Woodford, Tusa Lead Offense In Loss At Cal

Sunday, October 14

Berkeley, CA

1:00 PM

Washington State University

13-5, 4-4Pac-12

California

10-9, 2-6Pac-12

Washington State

California

October 14, 2018 | Volleyball

Box Score

McKenna, and Penny combine for 36 kills but the Bears were able to win it 3-1.

By: Athletic Communications

WHO WHAT WHEN WHERE
BERKELEY, Calif. -- The No. 21 ranked Cougars of Washington State (13-5, 4-4 Pac-12) were defeated on the road by the Golden Bears of California in an intense four set Pac-12 match-up Sunday afternoon.

Set scores for the match were: 30-32, 25-15, 23-25, and 20-25 in favor of Cal (10-9, 2-6 Pac-12).

The Cougars controlled this contest early on in the opening set as kills from Penny Tusa, and McKenna Woodford guided the way offensively to an 8-6 lead. The Bears began generating small runs as this set saw multiple ties and lead changes until the Cougs once again built a small lead (17-14), with the help from a Cal error and back-to-back kills from Woodford. Cal saw the momentum swing in their favor after a 5-1 run late in this opening set of play gave the Bears a 23-22 advantage. This first set saw eight additional ties after that point, until California was able to put together back-to-back points and claim the first set at 32-30 overall.

Set number two saw Washington State regroup, and with an 8-1 run midway through the round, the Cougars were out in front at 16-10. A second 8-1 run from the Cougs shortly after extended the lead of WSU with multiple kills from Woodford, and a pair of service aces from Ashley Brown sealed off the set two victory at 25-15 by the final point

The third set in this Pac-12 match-up featured another intense battle with a total of eight ties between the Cougars and the Bears with the score at 11-11. Multiple lead changes and ties followed late into this set, with the Cougs seeing offensive power from Jocelyn Urias, Ella Lajos, and Woodford. The Golden Bears however went on a 3-1 run to close out set number three as back-to-back WSU errors saw Cal take a 2-1 match lead.

The fourth and final set of this contest started out with multiple ties and small one-point leads which was becoming the standard for this match. Cal however found a way to pull ahead with a 6-1 run, to hold an advantage of 13-9 midway through the set. The Bears once again created another 6-1 run later in the set, extending the home lead out to 22-14, but the Cougs were not done yet as a 6-1 run from Washington State with kills from Claire Martin, Ashley Brown, and Woodford cut the Cal lead down to just 23-20. The Bears ultimately sealed off the match victory with back-to-back points for a 25-20 set win.

STAT OF THE MATCH
Senior McKenna Woodford totaled 22 kills in this contest, tying her career-high for kills in a match. She previously recorded 22 during her sophomore season, back in 2015.

THE MOMENTS THAT MADE THE MATCH

2 | Another run from the Cougars as @kennabanena records kill number 12 in the match! | WSU 21-12 #GoCougs #RiseAgain pic.twitter.com/Kd88WyxVZI
— Cougar Volleyball (@wsuvolleyball) October 14, 2018

S3 | Media timeout after the @C_Martin12 kill as the Cougs hold down the lead! | WSU 15-14 #GoCougs #RiseAgain pic.twitter.com/Vz5rUTwCYy
— Cougar Volleyball (@wsuvolleyball) October 14, 2018

NOTES

Penny Tusa totaled a career-high on the day as well with 14 total kills in this match.
Brown recorded a match-high 45 assists, and added nine digs and two aces to her stat-line.
Alexis Dirige posted a match-high 24 digs in this contest as well

MARK YOUR CALENDAR
The Cougs will hit the court next, Friday, October 19, as Washington State returns to Bohler Gym to take on the Trojans of USC with first serve set for 8 p.m. PT.