Change Is His Charge

Volleyball

Level Up: Huskies Are Ready

Huskies prepare to rotate into a conference featuring a legacy of volleyball excellence

BY MARK MOSCHETTI • FOR GO HUSKIES MAGAZINE

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Year in and year out, they contended for Pac-12 Conference volleyball titles, along with the likes of Oregon, Southern California and UCLA. This fall, the Washington Huskies hope to contend for another conference crown.

And once again, they’ll have to deal with Oregon, Southern California and UCLA. But they’ll also have to deal with Nebraska, Wisconsin, Penn State, Purdue, and Minnesota, among others. All of those perennial volleyball powers are now part of the Big Ten, a conference that has had at least one national tournament finalist in six of the past nine years.

“The Pac-12 was a great conference, filled with a bunch of great volleyball schools,” second-year head coach Leslie Gabriel said. “So, for us, we won’t be a stranger (to playing top-caliber teams). We’re excited to go to some of these schools and play and compete, and we’re excited to bring those teams to our school and our fans.”

Between the 14 Big Ten holdovers and the four Pac-12 newcomers, seven teams played in last year’s NCAA tournament. Nebraska went all the way to the finals before being swept by Texas, 3-0. Wisconsin reached the semifinals. Oregon was a quarterfinalist. Southern Cal, Penn State, Purdue, and Minnesota all advanced to the second round.

Nebraska (No. 2), Wisconsin (No. 3) and Oregon (No. 7) all finished in the final national top 10.

Coming off a 16-15 season in which an NCAA invitation eluded them for the first time since 2000, the Huskies are looking to get back into that elite group. Gabriel has plenty of experienced talent to help them reach for it.

Heading the list is 6-foot-2 senior outside hitter Madi Endsley, who led the team with 341 kills (3.10 per set), hitting .220. Also returning are 6-1 junior outside hitter Audra Wilmes (281 kills / 2.40, 41 service aces, 217 digs) and 6-2 sophomore middle blocker Katy Wessels (87 blocks with 11 solos).

Wessels, who started all 31 matches, made the Pac-12 All-Freshman team, as did sophomore 6-1 outside hitter Kierstyn Barton. She started 23 matches, had 279 kills (2.79), 140 digs, and was a three-time conference Freshman of the Week.

Others back in the fold are 5-11 junior setter Molly Wilson (934 assists, 273 digs in 30 starts), 6-4 sophomore middle Elise Hani (92 blocks/10 solo) 106 kills in 30 starts and 5-8 senior libero Lauren Bays (team highs of 378 digs and 42 service aces in 29 starts).

More offensive punch is expected from the return of 6-3 outside hitter Emoni Bush, a redshirt junior who averaged 3.13 kills per set as a sophomore and was All-Pac 12 Honorable Mention but missed last season after shoulder surgery.

A pair of grad student transfers led their former teams in kills last year. Sophia Tulino, a 6-foot outside, slammed 261 (3.11) on .233 hitting for Santa Clara and was All-West Coast Conference Honorable Mention. Kiune Fletcher, a 6-1 opposite, had 245 on .266 hitting for South Carolina.

“We’re excited about our depth at each position, and we’re excited to have a competitive gym,” Gabriel said. “When you bring a lot of good players together and they’re competing and getting after it, it creates a great environment and gets them ready to compete and get after it in our conference.”

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Cross Country

Blazing New Trails

UW women among front-runners — men ready to make their mark in the Big Ten ranks

The Washington women won the last Pac-12 title. Now, they’ll try to win their first Big Ten crown.

With six returners back from the team that went from conference champion to a top-10 finish at the NCAA nationals, the Huskies certainly will be considered among the front-runners in their new conference home.

Maurica Powell, the reigning West Region Coach of the Year, welcomes back her top four scorers from the national meet, at which Washington finished eighth, its best since 2011.

Leading the way is junior Chloe Foerster, who was 47th at NCAAs after placing seventh at Pac12s and 13th at Regionals. She subsequently went on to win the 1,500 meters at the Pac-12 outdoor championships last spring and made it to both the NCAA indoor (13th in the mile) and outdoor (22nd in the 1,500) meets.

Senior Sophie O’Sullivan was UW’s Pac-12 leader with a sixth-place finish and placed 56th at nationals. Also returning are juniors Julia David-Smith and Ella Borsheim. David-Smith joined O’Sullivan and Foerster in the top 10 at Pac-12s. O’Sullivan ran 12th in the NCAA outdoor 1,500.

Seniors India Weir and Tory Herman are the other two returning Huskies who raced for Washington at the NCAAs.

With Luke Houser (Brooks Beasts) and Joe Waskom (adidas) now running professionally, junior Nathan Green looms as the clear front runner for the Washington men. Green raced just twice last year, but came up big both times, placing third at Pac-12s and a team-leading 17th at West Regionals.

Also returning for coach Andy Powell is junior Evan Jenkins, who scored at both the Pac-12s (10th overall) and West Regionals (19th). Other returning postseason scorers are senior Leo Daschbach (16th at Pac-12), sophomore Jamar Distel (21st at Regionals) and sophomore Tyrone Gorze (19th at Pac-12).