PULLMAN, Wash. – No. 22 Washington State volleyball completed the season sweep of Colorado Sunday afternoon with a five-set victory over the Buffaloes inside Bohler Gym.
Set scores from the match were: 25-23, 24-26, 13-25, 25-15 and 15-9 in favor of WSU (22-6, 11-5 Pac-12).
The Cougars came out swinging in set number one against Colorado (11-13, 3-13 Pac-12) surging ahead to a 6-2 overall lead. WSU was anchored in this opening set run by
Jocelyn Urias and
Penny Tusa, as Urias posted one kill and a block assist, and Tusa recorded one kill and an ace. Washington State continued to control the pace of the first period as kills from
Magda Jehlářová and
Alexcis Lusby found the floor for the home advantage of 12-8. The Buffaloes came raging back however with a 4-0 scoring run of their own, taking a 15-14 lead after an ace. The Cougs posted a 3-0 scoring run to regain control as back-to-back kills from
Hannah Pukis swung the momentum back to the home crowd. These two Pac-12 foes traded blows down the stretch of set one, until
Pia Timmer posted consecutive kills, and Urias finished off Colorado with a service ace for the 25-23 win.
The intensity of this match continued into set two, as five overall ties occurred early on, leading to a score of 8-8. A 5-1 run from the Buffs put the lead at 13-9 forcing a WSU timeout, and the Cougars returned with a 6-2 scoring run to trail only 17-16. Washington State spread the ball around during this run, with Timmer, Urias, Jehlářová, and Lusby all recording kills to get the offensive attack rolling. The Cougs reclaimed the lead with an additional run of 4-0, led by Urias and a thunderous solo block which saw the momentum swing fully towards Washington State. Colorado would not be going away however, generating a 5-0 run, fueled by back-to-back aces, and taking the 23-20 lead. WSU went on to tie up this set at 24-24 after a Jocelyn kill, but the Buffs claimed the victory with consecutive kills to tie up the match.
Set number three was all Colorado, as the Buffaloes were out to a 21-9 advantage at one point, and ultimately took the match lead with the 25-13 victory. Washington State fought right back into this match, with a huge set four of their own. Colorado begin the fourth period of play with a 5-1 scoring run, riding the momentum from the previous set. The Cougars countered in a big way, producing an 11-3 run against the Buffaloes to take the 13-9 lead. The blocking for the Crimson and Gray was firing on all cylinders in set four, as the Cougars totaled eight overall blocks as a team, with Jehlářová and Lusby getting involved in three each. WSU capped off the set four win with kills from
Kalyah Williams, Timmer and Lusby for the 25-15 set score.
The fifth and final set of this contest saw these two programs deadlocked early, until a 5-1 scoring run from the Cougars gave the home squad a bit of breathing room. Urias made an early impact as well with two kills and a block with Pukis for the 6-3 lead. The Buffs battled right back into the match, tying the set at 6-6, but yet another 5-1 run from the Cougs would be more than enough to get the Pac-12 win inside Bohler Gym. Sparked by an
Alexis Dirige ace, WSU saw multiple kills from Jocelyn, and an additional kill from Tusa to claim set five at 15-9, and the match at 3-2 overall.
STAT OF THE MATCH
The Cougars totaled 15 blocks in this match against Colorado, eight of which occurred during the dominate set four for Washington State. This was the second highest team blocking total this season, and the 18th time the Cougars have totaled 10 or more blocks in a match this year.
INTO THE TWITTER-VERSE
MATCH NOTES
- Pia Timmer (17), Jocelyn Urias (15), and Magda Jehlářová (12) led the offensive attack on the day, as each finished with double-digit kills.
- Alexis Dirige totaled 13 digs in the contest, increasing her career total to 2,082 overall, and moved her up to eighth all-time in the Pac-12.
- Hannah Pukis notched her 11th double-double of the year with 43 assists and 11 digs.
- The Cougars will hit the road next, traveling to Tempe, Ariz. to take on the Sun Devils of Arizona State, Thursday, Nov. 21 with first serve set for 6 p.m.
