SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – (August 30, 2025) – Washington State opened strong and went back-and-forth all day with No. 24 Dayton (25-23, 24-26, 17-25, 16-25), ultimately falling 3-1 Saturday afternoon at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

The Cougars (1-1, 0-0 WCC) came out firing in the opening frame, hitting .318 as a team behind the steady setting of Italia Bernal and Livia Ward. Eliana Ti'a powered the attack with 13 kills on the night, including the set-clinching point in the first to put WSU up 1-0.

Set two proved to be the turning point. WSU battled point-for-point and held a late lead, highlighted by back-to-back kills from Melina Christodoulou and Lucie Blažková, but Dayton rallied to edge out a 26-24 win and even the match.

From there, the Flyers found momentum, but the Cougars continued to showcase individual standouts. Blažková was unstoppable, finishing with a team-best .571 hitting percentage on 12 kills and four blocks. Ti'a added 15 points overall, while Ward and Bernal combined for 34 assists to keep the Cougar offense balanced.

Defensively, WSU out-dug Dayton 75–67, with libero Tinons Munar Galmes and setter Bernal each reaching double figures in digs. The back row effort kept rallies alive throughout the afternoon.

Despite dropping the final two sets, the Cougars showed grit in long rallies and flashes of dominance at the net. The match gives WSU a 1-1 record on the young season, with plenty of positives to build on heading into the rest of the non-conference slate.

NOTES

• Lucie Blažkova has a hitting percentage of .658 after the first two matches of the season, hitting .765 on Friday and .571 today.
• Freshmen Eliana Ti'a and Livia Ward have made an early impression, averaging 3.00 kills per set and 4.43 assists per set, respectively.

UP NEXT
The Cougars will wrap up play at the Utah Classic on Sunday, facing host school No. 23 Utah at 11 a.m. PT.

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