UCLA. That match will be televised live on ESPNU at 3 p.m.

SET ONE: WSU scored the first point with an ace, but then the Huskies ripped off five in a row with Hoffman's first two kills and an ace from Bays. Hoffman was up to four kills by the time it was 8-3. The Cougars scored five of the next six to get back within a point, but a Powell kill was followed by a couple WSU errors and a Bush finish for four straight points to make it 15-9 at the media timeout. Endsley and Summers stuffed one down for a fifth-straight point. Powell then set Summers and Endsley for kills to extend the lead again to 18-10. Grote had a kill off an overpass for 21-11. A swing from Bush brought up set point at 24-14 and then a Cougar service error ended it, 25-15.
 
Washington clicked on a .464 attack percentage out of the gate while WSU was held to just .077. Hoffman had six kills on nine swings.
 
SET TWO: The teams were even through the first stretch of the second set until a 3-0 Husky run got the lead, 5-3. Powell served up an ace to make it 8-4 and force WSU into a timeout. Bush hit one down for 10-5, but WSU answered with a 3-0 run to make it 10-8. Hoffman snapped that streak, and then Grote killed a slide to get back up four, 13-9. A 3-0 Husky run on consecutive kills by Grote, Hoffman, and Bush made it 17-11 and forced the last Cougars timeout. The Huskies rolled away through the rest of the set, including a run of three kills in a row from Endsley. Summers had a kill from Powell to reach set point and then Grote and Hoffman sent one back to end it, 25-14.
 
Powell dished out 15 assists as the Huskies had 17 kills on 31 swings with just one error to hit .516.
 
SET THREE: Tough serving got the Cougars out front early for the first time in the third. They scored the first four points and built an 8-3 lead. But Washington charged right back with a 9-0 run to grab the lead, 12-8. The run came on Hoffman's serve, with Bush dominating with four kills, Grote adding two, and Bush and Grote assisting on a block. Two more kills from Hoffman and Bush made it 15-9, but the Huskies then made three errors to let WSU stay in touch. The set tightened up more as WSU pulled within a point at 17-16. Hoffman kept the lead with a kill, and had kills again at 18-17 and 19-18 to keep the Dawgs trading blows. Another Hoffman kill got the Huskies to match point at 24-22, and on the next rally, Powell had a transition quick set to Grote who slammed it down for the winner, 25-22.
 
The Huskies hit .289 in the third compared to .219 for the Cougars, but kills were 19 to 8 in favor of the Dawgs, as Bush and Hoffman each had seven kills and Powell had 15 more assists.

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