UW Concludes Non-Con In San Luis Obispo

THIS WEEK IN HUSKY VOLLEYBALL

Washington at Cal Poly • 7:00 pm | Live Stats | ESPN+

FRIDAY, SEPT. 15

Washington vs. Pepperdine • 3:00 pm | Live Stats

SATURDAY, SEPT. 16

Washington vs. Saint Mary’s • 10:30 am | Live Stats

SEATTLE — Winners of seven-straight, the Husky volleyball team starts another long road stretch this week with the final three matches of non-conference play at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. The Huskies (7-1) will be at the Mott Athletics Center for three matches in three days against Cal Poly (Thursday @7pm), Pepperdine (Friday @3pm), and Saint Mary’s (Saturday @10:30am). The first match against the Mustangs will be the one match streamed online via ESPN+

Washington is coming off a successful home opening tournament, sweeping Memphis, then going five sets to hold off UNLV and also pulling away late in a hard-fought four set win over Florida International. Through three weeks, the Huskies have shown an ability to win in a variety of ways, with efficient offense or stingy defense, tough serving or a blocking game that is scoring at a much higher rate than a year ago.

Notable stat leaders include Audra Wilmes ranking fourth in the Pac-12 with 0.50 aces per set and Lauren Bays right behind her in fifth with 0.48 per set. Bays is currently second in the Pac-12 with 4.32 digs per set. The Huskies lead the conference overall with 2.61 aces per set and rank second in the NCAA. UW is also fourth in the Pac-12 in opponent attack percentage, holding teams to a .167 mark. 

Cal Poly and Pepperdine gave the Huskies two of their toughest non-conference matches last year in Seattle, as UW went five sets to beat the Mustangs and got upset by the Waves in four. The Huskies last faced Saint Mary’s in the 2018 NCAA tournament first round, getting a 3-1 win.

The Mustangs are 5-4, with a couple five set victories over Southern Mississippi and in their last match against VCU. The match with UW will be their home opener. Two Mustangs have split the lead offensively, as Lizzy Markovska has 105 kills and Tommi Stockham has 104. Stockham and Emme Bullis are both averaging 0.41 aces per set. Middle Amy Hiatt is rejecting 1.32 balls per set and Jolei Akima has a team-high 4.97 digs per set.

The Waves are 2-6 having played a tough schedule thus far, losing to ranked squads Oregon and…