SEATTLE – Down a pair of starters is not the idea way to face the No. 3 team in the country. But big nights from outside hitters Madi Endsley and Kierstyn Barton helped the Husky volleyball team hang with the Cardinal tonight for four entertaining sets, with 3,740 fans at Alaska Airlines Arena hoping for the upset.
Ultimately Stanford closed out a 25-15, 21-25, 25-19, 25-21 win to go to 5-0 in Pac-12 play, while the Huskies dropped to 1-4, with three of those losses against current top-five teams. Tonight the Dawgs had to scrap without their anchor on defense, libero Lauren Bays, and their leading attacker for the year, May Pertofsky, both out with injuries.
“When we first started, Stanford came out serving tough, but I was proud of their response in that second set and beyond,” said Head Coach Leslie Gabriel. “They came out and fought and gave them a run for their money. I told the team we’re getting better. We’re just a couple of plays away from being able to finish some of these matches. It’s just about consistency. But I’m proud of the effort from everyone out there.
It was Washington’s first Pac-12 home match after spending the past three weeks on the road, and the fans did their part. Head Coach Leslie Gabriel said, “It was loud in here, they kept the energy up. It was fun being back home with our fans.”
The Huskies are lookin’ good in set two ?? #NCAAWVB x ?? Pac-12…
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