National Team | Courtney Thompson adds another volleyball medal to her collection

Updates on former Washington stars Thompson, Miyashiro, Hagglund, Sanders, Barfield, Vansant, Nelson and Perry 

College | Colorado fires head volleyball coach Liz Kritza

One of Pac-12's few female head coaches had success against Huskies 

College | Washington volleyball’s Courtney Schwan continues to impress

Huskies remain undefeated, but still searching for “go-to two”

• #5 Washington def. Colorado 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-22)
• Fri | 8:00PM | #5 Washington @ #11 UCLA
• Sun | 1:00PM | #5 Washington @ #2 USC

Washington's Crissy Jones goes up for a block during a 3-0 victory over Colorado
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann

It takes at least two.

In modern college volleyball, teams that manage to reach the third round (Sweet 16) of the NCAA tournament almost always have at least two go-to pin hitters, on the outside and/or opposite.

For the past couple of seasons, Washington’s go-to-two were now-graduated All-Americans Krista Vansant and Kaleigh Nelson. One of the biggest questions for 2015 was whether anyone could fill their substantial shoes.

After two vastly different matches during the first week of conference play—a 3-2 barnburning win over Washington State in Pullman, and a powerful 3-0 sweep at home against Colorado—the Huskies can answer half their hitting question.

Sophomore Courtney Schwan has firmly established herself as a smart and intimidating outside hitter. Attacking with controlled fury, she rarely gets blocked and uses the entire court, making her one of the nation’s top-two outside hitters in the nation when measured by hitting percentage (Pittsburgh’s Amanda Orchard is the other.) In the Pac-12, USC’s Samantha Bricio is the league’s runaway top player so far, but Schwan is in the conversation for second-best outside hitter in the conference.

Washington's Cassie Strickland (L) and Courtney Schwan recover after a long rally against Colorado
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann

But who is the Huskies’ number two?

Sophomore outside hitter Tia Scambray is a solid player, but not yet a break-out threat. She’s a good server, a consistent passer and a strong attacker, but at barely six feet tall, she is short for the Pac-12, and commits plenty of hitting errors, many of them blocks. Against Colorado, Scambray had just 5 kills and 4 errors on 17 swings (.059), and is hitting just .245 for the season, mostly against lesser opposition.

That said, Scambray was the OH2 last season, when UW went 31-3. Washington’s second-best pin hitter last year, Kaleigh Nelson, played opposite. And many top teams find their second go-to on the right side.

Sophomore Crissy Jones has all the tools to be the next Nelson, but her play has been inconsistent. Against Colorado, Jones had 5 kills and 0 errors on 10 swings (.500), a marked improvement from her 8-6-24 (.083) line Thursday night in Pullman.

Sophomore Carly DeHoog was Jones’ mirror opposite over the weekend, with a great game against WSU (8-0-19-.421) and a so-so match against the Buffaloes (6-3-15-.200). Washington coach Keegan Cook gave sophomore setter Bailey Tanner a few right-side rotations on the front row, something he says he might continue to do if Jones and DeHoog need extra incentive to up their production.

If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll notice that Schwan, Scambray, Jones, DeHoog and Tanner share one important characteristic—they’re all sophomores. As each of them continues to grow, Washington’s four starting seniors—setter Katy Beals, libero Cassie Strickland, middle Melanie Wade and middle Lianna Sybeldon—are each at the top of their games.

Beals appears to have fully recovered from the knee injury that forced her to miss last season’s tournament. Strickland, quite simply, remains the Pac-12’s best libero, and may be tops in the nation. Against Colorado, Strickland had so many spectacular digs in one stretch that the crowd of 2,938 stood and chanted her name. Her powerful jump serve—good for 3 aces and 2 serving errors last night—is rivaled only by USC’s Bricio for its ability to rattle passers.

No D1 volleyball team in the land has a pair of middles like Wade and Sybeldon. Both are among the nation’s elite in hitting percentage and in blocks per set. Each is in peak physical condition—Sybeldon improved her strength and absolutely crushes the quick set while Wade is noticeably faster and more confident.

Great middle blockers, however, are only as good as their passers. Unless outside hitters can consistently deliver great passes to setters, middles won’t be an option. As the Pac-12 schedule ramps up considerably this week with matches against UCLA and unbeaten USC, keep an eye on the passing, especially when Bricio is serving.

