PULLMAN, Wash. — Pia Timmer led fourth-ranked Washington State volleyball (16-2, 6-1 Pac-12) with 10 kills, while her setter,
Argentina Ung finished with seven kills on seven swings to go along with 31 assists as the Cougars swept Utah (8-9, 3-4 Pac-12), 3-0, on Friday night in Bohler Gym.
Washington State won 9-of-12 (75 percent) sideout points in a dominant third set and finished the match with a .402 hitting percentage as a team in a 25-15, 25-21, 25-12, win over the Utes in front of another packed Bohler Gym, kicking off homecoming weekend on the WSU campus.
The Cougars had six total players finish with five or more kills in the match including Ung's perfect attacking night. The senior setter from Sonora, Mexico, also contributed a pair of aces, three digs, and one block assist, helping out from all areas of the court as usual.
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We try to [have a balanced attack] every single match because that keeps our opponent on their toes and not really knowing what to expect," said Head Coach Jen Greeny. "We don't want to be one-dimensional or two-dimensional. We would like everyone involved, for sure. It is funny that Argentina [Ung] gets seven of her own [kills]. But that is really what we want to do and that is in the passer's hands and in Argentina's hands as well," said Greeny.
The Utes were forced to handle an aggressive WSU serve all night, finishing with eight or more aces as a team for the third time in four matches. Washington State is also now a perfect 11-0 on the season when finishing with more aces than its opponent after doubling up the Utes on Friday night.
"The goal tonight was definitely to serve tough the whole match, to be aggressive, and then we always have to focus on our receive— that is the fundamental of the whole game of volleyball," said fifth-year senior outsdie hitter Pia Timmer. "If it is not there, then we usually struggle. At times (tonight) we did struggle a bit, but we definitely dug ourselves of those rough patches and made it work in the end. I think overall we did good (with our serve)," said Timmer.
The Cougars, ranked third in the Pac-12 and seventh in the entire nation with a .299 team hitting percentage going into the match, finished Friday's match with a .402 hitting percentage including a .542 (16-3-24) third-set that closed out another comfortable sweep, the seventh of the season inside Bohler Gym.
UP NEXT:
Washington State will host another afternoon contest in Bohler Gym to close out the week as it takes on Colorado this Sunday, Oct. 15, beginning at noon on Pac-12 Mountain.
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QUOTEABLE: Head Coach Jen Greeny
"[Setter] Argentina [Ung] played exceptionally well. We have been wanting her to be a little more offensive-minded and from the beginning, she was for sure. When you are the setter and you are hitting 1000 [percent], she will take that. The rest [of the team] will take that as well, it helps our hitting percentage."
On having a balanced attack in Friday's win
"We try to [have a balanced attack] every single match because that keeps our opponent on their toes and not really knowing what to expect. We don't want to be one-dimensional or two-dimensional. We would like everyone involved, for sure. It is funny that Argentina [Ung] gets seven of her own [kills]. But that is really what we want to do and that is in the passer's hands and in Argentina's hands as well. The hitters [also] have to take care of business."
QUOTEABLE: Middle Blocker Lana Radakovic
On adjustinig to a week of prep coming off of a loss for the first time since week one
"I think it absolutely caused a little bit of a shift in our mentality. I think to have a loss like that at home where we were so close, we were right there with them, and we had a lot of great volleyball come out of that game. However, there was just little things that we had to fix, so that was our primary focus in practice this week. I think that will translate into games and we are just looking forward to getting better. Even though we lost, and it sucks, I think we can always turn it into a positive."
QUOTEABLE: Outside Hitter Pia Timmer
On focusing on serving as a team going into the match
"The goal tonight was defiantly to serve tough the whole match, to be aggressive, and then we always have to focus on our receive because that is the fundament of the whole game. If it is not there, then we usually struggle. At times that we did struggle a bit, but we defiantly dug ourselves of that and made it work. I think we did good."
