Volleyball Voices

"Ugly Match" Haunts Washington State With Loss On Halloween Night To #18 Arizona

TUCSON, Ariz. -- The No. 21 Washington State volleyball team lost for the second straight night, falling 25-18, 20-25, 25-11, 25-21 to No. 18 Arizona Saturday night at the McKale Center. Both teams have identical records of 16-6 overall, 5-6 in Pacific-10 Conference play.

 

“This was an overall ugly, ugly match and I think (Arizona) Coach Rubio would agree,” Cougar Head Coach Andrew Palileo said. “Not a lot of clean plays and not a lot of good plays, just a lot of points scored off opponent errors. I would still have liked to win this match. This is something on the road you fight as a team, and we have to come out and play better. We didn’t do a good job of representing WSU or our work ethic and that we are ready for competition at this level. We are struggling with confidence right now and we have to go back to work and turn this thing around. Road trips can do this to you but right now I think it is more the level of competition we’re playing against. When we lose we don’t compete and that is what frustrates me.”

 

Tiffany Owens and Whitney Dosty each had 15 kills to lead Arizona. Paige Weber had 41 assists, 11 digs and two aces. Dosty also had 11 digs and Alanna Resch led the team with 12 digs. Jacy Norton led the match with six blocks in the match. The Wildcats hit .250 for the match.

 

WSU’s Cassie Robbins had 14 kills, the only Cougar in double-digits, and hit .500 in the four sets. Rachel Todorovich and Brittany Tillman each had eight kills with Todorovich leading the team with four blocks. Renee Bordelon had 37 assists and Oceana Bush had 15 digs. Annie Adams started in the front row for Jackie Albright and had three kills and two blocks. WSU hit .131 for the match.

 

Arizona broke an eight-all tie early in the first set with a seven to two run. The Wildcats established a seven-point lead and kept it, winning the opener 25-18. Tillman (.375) and Robbins (.800) each had four kills for the Cougs in this set while Owens had five kills for Arizona. The home Cats hit .387 in this set.

 

WSU laced four consecutive points but after trading scores, gave up four consecutive points to knot the second set at 12. The Cougars had an eight to four run to go ahead 20-16. After losing a point on a block, WSU tallied four straight to serve for set, 24-17. The Wildcats were not about to slink away, and stopped WSU on the next three serves but Albright moved to the front row for the first time in this match and put away an attack for the 25-20 Cougar win. Robbins’s seven kills were instrumental in the Cougs winning this set. WSU had a .275 hitting percentage while Arizona hit only .086 in this set.

 

The Cougars fell apart in the third set as the Wildcats took a 20-8 lead and converted to a 25-11 win and a two-one lead in the match. Arizona hit .308 in this set and WSU hit -.167.

 

WSU took the early 9-7 lead in the fourth set but fell behind 19-13. The Cougars battled back to close the gap to 22-19, and held off Arizona twice at match point. But it was not to be as the Wildcats held on to win 25-21. Arizona hit .250 in this set and WSU hit .152.

 

“We started with a different lineup to increase the energy and intensity with some changes and we started off pretty good but it came down to some of the changes the players weren’t used to it even though we practiced it,” Palileo said. “But it was good to see some of the different players and seeing what they can do in a Pac-10 level play.”

 

WSU is home next weekend to take on No. 14 California (13-8, 6-5) and No. 4 Stanford (15-6, 8-3) in Bohler Gym.

 

www.wsucougars.com

 

Oops! They Did It This Time At Stanford! Bruins Snap Losing Streak to Stanford, Banachowski Wins #1,100

Oct. 31, 2009 

STANFORD, Calif. - For the first time since 2000, the 11th-ranked Bruins were victorious against #4 Stanford, winning a five-set thriller on Saturday at Maples Pavilion to snap an 18-match losing streak to the Cardinal and give head coach Andy Banachowski his 1,100th career victory. Set scores were 25-18, 34-32, 19-25, 21-25, 15-11. 

The Bruins have won five straight and seven of their last eight to improve to 18-6 overall and 8-3 in Pac-10 play, while the Cardinal fall to 15-6 and 8-3 in league action. 

Freshman Bojana Todorovic tied career highs with 14 kills and five blocks, adding 10 digs for her third double-double of the season. Senior Kaitlin Sather recorded her team-high 12th double-double with 14 kills and 20 digs, while freshman Lauren Cook had 50 assists and a career-best 18 digs for her 11th double-double. Junior Dicey McGraw made it a quartet of double-doubles with 12 kills and 15 digs for her fifth of the year. Sophomore Amanda Gil was also in double figures in kills with 11, adding seven blocks, while sophomore Sara Sage posted seven kills and six roofs. Sophomore Lainey Gera tied a personal best with 28 digs. The Bruins hit .204 as a team with 13 blocks. 

The Bruins trailed for most of the opener, but made an improbable 11-0 run to end the set and win the first. With UCLA leading 6-4 early on, the Cardinal went on runs of 3-0 and 8-1 to take a five-point advantage at 12-7. After the teams sided out the next eight points, the Bruins began to make their run. Trailing 16-11, a Sather kill and a combo block by Sage and Todorovic cut the Bruins’ deficit to three. Stanford came back with two of the next three to go up 18-14, but it would be the last points the Cardinal would score in the first set. 

The 11-0 run began with a Stanford service error, which was followed by a kill from freshman Rachael Kidder and back-to-back spikes by Todorovic to even the score at 18. Kidder then teamed up with Gil on a roof and another Kidder kill gave the Bruins a 20-18 edge, forcing Stanford into its second timeout in three points. Three of the next four UCLA points came on Cardinal attack errors, giving the visitors set point at 24-18. The Bruins won it on a combo roof by Gil and Todorovic to take it 25-18. Kidder, who was in for blocking purposes during the final run, had a hand in four of the points on three kills and a block. Todorovic also had three kills in the first, as the Bruins out-hit the Cardinal .268 to .133. 

To say the second set was a close one would be an understatement. The game featured 25 ties and 10 lead changes, as both teams had five set points and never had more than a two-point advantage. Tied at eight, the Bruins scored back-to-back points on a Gil kill and a Stanford attack error to go up by two for the first time. UCLA still led 11-9, but a 4-0 Stanford run gave the home squad its first two-point advantage at 13-11. 

Stanford maintained its lead until at 20-18, UCLA scored three straight on back-to-back kills by McGraw and a Sather/Sage combo block to go up 21-20. The Cardinal rebounded with a 4-2 run to earn their first set point at 24-23, but consecutive kills by Todorovic and Sather made it 25-24 to give the Bruins their first set point. UCLA would get two more set points at 26-25 and 27-26, but the Cardinal denied their guests both times and eventually got another set point at 28-27. 

The Cardinal had chances again at 29-28, 30-29 and 31-30, but a Todorovic kill evened the set at 31 and a Stanford attack error gave the Bruins their fourth set point at 32-31. The Cardinal sided out to knot it at 32, but the Bruins finally put Stanford away, receiving a kill by Todorovic and a combo block by Gil and Todorovic to take the second 34-32. Todorovic had seven kills in the set to lead the Bruins, McGraw and Sather had four apiece and Gil posted three kills. The Cardinal out-hit the Bruins .227 to .219. 

It was all Stanford in the third after UCLA took an early 2-1 lead, as five straight by the Cardinal gave the home squad a 6-2 advantage. Stanford’s biggest lead of the set was seven on several occasions. Down 21-14, the Bruins netted four in a row on a kill by freshman Mari Hole, a Gil/McGraw block, a Stanford attack error and an ace by Hole to make it 21-18. But the Cardinal would not allow another UCLA comeback, scoring four of the final five to win it 25-19. McGraw led the Bruins in the third with three kills. Stanford out-hit UCLA .276 to .108. 

The fourth set was a tale of two halves, as the Bruins led early, but the Cardinal came on strong after the midway point to force a fifth set. Stanford was up 3-1 early on, but a mini 3-0 UCLA run on back-to-back kills by Hole and McGraw and a Hole ace made it 4-3. Tied at five, the Bruins netted three straight on a Sage/Cook block, a McGraw kill and a Cook ace to go up 8-5. UCLA still led 10-7, but Stanford then began its run to take the fourth set. 

Trailing 12-11, the Cardinal posted five of the next six points to take a 16-13 advantage. Stanford’s largest lead was five on multiple occasions, as the home team went on to win the set 25-21. Sather paced the Bruins with three kills. The Cardinal out-hit the Bruins .278 to .139. 

It was all Stanford to start the deciding set, as the home squad jumped out to an early 8-4 lead. The changeover and media timeout came at a great time for the Bruins, as they scored the next three points on a kill by Sather, a Stanford ball handling error and a spike by Todorovic to get UCLA to within one at 8-7 and force Stanford into a timeout. The Cardinal sided out the next point, but another 3-0 run on a Stanford service error and consecutive kills by Gera and Sather gave the Bruins their first lead of the set at 10-9, as the home team took its second timeout. 