And if it takes two to reach the Sweet 16, what does it take to win it all? Usually three go-to pin hitters. That’s been Penn State’s not-so-secret key the past decade, and that’s what teams like Washington ultimately hope to achieve.

NOTES:

Members of Washington's 2005 National Champion Team cheer on
the current team against Colorado. Top: Courtney Thompson, Tama Miyashiro
Bottom: Jessica Veris, Carolyn Farny
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann

• In Palo Alto last night, USC and Stanford were tied at 12 in the fifth set. The Trojans had blown a 6-1 early final set advantage, but knew they had Bricio on their side. Several long rallies later, Bricio hammered home the final three USC points for a crucial 3-2 win (26-24, 19-25, 20-25, 25-17, 15-13). Bricio finished with 27 kills and 5 aces. It was the only meeting between the two teams this season, yet it drew just 3,492 fans to Maples Pavilion. By comparison, Washington packed 8,646 into Alaska Airlines Arena last season when #5 Washington beat previously-undefeated #1 Stanford 3-1.
• Cassie Strickland wore strips of tape on her injured hamstring last night, but appeared to play with her regular abandon. The injury—sustained the previous week in Oklahoma—almost caused her to be scratched from Thursday’s lineup against Washington State.
• At halftime of the Colorado match, the crowd acknowledged five members of the 2005 National Championship team: Carolyn Farny, Darla (Myhre) Van Winkle, Jessica Veris, Tama Miyashiro and Courtney Thompson. Among those who couldn’t attend because they are currently assistant coaches at other universities are Sanja Tomasevic (Miami), Stevie Mussie (Penn State) and Danka Danicic (UT-San Antonio). Add Brie (Haggerty) Brenner, head coach at Defiance (OH) College. [Thanks to alert reader David Maag].
• Former Washington All-American Krista Vansant is on US National Team roster this week as the team attempts to qualify for an eventual 2016 Olympic berth. Yesterday, Vansant had two kills in limited action as USA rolled over Costa Rica 3-0. USA faces Canada later today and Cuba tomorrow afternoon. The top four teams at this   tournament in Mexico meet in January to try to grab the North American slot for the Rio Summer Olympic Games.
• Five Pac-12 teams are among the top 11 in this week's AVCA Coaches' poll: #2 USC, #5 Washington, #6 Arizona State, #8 Stanford, and #11 UCLA. Arizona is #14 and Oregon fell to #22.

College | Washington Volleyball looks strong, even if schedule is not

Huskies begin Pac-10 play knowing they can dominate lower-rated opponents

• Tonight | 7PM | Washington @ Washington State
• Sunday | 6PM | Colorado @ Washington

[Report corrected 5:03PM 9.24.15]

Washington opens the Pac-12 season  tonight in Pullman
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann

On paper, the Washington Huskies look pretty powerful. Under first-year coach Keegan Cook, UW went 10-0 during nonconference play, dropping just one set (at Oklahoma) in four weeks of competition. Their .381 hitting percentage is the best—by far—in the nation (Penn State is second at .336.) They rank 7^th in kills per set (14.65), 8^th in assists per set (13.61), and 8^th in blocks per set (3.00).

And, oh yeah, they've held their opponents to a .099 hitting percentage, third-best in the nation.

Unfortunately, none of those wins have come against a ranked team. The collective record of Washington's 9 opponents (they played Cal State Northridge twice) is 54-54. The Huskies are ranked #6 by AVCA coaches, but real tests are still to come.

Tonight, the Huskies are in Pullman to face WSU. The Cougars lost their nonconference opener to Radford, but have not dropped a set since. Like Washington, however, none of Wazzu’s opponents have cracked the rankings, and none of WSU’s matches were against teams from any of the five power conferences (Pac-12, Big Ten, Big 12, ACC and SEC.) [9.24.15 | 5:03PM | CORRECTION: Texas Tech, whom Washington State defeated 3-0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-18) on September 18 in Lubbock, is a member of the Big 12.]

Washington State’s big weapon is Kyra Holt, who ranks 13^th in the nation with 4.55 kills per set. Holt played poorly in WSU’s Seattle match last season, and did not play in the Pullman rematch. That latter contest will be on the mind of UW senior setter Katy Beals, whose season ended with an injury on ancient Bohler Gym’s floor.

