SEATTLE – “It was a great team win,” said first-year Head Coach Leslie Gabriel. “There were contributions from everyone throughout the match.” Washington Volleyball needed all of it to hold off UNLV in a five-set roller coaster of a match that gave more Husky thrills than spills at Alaska Airlines Arena. The Rebels staved off four match points in the fourth set to force a fifth, but UW answered back for the 25-22, 19-25, 25-10, 24-26, 15-12 victory.
Washington had a season-high 15 aces, with six coming from libero Lauren Bays, including the final one on match point in the fifth to end it. The match was full of runs from both teams, with UW opening up a big lead in the first set and holding off a late UNLV rally. An even bigger Husky run in the third set prevented any Rebel counter, but then UNLV stunned the 1,799 fans with a 6-0 run at the end of set four when the Huskies led 24-20 on the verge of the win.
Set five was the match again in miniature, as UW raced out to a 9-3 lead, only to have UNLV claw back within a point at 13-12. After a Husky timeout, senior May Pertofsky hammered down her team-high 17th kill to reach match point, and then Bays’ serve was too tough for UNLV to handle and the newly-added purple lights flashed through the arena.
SERVE IT OUT, LAUREN BAYS!! Her SIXTH ace of the night ends it!
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