University of Washington Huskies Volleyball Team Looks To Rebound At Home
Fri., Oct. 22 • HEC EDMUNDSON PAVILION
#7 Washington vs. #25 Arizona • 7:00 p.m.
Live Chat, Live Video, and Gametracker available on GoHuskies.com
SAT., OCT. 23 • HEC EDMUNDSON PAVILION
#7 Washington vs. Arizona State • 7:00 p.m.
Live Chat, Live Video, and Gametracker available on GoHuskies.com
HUSKIES LOOK TO REBOUND AT HOME AGAINST ARIZONA SCHOOLS
Husky volleyball finishes up the first half of the conference slate at home this weekend, as No. 25 Arizona and Arizona State check in at Hec Edmundson Pavilion this Friday and Satuarday night. Washington (15-3, 4-3 Pac-10) is looking to come back strong after a tough weekend in the Bay Area which found UW’s normally stout defense tested as the Huskies were outhit for the first two times this season by No. 2 Stanford and No. 5 Cal.
The Huskies remain No. 7 in the national rankings and are tied for third in the Pac-10 but both Arizona teams are just one game back. Arizona State was the surprise team of the week last weekend as the Sun Devils beat USC and UCLA at home for the first time in 15 years. Arizona had two narrow defeats but is dangerous as well at No. 25 in the country. UW faces the Wildcats first on Friday night at 7 p.m. and then takes on the Sun Devils on Saturday, also at 7 p.m. Washington will be looking to avoid its first three-match losing streak in seven years when it faces the Wildcats.
WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!
Washington had its three-match win streak snapped in the Bay Area, as they lost a nailbiting four-setter at No. 2 Stanford, then lost in straight sets at California, the first straight-set loss for UW since October 31, 2008. Against Stanford, Washington won the first set, then had seven set points in the fourth set to take it to a fifth, but every time Stanford came through with a kill and eventually pulled out the set, 32-30, and the match. Becky Perry had 24 kills, her most since 2008, and hit .388, while Jenna Orlandini had a career-best 24 digs, but Stanford hit .383 for the match and over .400 for the final three sets. The next night, UW was right there in each of the first two sets at Cal, falling 25-22 in both, but again was outhit, .288-.195. Jenna Hagglund had a double-double with 38 assists and 11 digs. Perry and Carlson both went over the 1,000 career kills mark during the weekend, Perry at Stanford and Carlson at Cal.
HAGGLUND NAMED CLASS AWARD FINALIST
Jenna Hagglund has been named one of the 10 finalists for the inaugural Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, which honors seniors that have excelled in the areas of community, classroom, character and competition. Hagglund needs help from Husky fans to win the award, as a fan vote accounts for one third of the final decision. Fans should go to www.seniorCLASSaward.com to vote as often as once per day through Nov. 23. The West Chester, Ohio native was chosen from an initial list of 30 seniors. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. Hagglund is one of three Pac-10 student-athletes nominated, along with Alix Klineman of Stanford and Carli Lloyd of California.
ALL HOME MATCHES ARE ONDEMAND
If you miss any of Washington’s home matches this year, or just want to relive the action or a particular play, remember that every match is available to watch on Comcast OnDemand. The video is taken from the GoHuskies.com live stream with all the accoutrements of your typical television broadcast. To find the Huskies, start under “Get Local” or “Sports & Fitness” then “Local Sports” followed by “UW” and then “Volleyball.”
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Arizona enters the weekend ranked 25th with a 14-6 record overall, 3-4 in the Pac-10 just one game behind UW. The Wildcats are looking to bounce back after two near-miss upsets at home last weekend, as they lost to UCLA and USC both in fifth sets. Against the Trojans in their last match, senior Tiffany Owens led the way with 20 kills and junior middle Courtney Karst added 19. Owens also added a team-high 19 digs. Arizona has had road success already, as it won both matches on its Oregon trip earlier this month. Owens is averaging 4.04 kills per set to rank sixth in the conference, while hitting .297 for the year. Junior Cursty Jackson also ranks fifth in the Pac-10 with a .389 hitting percentage. Senior setter Paige Weber leads UA’s offense with 11.25 assists/set, fifth-best in the Pac-10 and Jackson also averages 1.16 blocks/set to rank fourth. Washington sports a 12-match winning streak against the Wildcats, dating back to the 2003 season. They were 3-0 winners over UA in Seattle last year, and have won seven straight in Seattle back to 2002. UW leads the all-time series, 27-24.