On Sunday, the Huskies open their home conference season at 6PM, roughly 90 minutes after the conclusion of the Seahawks’ 2015 home regular-season debut. Under normal circumstances, the match would draw a decent crowd because the opponent is Colorado, the program that’s handed UW one-third of all its losses the past two seasons (2 of 6.) Both defeats were in Boulder, a plane ride the Huskies will not be taking this season, since this is the year they play Colorado and Utah only once each (no Utes in Alaska Airlines Arena in 2015.)

To Colorado coach Liz Kritza’s credit, she scheduled some tough nonconference opponents this year, getting a big 3-2 at home against #17 Florida State, and picking up 0-3 losses to #1 Penn State and #9 Illinois. Last night, however, CU laid a big egg in Salt Lake City, losing its Pac-12 opener to a middling Utah team, 3-1. It was an ugly match: Colorado’s .169 hitting average was actually better than Utah’s .146—both teams committed 27 errors, and the Buffs outblocked the Utes 15-11. Colorado, however, has two potent weapons in Gabby Simpson and Alexis Austin, even if Simpson has struggled of late (86 hitting errors on 368 swings, .171)

UW lost just two players from last season’s 31-3 team, though they were big ones: Krista Vansant and Kaleigh Nelson. The star of this year’s 10-0 has been 6-1 sophomore outside hitter Courtney Schwan. A local player from Auburn, WA (Bellarmine Prep), Schwan’s .433 hitting percentage is 16^th in the nation—and the best of any outside hitter in the country. The top 15 are all middle blockers, including two Huskies: #2 Lianna Sybeldon (.508) and #10 Melanie Wade (.455).

Wade appears trimmer, quicker and more powerful this season, and Sybeldon plays with her typical abandon. Libero Cassie Strickland seems to fully embrace the leadership mantel, and setter Bailey Tanner plays with a noticeably greater confidence. Most strikingly, this UW team looks big and fit—hours spent in the weightroom with strength and conditioning coach Henry Ruggiero appear to have paid dividends.

NOTES

• #3 USC is the Pac-12 cream of the crop so far this season. Last night, Mick Haley’s team beat #13 UCLA 3-0 in Westwood, to go 13-0 on the season. The biggest of the Trojans’ nonconference wins was a 3-0 sweep of 2014 National runner-up #10 BYU. Haley has done it without former star Ebony Nwanebu, who transferred to #2 Texas in the offseason (only to injure her ankle after leading Texas to a big win over #4 Nebraska.) Trojan senior Samantha Bricio has been a beast, leading the nation in points per set (combined total of kills, blocks and aces.)
• #8 Stanford will be a great test for USC when the two teams meet for the only time this season, Sunday in Palo Alto. The Cardinal had a lost weekend earlier this month—John Dunning’s first-ever back-to-back 0-3 losses in his 15 seasons at Stanford, to #1 Penn State and unranked North Carolina. Star middle Inky Ajanaku will miss the entire season after injuring her knee while competing with the US National Team this summer. All-American outside hitter Jordan Burgess has been hobbled with shoulder problems, often reduced to a back row role. Even so, the Cardinal opened conference play with a 3-1 win in Berkeley, led by freshman Hayley Hodson with 18 kills.
• #13 UCLA attracted an impressive crowd of 4441 for last night’s USC match. But at Cal, the attendance was only 1,065 for rival Stanford, and Utah drew a mere 617 for its upset of Colorado. Most Pac-12 schools have yet to start classes, but even so, attendance continues to be a problem in the Pac-12 Network era. It’s not so much that folks are staying home to watch the matches on TV (the network’s ratings are still modest). Instead, fans remain unhappy about the wildly-fluctuating schedule (Sunday at 6PM, Wednesday at 7:30PM, Thursday at 8PM, etc.) that the broadcast schedule dictates. Even worse, the network increasingly covers Washington matches without sending announcers to Seattle—they sit in a studio in the Bay Area and talk as they watch the video feed. The Huskies lead the conference in attendance year in and year out, but the game suffers badly when the attendance in the stands keeps shrinking throughout the league.

