WHO WHAT WHEN WHERE…
FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- A career-high 17 kills by Taylor Mims led the Washington State volleyball team (8-1) to a 29-27, 25-14, 25-17 win over Fairfield University (4-6) Saturday night at the Fairfield Invitational at Alumni Hall in Fairfield, Conn. This was the second time in two days WSU defeated Fairfield 3-0.
Mims, a junior outside hitter, tallied her 17 kills while hitting .306 and had seven digs and four blocks. McKenna Woodford added 15 kills, hit .357 with eight digs and two blocks. Claire Martin, a junior moved to the opposite hitter position this season, had seven kills, hit .417 and had four blocks.
Jocelyn Urias and Ella Lajos, new to the Cougars front row starting spots in 2017, each had seven blocks today. Setters Ashley Brown and Penny Tusa each had 19 assists with the freshman Tusa serving two of WSU's three aces. Alexis Dirige led the match with a dozen digs.
WSU won the digs category 48 to 28, and equaled a season-best 14 team blocks while Fairfield had only two blocks. The Cougars hit .300 for the match and held the Stags to a .064 hitting percentage.
WHY & HOW...
WSU Head Coach Jen Greeny said, "It was a tough first set and they came out with some different things. Skyler Day didn't play last night and she's a great player coming back from an injury and able to play tonight so we had to adjust to that. I was really proud of the way we fought and took that first set and the momentum carried over from there.
"A little bit of that first set can be attributed to Casey Schoenlein going down and us trying to get our footing and figure some things out. I think we settled down and Savanah Smith did a nice job adjusting to that, especially as a freshman.
"Fantastic numbers for outside hitters. I thought both Taylor and McKenna played extremely well tonight and that's what we need. Every night is not going to be quite this good when we get into Pac-12 play but they really took care of the ball tonight.
"Any time we have a hitting percentage like that, a lot of credit goes not only to the setters but to the passing as well was good tonight. Our setters, especially Penny Tusa, another freshman, are getting used to who they are setting, what kind of tempo we want to run, what plays are working and what rotation we're in so that is nice to see."
Junior outside hitter Taylor Mims said, "We really just dug in and I think started respecting that this team really wants a piece of us. I think we just played more with a killer mentality and everybody wanted the ball. It was a good game and I think we have more in store."
NOTES…
MARK YOUR CALENDAR…
Washington State (8-1) travels to Springfield, Mo., to take on Tennessee State (4-6), Missouri State (6-3), and Chattanooga (7-4) Sept. 15-16 at the Missouri State Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational.
FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- A career-high 17 kills by Taylor Mims led the Washington State volleyball team (8-1) to a 29-27, 25-14, 25-17 win over Fairfield University (4-6) Saturday night at the Fairfield Invitational at Alumni Hall in Fairfield, Conn. This was the second time in two days WSU defeated Fairfield 3-0.
Mims, a junior outside hitter, tallied her 17 kills while hitting .306 and had seven digs and four blocks. McKenna Woodford added 15 kills, hit .357 with eight digs and two blocks. Claire Martin, a junior moved to the opposite hitter position this season, had seven kills, hit .417 and had four blocks.
Jocelyn Urias and Ella Lajos, new to the Cougars front row starting spots in 2017, each had seven blocks today. Setters Ashley Brown and Penny Tusa each had 19 assists with the freshman Tusa serving two of WSU's three aces. Alexis Dirige led the match with a dozen digs.
WSU won the digs category 48 to 28, and equaled a season-best 14 team blocks while Fairfield had only two blocks. The Cougars hit .300 for the match and held the Stags to a .064 hitting percentage.
WHY & HOW...
WSU Head Coach Jen Greeny said, "It was a tough first set and they came out with some different things. Skyler Day didn't play last night and she's a great player coming back from an injury and able to play tonight so we had to adjust to that. I was really proud of the way we fought and took that first set and the momentum carried over from there.
"A little bit of that first set can be attributed to Casey Schoenlein going down and us trying to get our footing and figure some things out. I think we settled down and Savanah Smith did a nice job adjusting to that, especially as a freshman.
"Fantastic numbers for outside hitters. I thought both Taylor and McKenna played extremely well tonight and that's what we need. Every night is not going to be quite this good when we get into Pac-12 play but they really took care of the ball tonight.
"Any time we have a hitting percentage like that, a lot of credit goes not only to the setters but to the passing as well was good tonight. Our setters, especially Penny Tusa, another freshman, are getting used to who they are setting, what kind of tempo we want to run, what plays are working and what rotation we're in so that is nice to see."
Junior outside hitter Taylor Mims said, "We really just dug in and I think started respecting that this team really wants a piece of us. I think we just played more with a killer mentality and everybody wanted the ball. It was a good game and I think we have more in store."
SOLO BLOCK by Jocelyn Urias puts WSU ahead 27-26 in S1. Stags TO. #RiseAgain #GoCougs
— Cougar Volleyball (@wsuvolleyball) September 9, 2017
Woodford BLOCK and Mims Kill gives WSU a 29-27 WIN! #RiseAgain pic.twitter.com/jg52x2SL7r
— Cougar Volleyball (@wsuvolleyball) September 9, 2017
NOTES…
- This is Jen Greeny's 99th win as the head coach at WSU.
- Freshman Savanah Smith saw action in only her second match at WSU.
- Fairfield defeated New Hampshire 3-1 in a match earlier today.
- Coming into the match, WSU was leading the Pac-12 in low opponent hitting percentage.
- Cougars wore their white jerseys tonight but Fairfield was the home team.
- WSU is 29th in this week's AVCA Coaches Poll.
- Attendance: 217
MARK YOUR CALENDAR…
Washington State (8-1) travels to Springfield, Mo., to take on Tennessee State (4-6), Missouri State (6-3), and Chattanooga (7-4) Sept. 15-16 at the Missouri State Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational.