Vansant leads Washington to NCAA first round victory

The Washington Huskies, behind freshman outside hitter Krista Vansant's 25 kills and .440 hitting percentage, defeated Western Michigan this afternoon 3-1 (25-13, 20-25, 25-22, 25-16) in Minneapolis.

Western Michigan, from the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC), played inspired defense in the second and third sets, allowing its freshman setter Terin Norris to deliver a stream of sets to the right side. Although the Huskies outblocked the Broncos, they had few answers for right side attacks.

In the fourth set, Washington setter Jenni Nogueras fed senior middle blocker Bianca Rowland, who responded during one 8-serve stretch with 5 kills and a block. Rowland finished with 12 kills in the match. Gabbi Parker and Kylin Munoz added 10 kills each. Washington outhit Western Michigan .362-.250.

WASHINGTON/WESTERN MICHIGAN BOX SCORE

Washington now awaits the winner of tonight's Minnesota/North Dakota State match. The Huskies' second round match will be Saturday night at 6:30pm (Pacific).

Summer Ross (99) Krista Vansant and Bianca Rowland (15) celebrate
earlier this season in a match at Alaska Airlines Arena
[Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann]

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Arizona became the third Pac-12 team to be eliminated in the first round, losing 1-3 to Michigan State (25-18, 17-25, 20-25, 21-25.) California and Oregon both lost Thursday night. USC, UCLA and Stanford all have first round matches later tonight.