No. 15 Huskies Face Mountain Tests

THIS WEEK IN HUSKY VOLLEYBALL

#15 Washington at Utah, 6:00 pm PT
Salt Lake City • Huntsman Center
Live broadcast on Pac-12 Networks Washington | Live Stats

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 16

#15 Washington at Colorado, 11:00 am PT

Boulder, Colo. • CU Events Center

Live broadcast on Pac-12 Networks Washington | Live Stats

SEATTLE — Winners of nine of its past ten, Washington Volleyball has a tough road trip on tap this week, making the trek to Utah and Colorado. It is the first time since before the pandemic that UW has been to Salt Lake City; conversely the 15th-ranked Huskies will play the Buffs in Boulder for the fourth-straight time in the series. Friday, Oct. 14, the Dawgs meet the Utes at the Huntsman Center at 6 p.m. Pacific. Then Washington goes to Colorado for a Sunday, Oct. 16, match starting at 11 a.m. PT. Both matches will be televised live on Pac-12 Networks Washington.

Washington pulled out a big victory last time out on Sunday, holding off a comeback attempt by 12th-ranked Oregon in five sets to remain in a tie for first in the Pac-12 after three weeks with a 5-1 record. Stanford and USC currently share the top spot, while Colorado is just one game back at 4-2, and Utah sits at 3-3. Washington’s RPI moved up to No. 16 this week. The Huskies now rank fourth in the NCAA in team attack percentage with a .311 mark. Marin Grote ranks second in the Pac-12 with a .438 attack percentage. Claire Hoffman is one of five Pac-12 players averaging over 4 kills per set (4.12) but is the only one over 4 kills per set, hitting above .280, with over 2.00 digs per set and averaging above 0.40 aces per set.

Utah is 10-7 overall and had some tough close calls in the preseason, losing five setters to Purdue and San Diego, teams currently ranked respectively No. 9 and No. 4. The Utes fell to Colorado, Stanford, and USC thus far in conference, beating Arizona, UCLA, and Cal. Utah is hitting .229 for the season, seventh in the Pac-12. The Utes average 1.41 aces per set, 2.21 blocks per set, and they lead the Pac-12 with 15.13 digs per set. Senior Madelyn Robinson is second in the Pac-12 with 4.31 kills per set, hitting .261. Libero Vanessa Ramirez leads the league with 4.32 digs per set. Middle Allie Olsen ranks seventh with a .356 attack percentage with 1.79 kills per set. Due to the pandemic, UW has not been to Salt Lake City since 2019. The past four matches in…