Box Score WHO WHAT WHEN WHERE…
SEATTLE -- The No. 22 ranked Cougars of Washington State (9-2) nearly completed the upset bid against the No. 13 Washington Huskies Thursday night on the road to begin Pac-12 play this season.
Set scores for the match were: 18-25, 17-25, 25-19, 25-16, and 9-15.
This rivalry match-up featured each program battling for the early advantage, as the Cougars took advantage of three straight service errors from Washington to gain the early 5-3 lead. A crucial kill from
Ella Lajos tied up the set at 10-10 in this Apple Cup contest, as WSU began to swing momentum in its' favor. The Huskies however generated multiple small runs to take a lead over the Cougars, and ultimately won the opening set at 25-18.
The Cougs found themselves in a tight set midway throughout once again after back-to-back kills from
Jocelyn Urias and
Taylor Mims gave WSU the narrow 10-9 over their in-state rivals. A 4-0 run from the Huskies propelled Washington throughout the remainder of the set, never surrendering a lead change or tie, taking the second set over Washington State at 25-17. Mims got her offensive attack kick-started in this second set, leading the Cougar offense with seven at intermission.
The Washington State offensive attack came out in full force in the third set of play, with big momentum swing kills from
Claire Martin,
Ella Lajos, and Mims helped power WSU out to a lead over Washington. A 4-1 run from the Cougs late in the set surged them ahead, as WSU once again took advantage of the Husky errors to notch the set three victory at 25-19 by the final Lajos kill.
WSU continued to ride the wave of momentum into set number four, as a critical 5-0 run from the Cougars led the way for the set four victory. Washington State saw crucial points from
McKenna Woodford, and Mims as the offensive finished the set, hitting .204 as a team.
Ashley Brown and Urias each added kills of their own to seal off the set win, and send this Apple Cup match-up into a decisive fifth set.
The Huskies and the Cougars continued trading points and lead changes to open up set number five, knotted up at 4-4 after a kill from Mims, and an attack error from Washington. The home squad generated a 4-0 run however, jumping out to an 8-4 advantage. WSU battled back with a kill from Urias as the deficit was set at 10-7 in favor of the Huskies, but another 4-0 run from Washington sealed the five set win for UW at 15-9 by the final point.
STAT OF THE MATCH
The Huskies finished this Pac-12 contest hitting .231 on the night, compared to that of Washington State at .191 overall.
THE MOMENTS THAT MADE THE MATCH
NOTES…
- Ashley Brown recorded her fifth double-double of the year with 34 assists, and 15 digs.
- Alexis Dirige tied her season-high in digs with 23 against the Huskies.
- Senior Taylor Mims recorded a team-high 18 kills in the contest, along with adding 13 digs.
- Jocelyn Urias finished in double-digit kills as well with 10 overall.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR…
Washington State will continue Pac-12 play on the road as the Cougars will head to Eugene, Oregon to face the No. 12 Ducks of the University of Oregon, Sunday, Sept. 23 with first serve set for 12 p.m. PT.
