Ryan matches career high, Cougars sweep Utah in Salt Lake City

SALT LAKE CITY -- Katy Ryan had a career day in the Huntsman Center with 13 kills (13-2-27, .407) and a career-high eight blocks as Washington State volleyball (13-6, 5-3 Pac-12) swept Utah (11-8, 4-4 Pac-12), 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 27-25), on the road Sunday.

Laura Jansen added a match-high 20 kills (20-7-33, .394) and the Cougars improved to a perfect 11-0 when winning the opening set in their eighth sweep of the year.  Weronika Wojdyla also had a career-high with five blocks as WSU tallied 11 blocks as a team in Sunday's win.  Pia Timmer added seven kills while the Cougs' setter Argentina Ung posted a double-double with 39 assists and 10 digs.

Karly Basham finished with 10 digs from the back row and Jansen added a team-high 13 digs as Washington State picked up the win despite being down one of their top defensive specialists, Julia Norville.

The win puts head coach Jen Greeny just one win away from No. 200 in her tenure at Washington State and keeps the Cougars in the top half of the Pac-12 standings as the fifth team to reach five wins in conference play.

Set 1 Recap

Utah led early in the first but Washington State went on a 5-1 run midway through the set to steal momentum, going ahead 18-15. Laura Jansen had three huge swings down the stretch to help WSU close the first on a 4-1 run to win set one, 25-21. 

Jansen and the Cougars offense came out on fire and hit.500 (17-2-30) as a team in the opening set. Timmer had eight kills on eight swings to open the match and Katy Ryan and Magda Jehlarova each added four apiece.

Set 2 Recap

WSU went on a 4-1 run to begin the set but fell behind after a 6-0 response from the Utes. The Cougs later answered back with a 9-1 run to go back in front, 16-12. 

Laura Jansen put home a kill to give Washington State a 22-21 lead and followed up with an ace to put the Cougars within striking distance of a two-set advantage. Katy Ryan continued her dominant individual performance with the final point of the set as Washington moved ahead by two sets with a 25-23 win in the second. 

Set 3 Recap
Washington State again answered a slow start in the third with a 4-1 run to even the set at 12-12.

WSU found the first set point of the third at 24-23 when a Cougars' attack error extended the period. Utah then won back-to-back points for an opportunity to close the third but Ryan grabbed her sixth kill of the third set to even things again at 25-25.

After a Utah set error, Karly Basham stepped to the service line and added her first ace of the match to close out the sweep.

Up Next
Washington State will close out the month of October at home as it gets set for back-to-back weekends back in front of its fans.  The Cougars will host Arizona next Friday at 7 p.m. and Arizona State next Sunday at 11 a.m. in Bohler Gym. 

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