PULLMAN, Wash. – No. 22 Washington State volleyball was defeated at home inside Bohler Gym Friday evening, as the Utah Utes earned the 3-1 overall victory.
Set scores from the match were: 25-27, 15-25, 25-23 and 19-25 in favor of Utah (19-7, 11-4 Pac-12).
Washington State (21-6, 10-5 Pac-12) came out firing to open up set number one with a 4-0 run, as a kill from
Penny Tusa, and a service ace from
Alexis Dirige led the way. The home lead only continued to grow midway throughout the contest after kills from
Jocelyn Urias and
Hannah Pukis, along with an ace from Tusa pushed the advantage out to 11-5. The home squad progressed the lead further to 17-9 with some help from Utah errors, and a
Magda Jehlářová kill. The Utes began to storm back however, posting a 9-1 scoring run to tie the set up at 18-18. Seven additional ties would occur down the stretch of this opening set, until Utah recorded back-to-back points for the 27-25 win.
Set number two saw Utah in control early with the 11-7 advantage after forcing multiple WSU errors. The Utes increased that lead with a 6-1 scoring run to jump out to the 15-8 lead over the Cougars. Utah would go on to record two addtional 3-0 scoring runs to claim the second set of play, 25-15.
The Utes continued to ride the momentum into set three, posting a 7-2 scoring run to begin the action. Utah extended their advantage out to 18-10 to hold down a comfortable lead over the Crimson and Gray, but the Cougars were not going to go away quietly. A 5-0 scoring run from the home squad, featuring multiple kills from
Kalyah Williams, and a
Julia Norville ace put the score at just 19-16. Washington State caught fire late in this second period as Jehlářová, Timmer, Pukis, and Urias all contributed to the WSU scoring run, and took the set at 25-23.
Set four unfortunately began like the previous, with Utah out to an early lead at 8-3 overall. A Washington State timeout helped the Cougs regroup, with Urias posting multiple kills, and Jehlářová adding a solo block to close the scoring gap to just 11-8. WSU once again found themselves down at 18-10 and began stagging a comeback with four consecutive points, aided by another Norville ace. The Utes and the Cougars went on to trade points late into this set, and with Utah already leading, ultimately claimed the fourth set at 25-19, and the match at 3-1 overall.
INTO THE TWITTER-VERSE
MATCH NOTES
- Pia Timmer and Magda Jehlářová led the offensive attack with 12 kills each. Magda posted a hitting percentage fo .417 as well.
- Jehlářová was a dominate force on the defensive end as well, totaling six blocks, including two solos.
- Hannah Pukis turned in a solid stat sheet with 41 assists, eight digs, two blocks, four kills, and hit .300 on the night.
- Washington State returns to Bohler Gym against Colorado, Sunday, Nov. 17 with first serve scheduled for noon.
