Cougs take out Buffs in four sets
PULLMAN, Wash. -- 25th-ranked Washington State volleyball (21-8, 13-5 Pac-12) tallied 13 blocks as a team and hit .373 (61-17-118) collectively in a four-set, 25-20, 21-25, 25-19, 25-11, win over Colorado (18-10, 10-8) Sunday afternoon in Bohler Gym. The Cougars had 13 blocks as a team and Magda Jehlarova finished with 16 kills on 21 swings (16-1-21, .714) in the 10th home win of the season for Washington State.
The 13 blocks was the highest team total for Washington State on the Pac-12 season as the Cougars tallied six blocks in the first set alone while the Buffs, who led the conference in blocks/set (2.77) going into the match, finished with only five as a team. The Cougs moved to 19-1 when finishing with more blocks than its opponents.
WSU also improved to 20-1 when winning the edge in hitting percentage after reaching its second-highest mark in Pac-12 play (.373) Sunday afternoon in Bohler. The Cougs have now hit .300 or better in six of its last seven matches and improve to 16-1 on the season when hitting .300 or better.
Jehlarova added eight total blocks on the afternoon with two solo blocks and her 16 kills proved to be a match-high while Pia Timmer added 15 kills on only 31 attempts (15-2-31, .419) from the left pin. Timmer also tallied 10 digs for her third double-double of the season. Julia Norville added 10 digs on the afternoon for the Cougs while setter Argentina Ung led the team with 11 digs to go along with three block assists at the net.
Set 1 Recap
Washington State also improved to 17-1 on the year after taking the opening set as the Cougars came out fast, took control midway through the opening set and never looked back to begin the match.
With the Buffs ahead 14-12, Laura Jansen assisted an out of system kill for Pia Timmer which sparked a 7-2 run for Washington State. The Cougs later won three-straight points to go ahead, 22-18 and closed the set with their sixth block of the first.
Set 2 Recap
Colorado stole momentum with a 7-1 run midway through the second to go ahead, 20-12. Washington State put together a couple of brief runs late, getting within three at 23-20, but the Buffs were able to finish things off with two late sideouts to win, 25-21.
The Buffs had only two attack errors in set two and finished at .381 (18-2-42) as a team to even the match at one set apiece.
Set 3 Recap
The Cougs came out strong to begin the third set with a 7-2 run to take control early. After dropping the opening point of the set, Washington State never trailed again in the third as the Cougars owned momentum with a late 6-1 run to go ahead by double digits at 22-12.
Magda Jehlarova continued her near-perfect start to the match hitting as she started the match with 11 kills and zero errors including five kills on seven swings (.714) in the third.
Set 4 Recap
The Cougs never trailed in the final frame and built a four-point lead early in the set as a 3-0 spurt pushed the WSU advantage to 9-5. WSU pushed its lead yet again on a 4-1 run that featured two kills from Jansen and two from Katy Ryan.
Argentina Ung put WSU ahead 17-10 to spark a 4-0 WSU run that gave it a late double-digit lead for a second-straight set at 20-10. The Buffs earned one more sideout before Washington State finished off the home win by winning five-straight points as Logan Golden stepped in to serve the final points of the 25-11 fourth-set win.
Laura Jansen led all hitters with five kills in the fourth set and Jehlarova added another three to her final total while the Cougs hit .409 (13-4-22) as a team in the fourth set to close out the match.
Up Next:
The Cougars will have only one off day following Sunday's match as it gets set to host UCLA (15-12, 9-9 Pac-12) on Tuesday at 6 p.m., followed by their season-finale against Apple Cup rival No. 21 Washington (19-9, 11-7 Pac-12) on Friday, Nov. 25, at 6 p.m.
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