College | Washington volleyball will be on the road to start & end Pac-12 season

Many Sunday matches on UW home schedule

College | Washington volleyball will not travel to Boulder in 2015

Pac-12’s unbalanced schedule continues to skew conference race

College | A good loss? Volleyball coaches beg to differ

Top volleyball minds see no special lessons in losing

#22 Colorado def. #2 Washington 3-2 (27-25, 26-24, 17-25, 23-25, 15-11)

• #2 Washington @ Utah | Sat, Nov 15 | 6PM

College | Pac-12 volleyball pushed out of prime-time Friday TV spots this week

Matches moved to Thursday … and here’s why

• #2 Washington @ #22 Colorado | Thu, Nov 13 | 5PM
• #2 Washington @ Utah | Sat, Nov 15 | 6PM

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

Huskies out-scrap Buffs to avenge only defeat in a 19-1 season

• #3 Washington def. Colorado 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-19)
• next: #3 Washington @ Arizona State | November 9 | 11AM (Pacific) | no TV

Pac-12 | Two good reasons to see Washington volleyball in person this weekend

Making history and getting out of the house

• next: Utah @ #3 Washington | November 1 | 7PM | no TV
• Colorado @ #3 Washington | November 3 | 3PM | Courtney Thompson jersey retirement

Pac-12 | #1 Washington volleyball falls to Colorado

Sybeldon excels, but poor passing dooms Huskies in Boulder; USC the only undefeated Pac-12 team in conference play

• Colorado def. #1 Washington 3-1 (25-17, 25-23, 15-25, 25-19)
• next: #1 Washington @ Utah | October 5 | 6PM (Pacific) | Pac-12 Network

Pac-12 | Volleyball power rankings for week six

Huskies on top; #2 USC hosts Stanford on Friday

• next: #1 Washington @ Colorado | October 4 | 6:00PM (Pacific) | Pac-12 Networks

Pac-12 | Kelcey Dunaway “really excited” at chance to play in China

Washington senior part of a June Pac-12 excursion to Beijing and Shanghai

Pac-12 | What we learned from Washington's wins against Colorado and Utah

#8 Washington 3, Colorado 0
#8 Washington 3, Utah 2
next: #8 Washington @ California | November 7

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

#2 Washington 3, Colorado 0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-22)

next up:

• #2 Washington @ Oregon State | October 12 | 7:00PM [no television]
• #2 Washington @ #5 Oregon | October 13 | 7:00PM [no television]

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)

Pac-12 | Football bounces volleyball’s biggest match of the season (so far)

Pac-12 Network will not broadcast showdown of nation’s only two undefeated volleyball teams; Oregon says it will stream #2 Washington @ #2 Oregon on October 13

note: Washington and Oregon are tied for #2 in this week’s AVCA/Sports Imports coaches’ poll

Pac-12 Finalizing 2012 Conference Volleyball Schedule

There's bad news for fans of balanced scheduling.

The Pac-12 is proceeding with plans—announced last fall—to have each of its volleyball teams play two fewer conference matches each season. That means some teams will miss marquee matchups, others will avoid near-certain losses or victories. And the final standings may leave room for debate.

This fall, Washington will play Arizona State in Tempe and host Arizona … but will not reciprocate with a home match against the Sun Devils or a road trip to Tucson. Next season, the Huskies will also miss one match against each of the Arizona schools, with the venues switched. Washington State—as the Huskies’ travel partner—will also skip two Arizona matches each of the next two seasons, but in reverse.

The other “skip partners” for 2012 & 2013:

• Cal/Stanford miss one each against Colorado/Utah
• UCLA/USC miss one each against Oregon/Oregon State

Washington coach Jim McLaughlin is not a big fan of the new schedule. “I came to Washington, in large part, because the Pac-12 is the best conference around,” he says. “I came because I can play Stanford twice, the Bruins twice, the Trojans twice, Cal twice. Playing teams in this conference is as good as it gets.”

At first glance, the teams that could see the biggest benefit the next two seasons are Oregon and Oregon State. The Ducks and Beavers avoid four total matches against UCLA and USC. On the other hand, Cal and Stanford miss what would likely be four wins each against Utah and Colorado.

Why the change?

Remember that Pac-12 schools were hugely disrespected by the NCAA tournament selection committee last fall. It seeded USC #7, despite the fact the Trojans were #1 in the polls. The Trojans went on to reach their second consecutive Final Four. Even more glaring, eventual National Champion (and #4 in the polls) UCLA was seeded #9.