SCOUTING THE SUN DEVILS
Arizona State should be brimming with confidence after sweeping the L.A. schools at home last weekend for the first time in 15 years. ASU surprised the 5th-ranked Trojans, 3-1, last Friday and then backed it up with another 3-1 win over No. 10 UCLA on Saturday. The Sun Devils did most of their damage at the net. Against USC they outblocked the Trojans 15.5-3.0, with sophomore Erica Wilson posting eight roofs and junior Sonja Markanovich adding six more. ASU outblocked UCLA 13.5-7.0 as well, with Markanovich totaling nine blocks. Senior Sarah Reaves is ASU’s top outside threat, as she ranks fifth in the Pac-10 with 4.06 kills per set. Senior libero Sarah Johnson anchors the defense with 4.48 kills per set, ranking third in the Pac-10, and junior setter Cat Highmark is seventh with 10.65 assists. Washington leads the all-time series, 34-18, and has won 15 matches in a row against ASU and seven straight in Seattle.
HUSKIES IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Washington stayed put in both national polls this weekend despite last weekend’s tough losses. The Huskies remained No. 7 in the AVCA poll, matching their season-high. Volleyball Magazine has UW at No. 8 this week. Washington is one of five Pac-10 teams among the top-11 in the AVCA rankings. Stanford leads the way at No. 2 overall, just behind No. 1 Florida. Cal moved up to No. 5 this week, with UW at No. 7, USC at No. 8, and UCLA at No. 11. Oregon is 16th and Arizona moved up to 25th, making seven ranked Pac-10 squads. Arizona State is also receiving votes for the first time this week. The Huskies opened the season ranked in the Top-10 in both preseason polls. The AVCA coaches poll ranked the Dawgs eighth, the second-highest Pac-10 team behind No. 4 Stanford. Volleyball Magazine started the Huskies 10th. Seven Pac-10 teams were ranked in the AVCA preseason poll, easily the most of any conference, leading the four from the Big Ten.
NUMBER CRUNCHING
Washington, Stanford, and California have been rotating around at the top of the NCAA in attack percentage, with UW coming in No. 3 this week with a mark of .312. Junior Bianca Rowland ranks second in the conference and 10th nationally at .412. The Huskies are backing that up on defense, as they rank second in the Pac-10 in opponent hitting percentage, allowing just a .145 mark, having held five opponents under .100. Opponent hitting percentage has dictated wins and losses thus far for UW, as they are 15-0 when holding opponents under .200, but 0-3 when they allow the other team to hit above .250. Jenna Hagglund ranks fourth nationally in assists per set at 12.07, and the Huskies are the only team in the Pac-10 with two outside hitters ranked in the top-10 in kills, as Kindra Carlson is eighth and Becky Perry comes in ninth.
RECORDS WATCH
Setter Jenna Hagglund passed a major milestone in the first set of the year, as she surpassed 4,000 career assists. Hagglund now has 4,696 assists, second in UW history only to Courtney Thompson, the all-time Pac-10 leader. Hagglund now ranks 11th in Pac-10 history, and has a good shot at reaching 5,000 assists, something only eight Pac-10 setters have ever done. On the Bay Area road trip, seniors Becky Perry and Kindra Carlson both eclipsed the 1,000 career kills mark, with Perry hitting the plateau first on Friday against the Cardinal and Carlson getting her 1K kill the next night against the Bears. They are the 14th and 15th Huskies to surpass the mark. Perry now has 1,030 and Carlson has put down 1,009. Junior Bianca Rowland is also near the top of the Pac-10 in hitting at .412, and has moved her career mark up to .400, trailing Jessica Swarbrick’s career .407 mark.
REPORTING FOR DUTY
Four new faces have joined the Husky family this season, three freshmen and one transfer, and two more Dawgs have discarded the redshirts and moved from the bench to the starting lineup early on this season. Jenna Orlandini and Kylin Muñoz had to wait a long time for their collegiate debuts, each redshirting the 2009 season, but they put the extra time to good use, and both have earned starting roles thus far. Orlandini becomes just the third different Husky to start at libero since 2001, following All-Americans Candace Lee and Tamari Miyashiro. Orlandini has 20 or more digs in four matches this year, and ranks second in the Pac-10 with 4.48 digs/set. Muñoz had 17 kills against the Oregon schools in her first Pac-10 weekend, hitting .341 from the left side. Entering into the same waiting game as Orlandini and Muñoz is junior Amanda Gil, who joined UW from Pac-10 rival UCLA and must redshirt the season due to transfer rules. Gil was second in the NCAA and led the Pac-10 in blocks last year, and will make UW better every day in practice. Of the three freshmen, Gabbi Parker of Eugene, Oregon saw first playing time, having now started three matches, averaging 1.70 kills/set and hitting .266. Setter Anna Cesari of Woodway, Wash. and middle blocker Stephanie Stoll of Bellevue, Wash. project more long-term but have bright futures.
NEXT UP
Washington begins the second half of conference play with the annual trip to Los Angeles to face perennially high-ranked UCLA and USC. The Huskies visit Pauley Pavilion to face the Bruins on Oct. 29 at 7 p.m., then head across town to the Galen Center to take on USC on Saturday, Oct. 30, at 3 p.m. The UW-USC match will be taped by FSN.