Out of the break, the Cardinal sided out to tie it at 10, but a 4-0 Bruins’ run brought them to the brink of victory. The streak began with consecutive kills by Gil, Todorovic and Kidder, with a Gil/Kidder combo block making it 14-10. The Cardinal staved off the first match point, but a kill by Gil on UCLA’s second try gave the Bruins a 15-11 win. Sather had three kills to lead the Bruins in the fifth, as UCLA out-hit Stanford .286 to .192. 

Alix Klineman (20), Cassidy Lichtman (18) and Janet Okogbaa (17) all had double figures in kills for Stanford, which hit .218 as a team. 

The Bruins face rival USC at Galen Center next Friday at 7 p.m. Gametracker and live audio will be available on UCLABruins.com. 

--- UCLABRUINS.COM --- 

How The Ohio State Buckeyes Toppled Seventh Ranked Minnesota, 3-0

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio State (18-7 overall, 6-6 Big Ten) women's volleyball team, with four players scoring double-figure points, upset seventh-ranked Minnesota (17-7, 8-4), 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-15) Saturday night in St. John Arena. The Buckeye victory is OSU's first win over a ranked team in 19 tries under head coach Geoff Carlston. Buckeye Katie Dull posted a team-high 12.5 points (10 kill, two ace serves and one assist block) with Kelli Barhorstcontributing 11 (nine kills, one ace serve and two assist blocks), Emily Danks 10.5 (nine kills, one ace serve and one assist block) and Anna Szerszen 10 (eight kills, one ace serve and two assist blocks). Lauren Gibbemeyer posted a match-high 13.5 points (12 kills, one solo block and one assist block) for Minnesota with Ariana Filho adding six points (six kills).

Ohio State opened the first set by scoring the first 10 points of the match. The run began with an Ashley Hughes kill, a Minnesota error, two kills from Barhorst and a solo block by Hughes for a 5-0 lead. Two kills each from Hughes and Dull and a Gopher error made it 10-0. Two Buckeye errors and one from Minnesota moved the score to 11-2. Three kills from Gibbemeyer, two Buckeye errors, a Tabitha Love solo block and one from Gibbemeyer cut the OSU lead to 11-9. A Barhorst kill and a Danks-Barhorst block made it 13-9, OSU. At 23-19, an ace serve from Amanda Peterson made it 24-19 and set point for Ohio State. A Buckeye error stopped the point at 24-20. Ohio State won the set, 25-20 with a kill from Danks to take a 1-0 lead in the match. The Buckeyes hit .130 for the set to .114 for Minnesota.

Tied at two in set two, kills from Barhorst and Danks gave OSU a 4-2 lead. A kill from Gibbemeyer cut the lead to one at 4-3. A Minnesota error and back-to-back kills from Danks gave the Buckeyes a 7-3 lead. At 17-13, a Dozier-Anna Szerszen block, a Szerszen kill and two Minnesota errors gave OSU a 21-13 lead. A Minnesota kill from Katherine Harms and an OSU error made it 21-15. A Kristen Dozier kill and an ace serve from Danks put the lead at eight, 23-15. A Hailey Cowles kill and a Buckeye error reduced the lead to six at 23-17. The Buckeyes, with a Szerszen kill, reached set point at 24-17. Minnesota kills from Megan Wilson and Gibbemeyer stopped two set points to make the score, 24-19. The Buckeyes, off a Minnesota error, won the set, 25-19, to take a 2-0 lead in the match. Ohio State hit .516 for the set to .314 for the Golden Gophers.

Set three saw a four-four tie broken with a five-point Buckeye run to open a 9-4 lead. Kills from Szerszen and Danks and an ace serve from Barhorst made it 7-4 as Minnesota called time out. OSU made it 9-4 with back-to-back kills from Danks. The Gophers responded with kills from Filho and Tabitha Love to make it 9-6. Szerszen, with two kills, made it 11-6. Two OSU errors, one from Minnesota and a Szerszen kill moved the score to 13-8. A Minnesota error, a solo block from Hughes and a Dull-Barhorst block gave Ohio State a 16-8 lead. Two kills from Gibbemeyer and two Minnesota errors moved the score to 18-10, OSU. Two ace serves from Dull and a Minnesota error opened a 21-10 Buckeye lead. A Gibbemeyer-Taylor Carico block and a kill from Barhorst made it 22-11. A Minnesota error and a Filho kill moved the score to 23-12. A Buckeye error made it 23-13. Ohio State reached match point with a kill from Danks at 24-13. Two OSU errors stopped match points to cut the lead to 24-15. The Buckeyes, with a Dozier-Szerszen block, won the set, 25-15 to win the match, 3-0. Ohio State hit .320 for the set to .042 for Minnesota.

