PORTLAND, Ore. – Washington State volleyball opened the North Portland Marriott Invite with a four-set victory over the Aggies of Utah State Friday morning.
Set scores from the match were: 25-8, 25-12, 27-29, and 25-18 in favor of the Cougars (3-1).
Washington State got off to a hot start in this nonconference tilt, creating a 7-0 run to lead the Aggies 12-3. WSU's run was fueled by three straight blocks from the combined effort of
Charity Bradley,
Jocelyn Urias, and
Hannah Pukis. The dominance continued for Washington State to start this match, as a 9-0 run finished off Utah State at 25-8.
Aria McComber totaled two service aces during this final run, along with kills from
Pia Timmer, and
Penny Tusa to down the Aggies.
McComber picked up right where she left off in the previous set, recording two more aces to begin the second set, and see the Cougars out to the early 7-1 advantage. WSU built yet another big run midway through the action, this time at 8-2, and held an 18-6 lead over Utah State. The blocks continued for Washington State during this set two run, with
Alexcis Lusby, and
Magda Jehlarova building up a strong front line of defense. Two additional small runs from the Cougars capped off this set two victory at 25-12, with Pukis and Urias recording a block for the final point.
The tables turned a bit in set three, as Utah State held a small lead over the Cougars throughout the majority of this contest. A 5-0 run gave the Aggies their largest lead at 16-11, however WSU fought right back into this set, as kills from Bradley and Urias helped tie up the set at 19-19 overall. The remainder of this match featured numerous ties and lead changes, until Utah State managed to record two straight points and claim set three at 29-27.
The Cougars bounced right back in set four, creating a 5-0 run to begin the match as
Alexis Dirige totaled three service aces within that span of points. WSU rattled off an 8-2 run midway through the set to hold a 14-4 lead and establish control of the set by that point. Multiple kills from Bradley, and service ace from Pukis helped fuel the Cougar run, and regain the momentum of the match. The Aggies put together a few small runs for the reminder of the contest, but it was not enough as Washington State finished off USU with a kill from Jehlarova to claim the 3-1 victory.
STAT OF THE MATCH
Hannah Pukis turned in an impressive stat sheet against Utah State, totaling 42 assists, two services aces, six block assists, and three kills to help fuel WSU in a 3-1 win over the Aggies.
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INTO THE TWITTER-VERSE
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MATCH NOTES
- Pia Timmer continued to find offensive success with a career-high 17 kills during the match.
- Magda Jehlarova was a force in the middle, with nine total blocks in the contest, and posted eight kills as well.
- Alexis Dirige contributed 17 digs overall, along with a career-high four service aces.
- Charity Bradley and Jocelyn Urias each tallied nine kills in the match, and Jocelyn added six blocks as well.
- WSU's 14 service aces in a single match ties for second most all-time in Cougar volleyball history.
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