No. 2 Cardinal Escape No. 7 Washington Huskies Volleyball Team In Four
Washington sees seven set points slip away in the fourth set in just its second defeat.
PALO ALTO, Calif. – Despite a flat-out heroic effort from senior Becky Perry, the seventh-ranked Husky volleyball squad dropped in four sets tonight at No. 2 Stanford. Washington had an incredible seven set points in the fourth set as they tried to force a deciding fifth, but every time Stanford countered and eventually pulled out the set, 32-30. The Cardinal improve to 15-1 on the year and 6-1 in Pac-10 play with the 24-26, 25-17, 25-16, 32-30 win while UW slips to 15-2, 4-2 in league. Perry finished with 24 kills, nine in the fourth set alone to power the Huskies.
Washington was outhit for the first time this season, with the Cardinal hitting .383 for the night and UW coming in at .268. Perry’s kill total was a season-high and most by a Husky this year. She hit .388 as well. Senior Jenna Hagglund had 54 assists and Jenna Orlandini posted a career-best 24 digs.
Hagglund started the match off with an ace for the Dawgs. Perry got UW’s kill of the night from the right side, but a 3-0 Stanford run got the Cardinal an early 6-3 lead. Carlson broke the run with her first kill off a nice dig from Perry. A 3-0 Husky run evened things back up at 11-11 with two Carlson kills and a Cardinal miscue. Rowland’s first kill of the night tied it again at 12-all, but Stanford went on a 3-0 run to take a 15-12 lead into the mandatory TV timeout. Out of the break, Washington roared back to tie it up on a kill down the line from Perry and their first block of the night provided by Rowland and Perry. The Huskies would take their first lead since the 2-1 mark at 20-19 as Muñoz found space in the back corner for her first kill. The teams traded sideouts, with UW taking a 22-21 lead on a back row kill by Perry. It was Stanford that made the first late charge, however, as UW needed timeout down 24-22 after misplaying a Cardinal serve for an ace. Rowland saved the first set point with a booming kill off the block and out, and then the Huskies sat the crowd back down with a kill down the line. Stanford needed timeout, but couldn’t quell the momentum, as Kelly Holford continued her strong serving. A Stanford attack error gave UW set point, and Perry rocketed her sixth kill of the set down untouched for the win. Carlson also added five kills in the set, as UW wound up outhitting Stanford .323-.250.
Stanford used several momentum-building digs early in the second set to get the crowd back into things and post a 3-0 lead. UW took timeout, and Dunaway ended the run with her third kill out of the break, but Stanford moved out to a 5-1 lead, and then extended out to a 12-6 lead. One point symbolized the early run, as a huge Kindra Carlson shot went off Stanford’s Cassidy Lichtman’s face but Hayley Spelman deflected the rebound and it dropped in for a surprising kill. UW battled right back with another big swing from Carlson, this one finding the floor. Rowland banged one down out of the middle, and followed that up with a block assisted by Hagglund. A Stanford attack error cut it to 14-11, but Stanford came back with a 3-0 run to force another UW timeout. The Huskies cut an eight-point deficit down to five at 21-16 after a 4-1 run, forcing a Stanford timeout, but the Cardinal pulled it out 25-17. UW made just three errors in the set but was held to .194 on offense as Stanford hit .432.
UW used a 4-1 run to counter an early 2-0 deficit and take a 4-3 lead in set three. Perry slammed down a Cardinal overpass off an Orlandini serve to grab the lead. The teams then traded every other point until a quick Cardinal run netted a 10-8 lead. Carlson responded with her eighth kill of the night, but a 3-0 Stanford run prompted UW to take its first timeout down 13-9. Out of the break, Rowland collected the point out of the middle, but Stanford bounced back with another 3-0 run to force a Husky timeout. Lauren Barfield checked in for the first time and posted her first kill and Perry added two more but UW was unable to string several points together and the Cardinal continued siding out at a high mark. A 3-0 run ended the set 25-16 in Stanford’s favor, as the Cardinal hit .444 with just one error in the set compared to .229 for the Dawgs.
The fourth set was one for the recordbooks, but the Huskies may not want to relive it any time soon. Both teams traded huge blows throughout, and Washington earned itself seven set points in a monumental battle. Amazingly, Stanford came up with the goods again and again, especially Klineman, who saved five set points all on her own. Perry was equally fiery in the fourth, dialing up an incredibly nine more kills to get UW chance after chance. But after Stanford evened the match up at 30-all, the Cardinal got two straight blocks to close out the epic 32-30 set. Washington hit .309 in the set but Stanford stayed over .400 once again, hitting .408.
The Huskies will have to shake off the tough loss as they have another battle on their hands Saturday, facing 6th-ranked Cal in Berkeley at 7 p.m.