The Pac-12’s 20-match schedule gives conference teams an additional weekend to try to schedule top-flight nonconference competition to help boost RPI at the end of the season. The problem, of course, is that other top conferences may have already started league play by then. And—as coaches frequently note—there are only so many RPI-attractive teams to go around. If a team like up-and-coming Pepperdine—a possible high RPI team—has the choice of scheduling either, say, Arizona or USC, it only gets RPI credit if it wins, and it wants to win against a team which might have a high RPI in late November. So, if it schedules Arizona and wins, but Arizona ends up low in the RPI, it’s a bad bet. If it schedules USC and loses, it doesn’t get a big boost. So, while both Arizona and USC might find Pepperdine attractive, the reverse may not be true.

There has been considerable conversation about arranging more Pac-12/Big-10 matchups in several sports, none more attractive than in volleyball, since a current team from one of those two conferences has been national champion 13 years in a row (and 19 times in the past 22 years). It won’t happen in 2012, but there has been talk about matchups in either midseason or just before the tournament starting in 2013. Stay tuned for those conversations.

Here, then, is the 2012 conference schedule on the table for approval next week. Teams still might have flexibility to move both matches against their geographic rival to the last week of the season, as six teams did last year: The schedule assumes mostly Friday/Saturday matches, though travel and/or football conflicts are likely to push several matches to Thursday or Sunday.

Week 1: (Sep 21/22)

• Washington @ Washington State
• Oregon @ Oregon State
• California @ Stanford
• UCLA @ USC
• Arizona @ Arizona State
• Colorado @ Utah
• Washington @ Arizona
• Washington State @ Arizona State
• Oregon @ USC
• Oregon State @ UCLA
• California @ Colorado
• Stanford @ Utah

Week 2: (Sept 28/29)

• California @ Arizona State
• Stanford @ Arizona
• UCLA @ Washington
• USC @ Washington State
• Colorado @ Oregon State
• Utah @ Oregon
• California @ Arizona
• Stanford @ Arizona State
• UCLA @ Washington State
• USC @ Washington
• Colorado @ Oregon
• Utah @ Oregon State

Week 3: (Oct 5/6)

• Washington @ Utah
• Washington State @ Colorado
• Oregon @ Stanford
• Oregon State @ California
• Arizona @ USC
• Arizona State @ UCLA
• Washington @ Colorado
• Washington State @ Utah
• Oregon @ California
• Oregon State @ Stanford
• Arizona @ UCLA
• Arizona State @ USC

Week 4: (Oct 12/13)

• Washington @ Oregon State
• Washington State @ Oregon
• UCLA @ Stanford
• USC @ California
• Arizona @ Utah
• Arizona State @ Colorado
• Washington @ Oregon
• Washington State @ Oregon State
• UCLA @ California
• USC @ Stanford
• Arizona @ Colorado
• Arizona State @ Utah

Week 5: (Oct 19/20)

• Oregon @ Arizona State
• Oregon State @ Arizona
• California @ Washington State
• Stanford @ Washington
• Colorado @ USC
• Utah @ UCLA
• Oregon @ Arizona
• Oregon State @ Arizona State
• California @ Washington
• Stanford @ Washington State
• Colorado @ UCLA
• Utah @ USC

Week 6: (Oct 26/27)

• Washington @ UCLA
• Washington State @ USC
• Oregon @ Colorado
• Oregon State @ Utah
• Arizona @ California
• Arizona State @ Stanford
• Washington @ USC
• Washington State @ UCLA
• Oregon @ Utah
• Oregon State @ Colorado
• Arizona @ Stanford
• Arizona State @ California

Week 7 (Nov 2/3)

• California @ Oregon
• Stanford @ Oregon State
• UCLA @ Arizona
• USC @ Arizona State
• Colorado @ Washington
• Utah @ Washington State
• California @ Oregon State
• Stanford @ Oregon
• UCLA @ Arizona State
• USC @ Arizona
• Utah @ Washington
• Colorado @ Washington State

Week 8 (Nov 9/10)

• Washington @ California
• Washington State @ Stanford
• UCLA @ Colorado
• USC @ Utah
• Arizona @ Oregon
• Arizona State @ Oregon State
• Washington @ Stanford
• Washington State @ California
• UCLA @ Utah
• USC @ Colorado
• Arizona @ Oregon State
• Arizona State @ Oregon

