Timmer tallies season-high 22 kills on senior night, Cougs drop wild five-set thriller in Bohler

PULLMAN, Wash. — With her family on the Palouse all the way from Germany for Senior Night, Pia Timmer registered a season-high 22 kills as No. 9 Washington State (19-7, 9-6 Pac-12) fell 3-2 (25-20, 24-26, 25-18, 25-27, 17-15) to UCLA (15-10, 7-8 Pac-12) Friday night in Bohler Gym.

Several other Cougar seniors that were honored prior to the start of Friday’s match finished with solid stat lines on the night as Magda Jehlárová tallied nine kills with six total blocks including a pair of solo blocks.  Julia Norville tallied three aces which included one to clinch the fourth set for the Cougs, and another that helped WSU jump out to an early advantage in the fifth. Lana Radakovic did not appear in the first two sets, but came on strong towards the end of the match, finishing with two kills and four total blocks to help keep Washington State in the match late.

Libero Karly Basham finished with 15 digs on the night, her highest total since grabbing 15 digs in a four-set win at UCLA back in late October.  Argentina Ung finished only one dig shy of her season high with 16 on the night to go along with 47 assists.

Following an emotional pregame Senior Night ceremony, UCLA jumped in front early with a 9-2 run to begin the match.  Washington State later went on a 5-0 run to get back within three, and were within two at 22-20, before the Bruins closed on a 3-0 run to steal the first.

Iman Isanovic had a strong…