Pac-12 | Huskies picked to finish 3rd in preseason coaches’ volleyball poll

Krista Vansant and Kylin Muñoz both included on preseason All-Pac-12 team

Pac-12 | Amanda Gil: still waiting

UW star—and nation’s leading blocker—keeps busy while waiting for a final decision on her appeal for one more year.

NCAA | What we learned from Washington’s win over Hawai’i

#5 Washington 3, #8 Hawai’i 2 (25-20, 20-25, 25-19, 27-25, 15-11)

• next: #5 Washington @ #10 Nebraska | December 7 | 4PM (Pacific) | ESPN3

On the court, she’s her team’s shortest player.

Junior Jenna Orlandini may also be Washington’s most talkative player, even if fans could be forgiven for not hearing her above the din of an often frenetic Alaska Airlines crowd. 

Pac 12 | Coaches decide nation’s #1 blocker is not worthy of All-Conf honors

Washington’s Amanda Gil snubbed; Vansant, Muñoz and Strickland honored

Washington's Amanda Gil leads the nation in blocks per set
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann

Nearly 4,000 athletes are on the rosters of women’s Division 1 volleyball teams this season.

Of all those players, Washington’s Amanda Gil put up more blocks per set than any other: 1.79. She was, statistically, the most dominating blocker in the country.

VIDEO | Jim McLaughlin talks about why being aggressive matters.

QUICK SET with Coach Jim McLaughlin for the week of October 29, 2012

Pac-12 | What we learned from Washington’s loss to USC

#7 USC 3, #5 Washington 2 (23-25, 25-22, 22-25, 25-23, 15-10)

next: #5 Washington @ #6 UCLA | October 28 | 12PM | Pac12 Networks

The stat sheet is a mess.

Washington's Amanda Gil had 15 block assists
and 6 kills against USC
-courtesy Shutter Geeks Photograpahy

If you look only at USC’s side of the ledger, you might assume the Trojans won in a rout.

• USC, ranked #7, was 19-3 and playing at home.
• Freshman sensation Samantha Bricio had 30 kills, a career high.
• Sara Shaw (15) and Katie Fuller (12) combined for another 27 kills.
• USC had a whopping 107 digs, led by Natalie Hagglund’s 34, a career high.
• Shaw added 30 digs, a career high (previous: 19).
• USC held Washington star Krista Vansant to a .150 hitting average; for the season, she hits .329.
• Vansant was forced to take 80 swings, a career high (previous: 59).
• Washington’s usually-powerful right-side attack was shut down; Kylin Muñoz had 4 kills and 4 errors on 26 swings (.000), and Kaleigh Nelson had 8 kills, 3 errors on 29 attacks (.172).
• The Huskies had 14 service errors against just 3 aces. Vansant (4) and Muñoz (3) led the way in errors.

Add it up, and you have all the ingredients of a 3-0 USC win.

Except that didn’t happen. Washington won two of the first three sets, and was down just 21-22 in the second. The Huskies led the fourth set 20-18, and trailed in the fifth just 10-11.

Pac-12 | What we learned from Washington’s loss to Stanford

#2 Stanford 3, #5 Washington 2 (10-25, 28-26, 10-25, 26-24, 15-7)

next: California @ #5 Washington | October 20, 2012 | 1PM

[See also: UW falls to No. 2 Stanford]

Pac-12 | Pac-12 Power Rankings: Week Eight

Will first half of conference season end in a three-way tie?

NCAA | Washington Volleyball 5th in media poll, 8th in RPI

Five Pac-12 teams in top seven; most polls starting to track closely

Pac-12 | What we learned from Washington’s loss to Oregon

#5 Oregon 3, #2 Washington 1 (26-24, 20-25, 25-22, 25-17)

Next: #7 Stanford @ #2 Washington | October 19, 2012 | 6PM [EARLY START]

Pac-12 | What we learned from Washington’s win against Oregon State

#2 Washington 3, Oregon State 0 (25-14, 25-22, 25-13)

Next: #2 Washington @ #5 Oregon | October 13, 2012 | 7PM [no TV, free web stream at GoDucks.com]

VIDEO | “Perpetually dissatisfied” Jim McLaughlin talks about blocking

QUICK SET with Coach Jim McLaughlin for the week of October 8, 2012

NCAA | Washington among national elite in blocks, hits, serves

#2 Washington continues to climb in national stats rankings

Pac-12 | What we learned from Washington’s win over Utah

#2 Washington 3, Utah 1 (25-14, 25-16, 23-25, 25-20)

next: #2 Washington @ Colorado | Sunday, October 7 | 2:00PM (Pacific)

• Pac-12 Network (Chris Marlowe, Al Scates)

Pac-12 | Washington fans get first look at Pac-12 Network volleyball coverage

Huskies attract top-line broadcast teams for Rocky Mountain Matches

• Tonight | 7:30PM (Pacific) | #2 Washington @ Utah | Pac-12 Network (Paul Sunderland and Amy Gant)
• Sunday | 2:00PM (Pacific) | #2 Washington @ Colorado | Pac-12 Network (Chris Marlow and Al Scates)

VIDEO | Jim McLaughlin talks about serving with no setter

QUICK SET with Coach Jim McLaughlin for the week of October 1, 2012

Pac 12 | What we learned from Washington’s win against USC

#5 Washington 3, #3 USC 0 (25-23, 26-24, 25-21)

next: Friday, October 5 | 7:30PM | #5 Washington @ Utah

The match had barely begun. Washington’s Krista Vansant connected on a kill off a USC block attempt, giving the Huskies an early 3-2 lead in the first set.