Week 9: (Nov 16/17)

• Oregon @ Washington
• Oregon State @ Washington State
• California @ UCLA
• Stanford @ USC
• Colorado @ Arizona
• Utah @ Arizona State
• Oregon @ Washington State
• Oregon State @ Washington
• California @ USC
• Stanford @ UCLA
• Colorado @ Arizona State
• Utah @ Arizona

Week 10: (Nov 23/24)

• UCLA @ Oregon
• USC @ Oregon State
• Arizona @ Washington State
• Arizona State @ Washington
• Colorado @ Stanford
• Utah @ California
• Washington State @ Washington
• Oregon State @ Oregon
• Stanford @ California
• USC @ UCLA
• Arizona State @ Arizona
• Utah @ Colorado

Stanford struggles, Cal escapes

The Pac-12's Bay Area behemoths, third-ranked Stanford and seventh-ranked Cal, headed for the Rocky Mountains tonight for what would have seemed a bit of a vacation. Utah is in ninth place, with just four conference wins, while Colorado sits in the cellar, still winless in Pac-12 play.

Out of the blue, however, the Buffs made the Cardinal sweat, as Stanford crawled to a 3-1 win (25-23, 22-25, 25-21, 25-15).

In Salt Lake City, it was even hairier for the Golden Bears. Utah took the first and third sets, and kept the final frame neck-in-neck until the very end. Cal's 3-2 victory was closer than it looks, 22-25, 25-19, 23-25, 25-18, 15-13). For the match, Cal hit just .200; Utah only .182. The Utes had five players with 10 or more kills.

And, in case you missed it Tuesday night, fifth-ranked Illinois lost yet again, this time 3-1 to #11 Purdue (25-21, 22-25, 24-26, 21-25). Just two weeks ago, the Fighting Illini were ranked #1; they've now lost three of their last four. The NCAA's hard-to-fathom RPI still had Illinois #1 before Tuesday's loss to the Boilermakers.

Breaking Down UW’s Colorado/Utah sweep

visit Volleyblog Seattle Photos

It was getting ugly.

It was the third set; Utah’s Chelsey Schofield blocked a Bianca Rowland slide attack, knotting the score at 4. During the next rally, Barfield and setter Evan Sanders failed to connect. Barfield pushed a weak shot across the net, extending the rally.

But Utah couldn’t convert, opening the door for a Krista Vansant kill.

It was Kelcey Dunaway’s turn to serve. Last season, like this season, she was third on a middle blocker depth chart that has room for just two starters. But last season, she was a designated server, notching 25 aces, second-best (tonow-graduated Kindra Carlson) on the team. This season, she stood mostly on the sidelines, as Bianca Rowland stayed in to serve.

visit Volleyblog Seattle Photos

But the night before, against Colorado, Rowland missed three serves. And in the first two set against Utah, she missed three more.

“And Kelcey came up to me,” said Washington Coach Jim McLaughlin after the match, “and said, ‘Jim, I’m ready if you need me.’ And I love it when somebody says that.”

“I know that my serve is just as good as it was last season,” Dunaway said, “and I knew it had actually gotten better.”

From 12 feet behind the service line, Dunaway tossed the ball—not too high, no too far—and hit it squarely in the middle, with her right arm as high as it could reach. The ball sailed without any rotation, and knuckled to the upper arms of Utah’s Morgan Odale. The near-perfect float serve was almost impossible to pass, and the Utes were instantly out of system. They gift-wrapped an easy return to the Huskies, and Vansant soon had her second kill in a row. The score was 6-4 Washington.

Dunaway’s second serve was the same, and so was the result: Three in a row for Vansant. Then four in a row. Then six Vansant kills out of seven points. In all, Dunaway served nine in a row, forcing Utah to spend both of its timeouts. By the time the Utes finally scored on a tip, it was 13-5, and the match was all but over.

Kelcey Dunaway serves against Utah during a nine-point second-set run
[Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann]

“It was nice,” said Dunaway, “I miss serving. I really like it.”

* * *

Every team in the Pac-12 attracts top-shelf athletes … and that includes the two newcomers, Colorado and Utah. The Utes played good defense, holding the Huskies to a .183 average for the match, a number inflated by UW’s .400 clip in the third set.