WHO WHAT WHEN WHERE
SALT LAKE CITY -- The No. 19 ranked Washington State Cougars (16-5, 7-4 Pac-12) continued the winning streak Wednesday evening as the Cougs defeated the Utah Utes (12-10, 4-7 Pac-12) on the road inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
Set scores for the match were: 25-23, 25-18, and 25-21 in favor of the Cougars.
Washington State found themselves down very early in this contest, until a 6-1 run from the Cougars, fueled by kills from
McKenna Woodford, and
Jocelyn Urias for the 11-8 advantage. The Utes staged a 5-0 run late in this set however to see Utah take the 23-22 lead, forcing the WSU timeout. The Cougars fought right back with a kill from Woodford, along with a block from
Claire Martin, and McKenna to claim set number one at 25-23.
Second number two featured an intense battle between these two programs, as eight total ties occurred early on in the set to put the score at 13-13 overall. The Cougars began putting together small runs to get out in front of the Utes with offensive production from
Penny Tusa, and Woodford. A 5-0 run capped off the set two victory for the Cougs as four of those five points were provided by both Tusa and Woodford, for the 25-18 win.
The Cougars were in control to open up set number three, as a 6-1 run, fueled by Tusa, Martin, and
Ella Lajos gave the visiting squad a comfortable early lead. WSU continued to extend that overall advantage out to 15-6 midway through the contest after kills from Woodford, and Penny surged the offense forward. Utah began generating a comeback with an 8-1 run, and ultimately cut the Cougar lead down to just three points on multiple occasions. Washington State refocused and shut down the Ute run as Jocelyn, and McKenna provided the final two kills to seal the sweep victory for the Cougars at 25-21 overall.
STAT OF THE MATCH
Penny Tusa totaled 15 kills in the match, a career-high for the sophomore as she anchored the WSU offensive attack against the Utes. Tusa also recorded a .483 hitting percentage and 13 digs on the night.
THE MOMENTS THAT MADE THE MATCH
NOTES
- WSU held Utah to just a .157 overall hitting percentage to extend the Cougars season record to 10-1 when opponents hit below .200 during a match.
- McKenna Woodford posted a match-high 17 kills tonight, along with five total block assists.
- Ashley Brown continued to facilitate the offense with 35 assists, and added 11 digs for her 11th double-double this season.
- Alexis Dirige totaled 14 digs in the contest also to match Tusa for the team-high on the night.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Washington State returns to the court next, Friday, October 26 on the road against the Buffs of Colorado inside the CU Events Center with first serve slated for 6 p.m. PT.
