Huskies Look To Carry Momentum Into Big Ten Home Opener

THIS WEEK IN HUSKY VOLLEYBALL

Washington hosts Indiana, 7 pm
Alaska Airlines Arena
Live stream on B1G+ | Live Stats

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28

Washington hosts Illinois, 7 pm

Alaska Airlines Arena

Live stream on B1G+ | Live Stats

SEATTLE — Coming off its first unblemished non-conference run in eight years, the Huskies look to keep building momentum into their first Big Ten slate, which begins this Friday and Saturday at home in Seattle. Washington (10-0) hosts Indiana and Illinois on consecutive nights, both matches starting at 7 p.m. and streaming on Big Ten Plus.

These first conference foes start off a 20-match run through the toughest and deepest volleyball conference. Washington will only see most Big Ten teams once each, except for the three other conference newcomers Oregon, USC, and UCLA where the Huskies will have home-and-away series. Currently there are seven Big Ten teams in the AVCA Top-25, and UW is the first one out this week, coming in at 26th in the polling totals. Five of those seven ranked teams are in the top-11.

UW achieved its first unbeaten non-conference since 2016 with some trends it looks to continue in league play. The Huskies had a higher attack percentage than all 10 opponents, and held nine of 10 opponents under .200 attack percentages, with seven under .150. Through 10 matches, the Huskies are holding opponents to a .131 mark that ranks sixth in the NCAA. That’s compared to 2023, when UW’s opponents hit .244 for the season. Much of that is due to an uptick in blocking, where UW is now averaging 2.80 blocks per set as a team (17th nationally) compared to 1.78/set in 2023. Last season, UW had six matches with double-digit total blocks. This year the Dawgs have seven double-digit block efforts through just 10 matches.

Washington has some recent familiarity with these first two Big Ten rivals. The Huskies and Hoosiers met for the first time ever last year, and the Dawgs had a 3-0 win in three close sets on a neutral court. Washington and Illinois played each other five times over six years from 2017-22, with UW winning the final three of those, but the Fighting Illini won in Seattle in 2017 and 2018.

Indiana is 7-3, and ended non-conference splitting a home-and-home series with Notre Dame. Indiana lost to then-No. 1 Texas, and both UW and Indiana had 3-1 wins over UC…