Washington's fifth set curse

12 matches into the 2011 season, the Washington Huskies have yet to play a 5-set match. Given the team’s record in 5-set contests under Coach Jim McLaughlin, UW should be in no hurry to add one to its results sheet.

McLaughlin has been Washington’s head coach since 2001. During that span, the Huskies have played 49 five-set matches, an average of about five per season. McLaughlin’s teams have won 84% (233 of 277) of matches lasting either 3 or 4 sets. But when they play 5, they win just 47% of the time (23 of 49.)

WASHINGTON’S 5-SET MATCHES IN THE JIM McLAUGHLIN ERA (as of 9/29/11)
YEAR	5-SET WINS	5-SET LOSS	SEASON LOSSES	FIRST 5-SET MATCH	5-SET VICTORIES	5-SET LOSSES
2001	1	3	16	2	+Denver+	UA, OSU, UCLA
2002	1	3	11	14	Cal	ASU, UA, Cal
2003	1	3	9	11	UA	UCLA, Cal
2004	5	2	3	10	USC, OSU, WSU, [Kan.], [UCLA}	Stanford, USC
2005	3	1	1	13	Cal, UA, Cal	UCLA
2006	1	2	5	2	UO	+Texas+, UCLA
2007	3	4	4	12	UO, Stanford, [Missouri]	Cal, Stanford, USC, [BYU]
2008	5	2	5	8	ASU, UA, UCLA, USC, UO	+Hawai’i+, [Neb.]
2009	1	4	6	16	USC	Stanford, Cal, USC, UO
2010	2	2	9	14	USC, UA	UCLA, USC
2011	0	0	1	12+
TOTAL	23	26	70
+Preseason+        [Postseason]

Some five-set facts during Jim McLaughlin’s UW tenure:

The biggest 5-set nemesis: UCLA

Since 2001, Washington has played UCLA 12 times (once in the post-season, once so far this season.) Seven of those matches have gone five; the Huskies have won just twice. In 2005, the National Champion Huskies lost only once all season: to UCLA at Pauley Pavilion; 13-15 in the deciding set. The following season in Westwood, UW won the first two sets, only to drop the final three, again 13-15 in the final frame. Back in 2003, the last set went to UCLA 24-22, the most points scored in a fifth set during the McLaughlin era.

Washington and USC have hooked up 11 times since 2001, and eight of those contests have gone the five-set distance. Each team has won four times. If UW has to play five, it might as well be against Arizona. The Huskies are 4-2 against the Wildcats in fivers; the most recent was last season (a UW win).

Ducks did damage

UW and Oregon went 5 sets four seasons in a row (2006-09), the Huskies winning the first three. But in 2009, Washington needed a win at home to capture the Pac-10 title on the final day of the regular season. The Ducks won in five, 13-15 in the deciding set.

2008: The infamous season

Washington lost a tough five-setter in Hawai’i during preseason, but swept two fivers in Arizona, then won three five-setters in a row two weeks later, against UCLA, USC and Oregon. In the 2008 Elite 8 in Hec Ed, UW led arch-nemesis Nebraska 9-3 in the fifth. The wheels fell off, and the Cornhuskers advanced to the final four with a 15-13 miracle. It was UW’s second 5-set playoff exit in a row, following 2007’s 13-15 home upset at the hands of BYU.

5th set? Get ahead quick.

This may be the most astonishing/revealing stat of all. When fifth sets are decided by two points (15-13, 16-14, etc.), UW’s record under Jim McLaughlin is an incredibly anemic 3-17. But when the fifth-set spread is three or more points, the Huskies are a much more robust 20-9.

The Huskies’ only loss this season was in straight sets (0-3) to USC. Ten victories have been straight set wins; the 11^th was 3-1 against Long Beach State. That means Washington has played just 37 sets this season, tied (with Colorado State) for the third-fewest sets played so far out of 320 Division 1 teams (trailing only Florida A&M [33] and Savannah State [36].

The latest Washington has ever had a match reach five sets was the 16^th match of the season in 2009. If the Huskies can avoid a five-setter against Oregon this weekend, there’s a good chance they’ll break that record before their trip to the Bay Area October 14.

FEWEST SETS PLAYED (as of 9/29/11)
RANK	SCHOOL	SETS		RANK	SCHOOL	SETS
PAC-12				OTHER TOP-15 SCHOOLS
t3	Washington	37		t6	Nebraska	39
t9	Oregon	40		t9	Texas	40
t9	USC	40		t26	Purdue	43
t15	Stanford	41		t45	Penn State	45
t32	Arizona	44		t45	Florida	45
t58	UCLA	47		t51	Minnesota	46
t58	California	47		t51	Iowa State	46
t58	Utah	47		t125	Illinois	51
t74	Colorado	48		t156	Northern Iowa	53
t108	Arizona State	50
t185	Washington St.	55
t205	Oregon State	56

320 NCAA D1 volleyball schools | source: NCAA.com