PULLMAN, Wash. – The seventh-ranked Cougars, ranked higher than the Husky volleyball team in a match for the first time since 2002, showed their top-10 caliber as they swept the Huskies in Bohler Gym by a final of 25-17, 25-19, 25-15. Washington (9-3, 0-1 Pac-12) dropped its conference opener in its first match against a ranked squad this year.
Slow starts hurt the Huskies in every set. They would fight back in all three, but couldn’t pressure WSU down the stretch.
Down 5-16 in the first set, the Huskies outscored WSU 12-9 from that point but the gap was too great. In set two UW trailed 2-8, but pulled back within three at 16-19 and then crept within two at 19-21 but WSU scored the final four points to quash the comeback. Again in the third the Huskies were down five points early at 2-7, but clawed back into a tie at 11-11. But WSU got the Huskies off their game again and closed with a big run to finish the victory.
Washington State (11-1, 1-0 Pac-12) hit .385 for the match and never under .370 in any set. The Huskies hit .170. The teams each served up five aces. WSU had 6.0 blocks while the Huskies had only 2.0, and UW was out-dug by a 33-21 margin.
Senior May Pertofsky was the big offensive weapon for the Dawgs as she had a dozen kills, hitting .333. Freshman Kierstyn Barton had six kills on a .273 attack percentage, and Audra Wilmes had four kills and two aces.
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