As Washington rotated with the side-out, hitter Kaleigh Nelson replaced setter Katy Beals. But—for the first time this season—setter Jenni Nogueras did not sub for hitter Kylin Muñoz.

As Southern Cal would soon find out, that decision was one of the lessons learned from the Huskies’ 3-0 Trojan sweep.

Washington's Kylin Munoz steps to the service line
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann

Pac-12 | How Washington and UCLA compare

#4 UCLA @ #5 Washington | Wednesday, September 25 | 7pm

Last season, UCLA rolled into Seattle with a 9-1 record. The Bruins had scored impressive road wins against Long Beach State, Ohio State, Hawai’i, USC and Washington State. No one realized at the time that new coach Mike Sealy would lead UCLA to the 2011 National Title.

Washington, on the other hand, had looked terrible the night before, swept aside by USC to suffer its first loss of the season. In crunch time, Washington had been outscored a combined 11-1 at the end of each of the sets.

But, the next night against the Bruins, it was Washington that prevailed, in decisive fashion. As we reported at the time, the Huskies served big-time, passed nails and eliminated errors. Kylin Muñoz had one of the biggest matches of her career (13 kills, .429) and then-freshman Krista Vansant overcame early jitters to contribute ten big kills.

In particular, the first frame was a set to remember, as 74% of all points that set came from successful attacks (19 kills for Washington, 18 kills for UCLA). In the end, it was a 3-0 Washington sweep.

UCLA's Kelly Reeves (L) passes during UCLA's 2011 loss at Washington
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann

Pac-12 | What we learned from Washington’s win over Arizona

#5 Washington 3, Arizona 1 (25-16, 25-23, 18-25, 25-23)

Washington, Oregon and BYU are the only three remaining undefeated D1 teams

Playing time is earned, not presumed.

That’s Washington coach Jim McLaughlin’s mantra, and today it had to be ringing in Gabbi Parker’s and Cassie Strickland’s ears.

Parker, a junior, has been Washington’s primary OH2 this season. But this afternoon in Tucson, McLaughlin started Strickland, a freshman.

Cassie Strickland
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann

Both players are emotional, both on the court and off. Against the Wildcats, each rode that emotional roller-coaster throughout a tense Washington victory.

Strickland started the match with a service error, the first of many. Her powerful jump serve is an all-or-nothing weapon, and today she fired mostly blanks behind the service line.

Parker stayed on the bench until the Huskies had a comfortable 19-11 first set lead. Huskies hitters—including Strickland—had been on fire, committing just two errors and hitting .464 for the set (to just .103 for Arizona). Parker responded with two kills of her own, including the set winner.

In the second set, Strickland again got the nod, delivering two early kills. Parker finally entered with UW trailing 15-16, just before freshman setter Katy Beals served three consecutive aces to put the Huskies ahead 20-19. After a relative quiet first set, Kylin Muñoz erupted, connecting on  6 kills. Krista Vansant, who had three kills in the first set, also added six in the second.

After the break, Strickland was still the starter, recording a block, a kill and another service error, before giving way to Parker with Washington trailing 11-15. With Arizona’s Taylor Arizobal connecting at will, Parker’s one kill and one error contributed to Washington’s anemic .156 average for the set, and an 18-25 loss—only the second time the Huskies dropped a set all season.

Finally, McLaughlin started Parker in the fourth. And if McLaughlin had hoped to light a fire, it seemed to work.

Parker’s first kill made it 2-3, her second tied the score at 4. Back-to-back kills pulled the Huskies ahead 12-11. Her fifth kill made the score 20-18, then she teamed with Amanda Gil for a double block to make it 21-18.

Then the wheels almost fell off.

After two consecutive Parker attack errors, McLaughlin called time out. But back on the court, Parker made it three errors in a row.

McLaughlin did not, however, bring out the hook. Parker stayed in as the teams exchanged side outs until Washington held a 23-22 advantage. Only then did McLaughlin decide to give Strickland another chance to serve. The Huskies won the rally, but at match point: Strickland’s final service error, her fifth of the contest. It took Muñoz to send the Huskies home happy with the match winner, her 14^th kill (.370).

Vansant led all hitters with 15 kills on just 3 errors and 39 swings (.308); Kaleigh Nelson had another stellar match with 8 kills and 1 error on 21 attempts (.333). Despite her service errors (and one ace), Strickland had five kills and no errors.

As McLaughlin gets ready for UCLA this Wednesday and USC on Friday, you can be sure that every player will realize they have a shot at starting … or at sitting on the bench. Other coaches may prefer lineup stability, but McLaughlin believes competition brings out the best in his players, both as athletes and as students.

Pac-12 | How Washington matches up with Washington State

Tuesday, September 18 | 7pm: Washington State @ #5 Washington

TV: Pac-12 Network (Kelli Tennant and Krista Blunk)

Although Washington/Washington State qualifies as a rivalry, the Huskies have won 18 of the past 20 meetings, including the last 10 in Seattle. That said, the Cougars look dangerous.

WSU’s current nine-match win streak includes mostly middle-tier teams, but Wazzu has shown it can take care of business. In 14 of the 41 sets it’s played, the Cougars have held opponents under 15 points; five times they’ve kept it to 10 or less. At the D1 level, that’s enough to make you sit up straight and pay attention.

Washington State's Jaicee Harris (R)
-Washington State Sports Information

Both Washington and WSU excel at two important skills: serving and blocking. It makes sense, since great serves usually yield poor passes which, in turn, limit setters’ options and make it easier for blockers to commit. We predict that the serve/serve receive battle will determine the outcome of the match.

As a team, Washington is hitting .326, holding opponents to .148.

Washington State is hitting .271, holding opponents to a mere .092.