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Huskies Pounce On Bears In Sweep

by gohuskies.com
Oct 2, 2022

BERKELEY, Calif. – 17th-ranked Washington made quick work of Cal today at Haas Pavilion, sweeping the Bears 25-13, 25-19, 25-18 with efficient offense and equally stout defense. Ella May Powell's 35 assists and strong work from UW's passers helped the Huskies (11-3, 3-1 Pac-12) hit .395 and the Bears (7-7, 0-4 Pac-12) were held to just .081. Sophomore Emoni Bush led the Dawgs with 11 kills.
 
UW had the better of the Bears in blocks and digs, a big focus following Friday's setback at Stanford. The Huskies had seven blocks led by six from Sophie Summers. Claire Hoffman had 11 digs, Lauren Bays had nine and Kate Morin seven as UW held a 41-29 edge in the dig column.

 
"One of the things that we really value is learning throughout a season, which is hard to do when you're trying to perform," said Head Coach Keegan Cook. "With yesterday's practice and today's match, I thought we saw some things that we've been asking some of our athletes to do for a good period of time defensively, blocking and behind the block. So I was really encouraged by a dozen or so plays that represent learning in the midst of competing."
 
Playing without starting opposite Madi Endsley, who was injured in Friday's match, the Huskies got a nice lift from redshirt freshman Audra Wilmes, who made her first career start. Wilmes, the West Linn, Ore. native, had eight kills on 14 swings to hit .429, and she served an ace on one of the first points of the match, also getting in on two blocks.
 
"Really nice response by Audra, which is something we value," said Cook. "She looked good attacking, blocking, and from the service line, a position she doesn't typically play. Really nice to see her get more comfortable and show what she can do."

 
In addition to her six blocks, Summers had seven kills without an error on 11 swings to hit .636. Marin Grote matched that with a .636 attack percentage behind eight kills, one error, on 11 attempts. Hoffman added eight kills. Powell also moved into a tie for second all-time at UW in aces, as she had a pair to tie Cassie Strickland (2012-15) with 152.
 
UP NEXT: The Huskies are back home next week, hosting Oregon State and first-place Oregon, the only 4-0 conference team thus far. The Beavers come in on Friday, Oct. 7 at 8 p.m. and the Ducks are in on Sunday, Oct. 9, at 4 p.m. a match that will be a Purple Out for fans.
 
SET ONE: Marin Grote delivered the first kill on a quick set from Powell. Wilmes, with her first touch, served up an ace for 2-1. Grote had a slide kill for 4-2 and then a Bush kill followed by a block by Summers and Powell made it 7-3 and Cal took the early timeout. Sianna Houghton kept the Dawgs rolling out of the break, as she forced an overpass that Powell ended, and then Bush had a transition kill followed by another Houghton ace for 11-3. Summers had a solo block for 13-6 and then she and Wilmes teamed for a stuff two points later as the run kept going. Bush nailed an ace to cap a 4-0 run to make it 16-6 and the Bears used their final timeout. Two kills from Hoffman got the Dawgs to 20-9. Summers and Wilmes finished to get the Dawgs to set point at 24-13, and then Summers rejected another to end it, 25-13.
 
UW was dialed in from the start, hitting .455 in the opening set, while Cal was held in the negatives at -.077. The Huskies had three aces and four blocks, and six different players finished with two kills each.
 
SET TWO: Wilmes got the Dawgs off to a great start with a hard kill from the right on the first point. Grote and Bush then united for a block, and Bush hammered a kill for a quick 5-1 lead. Cal got within two at 7-5 and 9-7, but UW extended again as Wilmes tooled the block on the right, Grote crushed a quick in transition and Bays then drove an ace off the defense and out for 12-7 and a Bears timeout. Grote and Hoffman had sideout strikes for a 14-9 lead. Summers had a kill on the slide for 17-12. Powell hit Bush for another kill and then Summers and Wilmes stood up and stuffed one for 19-12, forcing the last Bears timeout. Three kills in a row for Hoffman made it 23-15 and UW reached set point on a Cal error. The Bears saved a few set points but Grote ultimately ended it, throwing one into the middle of the court for the 25-19 point.
 
The Huskies hit .368 in the second set with 19 kills on their 25 points. Bush had five kills, Grote and Hoffman had four apiece, and Summers had three on four swings.
 
SET THREE: A great up from Lauren Bays led to a Grote disposal of an overpass, part of a 3-0 start to the third. Hoffman had a kill and then dropped in an ace for 6-3. Cal got back within one, but Bush answered with a laser and then Powell fired an ace, followed by a long rally that Summers ended with a block for 10-6. Another Summers kill made it a 4-0 run and Cal took timeout. Out of the break, Powell kept it going with her second ace of the match, which tied Cassie Strickland for second-most all time at UW with 152. Another finish from Bush and a Cal error culminated the 7-0 run that put the Huskies up 14-6. Wilmes had two more kills assisted by Powell for 17-10. Maeve Griffin subbed in and notched an ace with her first serve for 20-12. Wilmes put down an overpass for 23-16, and then UW reached match point on a Summers transition kill. On the final point, Powell back set to Wilmes who put it down through the block for 25-18.
 
The Huskies hit .385 in the third set, holding Cal to .179. Wilmes had four kills on five swings and Powell had 12 assists and two aces.

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