Ohio State hit .294 for the match to .170 for Minnesota. The Buckeyes had a 45-33 margin in kills and a six-to-two edge in ace serves. OSU's Dull posted a match-high two aces in the match. Minnesota gave up seven service errors to four for OSU. Defensively, Ohio State had a 44-39 advantage in digs. Dull posted a match-high 13 for the Buckeyes for a double-double (kills-digs). At the net, Ohio State had a six to three margin in team blocks. Five players shared match-high honors with two blocks each. OSU's Barhorst, Dozier and Szerszen had two assist blocks each while Hughes' posted two solo blocks. For Minnesota, Gibbemeyer recorded a solo and an assist block in the match. At setter, OSU's Hughes posted a match-high 37 assists while Carico recorded 31 for Minnesota.

Ohio State returns to the road next week to play at Iowa, Friday, Nov. 6 and at Wisconsin, Saturday, Nov. 7.

### OhioStateBuckeyes.com ###

 

What Happened Last Night? No. 21 Washington State Volleyball Downed by Arizona State, 3-1

What Happened Last Night? No. 21 Washington State Volleyball Downed by Arizona State, 3-1

TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Arizona State volleyball team stopped an eight-match losing streak with a 3-1 upset of No. 21 Washington State Friday night at the Wells Fargo Arena. ASU moved to 12-10 overall, 2-8 in Pacific-10 Conference action with the 25-22, 25-18, 15-25, 25-22 win over WSU (16-5, 5-5).

 

ASU’s Sarah Reaves led the match with 19 kills and Erica Wilson had seven blocks. Sofie Schlagintweit contributed 15 kills and four blocks while Cat Highmark added 56 assists and 10 digs. Sarah Johnson and Ashley Kelty combined for 29 digs.

 

Meagan Ganzer led the Cougars with 14 kills while Jackie Albright and Brittany Tillman combined for another 21 kills. Albright had a double-double with 11 digs and Tillman added four blocks. Cassie Robbins led the Cougs with six blocks. Renee Bordelon had 43 digs and Oceana Bush had 15 digs.

 

“Arizona State did a good job and we didn’t execute well. I didn’t think our leadership played well tonight from the standpoint of wanting to be in the big points and wanting to be involved when the match was on the line,” WSU Head Coach Andrew Palileo said. “That’s what it came down to. We had two sets where we were ahead late in the set and we had two older kids deferring the passes to younger kids. That just can’t happen. As a competitor, we want to be in those moments and we did not want to be in those moments tonight.”

 

The opening set was tied 19 times with 10 lead changes bur ASU used two four-point runs late in the set to take a 25-22 win. Reaves had four kills in this set but the Sun Devils spread the sets around among four players and tallied five blocks to WSU’s two. Robbins had four kills (.429) for the Cougars.

 

The second set was in the hands of the home team Devils after extending a 10-8 lead to 18-9. The Cougars struggled offensively and hit .079 to ASU’s .314. Reaves landed six more attacks in this set as Arizona State took the 25-18 set win and a two-zero.

 

WSU battled back to stay alive, taking an early third set lead and playing tough behind Ganzer’s attacks. Tillman landing three big points at the end of the set and the Cougars grabbed the 25-15 win. WSU hit .324 and held ASU to a .000 hitting percentage with 12 errors in the set. Cougars landed five blocks in this set while Reaves added five more kills.

 

The Cougars scored four straight in the fourth set to go ahead 18-15 and advanced their lead to 21-19 but ASU steadily climbed back into the contest scoring six of the final seven points. Arizona State hit .353 in the 25-22 win, while WSU hit .314.

 

“We have the opportunity to come out and compete tomorrow night,” Palileo said. “When we have had the opportunity to come out and compete on the road we haven’t done it except at Oregon State. The coaching staff has to find a way to get the players motivated but at some point it will have to come from the leadership of team and taking advantage of the situation we are in. We have everything to gain and nothing to lose right now.”

 

WSU takes on No. 18 Arizona (15-6, 4-6) Saturday, Oct. 31 at the McKale Center in Tucson.

 

www.wsucougars.com