University Of Washington Volleyball

Washington volleyball beats Arizona State in five sets

The 10th-ranked Washington volleyball team was not at its best Friday night, but found a way to outlast upset-minded Arizona State, prevailing 25-20, 22-25, 25-14, 22-25, 15-13 in front of 2,217 fans at Edmundson Pavilion.

Washington (17-4, 9-4 Pac-12), which played its first five-set match of the year, added to its NCAA-leading blocks tally with a season-high 21. Bianca Rowland led the effort with a career-high 11 blocks, while also hitting .455 with 10 kills and zero errors. Summer Ross had an unorthodox double-double with a career-high 10 blocks and 10 digs.

"We need to have that experience going to five and we got it," said Huskies coach Jim McLaughlin.

Men's basketball

Elias Harris scored 11 of his team-high 13 points in the first half for Gonzaga, which cruised to a 95-51 exhibition win over NAIA school Carroll College in Spokane.

• Northwest University (2-0) beat Thompson Rivers 93-65 at the Honda Classic Tournament in Abbotsford, B.C.

Men's soccer

Washington, ranked 19th, dropped a 1-0 decision to host UCLA. The Huskies fell to 10-4-2 overall, 5-3-0 in the Pac-12.

Goalkeeper Spencer Richey made five saves for Washington.

• Zane Dydasco in overtime to lift Air Force to a 2-1 victory over Seattle University in Colorado Springs, Colo. Mikey Ramos scored in the 28th minute for the Redhawks (2-11-2, 1-7 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation).

Women's soccer

Jaclyn Softli scored twice as Washington rolled to a 4-0 shutout at Arizona. Lindsay Elson and Faustine Dufka also had a goal apiece for the Huskies (7-7-4, 3-4-2 Pac-12).

• Taylor Bolibol scored in the 93rd minute to lift Seattle University to a 2-1 victory over Montana at a rainy Championship Field.

Volleyball hungry for upsets against Wash. schools | ASU News ...

The goal is to return the favor.

The last time that the ASU volleyball team (5-16, 1-11 in Pac-12) faced the Washington State Cougars (11-11, 3-9), ASU jumped out to an early 2-0 lead before WSU battled back and won three straight sets to take the match in Tempe.

ASU hopes to settle the score in Pullman, Wash. this weekend, and this time the Sun Devils are looking to finish off the match early.

Coach Jason Watson said his team knows what is expected of them.

“Hopefully at some point and time they remember we were doing some nice things against (WSU) and put ourselves in a position to win,” Watson said. “Now we got to go do the same thing on the road.”

The last time the Cougars played the Sun Devils, WSU’s senior outside hitter Meagan Ganzer attacked the Sun Devils with 30 kills in their match.

An ASU player has to defend well, like redshirt freshman outside hitter Kylee Terhune did last weekend against Cal’s All-American senior outside hitter Tarah Murrey. Murrey was held to only nine kills during the match.

ASU also takes on the 10th-ranked Washington (16-4, 8-4) this weekend. The Huskies are one of the taller, more physical teams in the conference. Most of their hitters are over six feet tall.

Players and coaches have been working all week in practice to defend UW’s big front line.

Junior middle blocker Erica Wilson said a key to good defense is studying the opponent’s offense.

“(We are) continuing to work on our block and timing,” Wilson said. “Certain players you have to wait on, some players you have to go early on,”

ASU has been improving on its team defense. But sophomore middle blocker Alexis Pinson said that the unique aspect of defense is that a strong block is a totally individual skill.

“Blocking is a very personal technique. You can work on it every single play,” Pinson said. “If it’s a set then you can’t get a really good hit off of it but you can always work on improving your block.

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