20/20 VISION

from GoHuskies 1221

by Varsity Communications

Skimming The Surface

ON THE ROAD TO THE NCAAs

For 20th year UW Volleyball wins 20 times or more and finish deep in NCAA championship tourney run

BY BOB SHERWIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Volleyball is a game of momentum and the Washington Huskies this season experienced both ends of the spectrum.

After a 7-1 start to the fall season, the Husky women volleyballers lost back-to-back September games to Utah (at home after being up 2-0) and at Washington State. At the time, UW coach Keegan Cook said no team is immune to adversity. “I tell the players,’’ he said, “it’s not a matter of if, but when.” Yet Cook believed that his team would restore itself. “I have complete confidence,” he said, “in how we are going to be in December.”

The Huskies did lock in, reeling off 19 victories in their next 20 matches, advancing to the postseason for the 20th season. Indeed, the Huskies (26-5), seeded 15th in the 64-team field, rode that momentum into the December NCAA Volleyball Tournament's opening rounds. They easily earned straightset victories over Brown and Hawaii.

Those victories sent the Huskies to a quarterfinal match at No. 2-seeded Texas (27-1) on Dec. 9. It was UW’s fourth straight trip to the quarters, the ninth time in 10 years and the 17thtime overall.

And there would be more to come. For the first two sets, the Huskies played steady and confidently, undeterred by the playoff pressure or oppressive courtside crowd, winning 25-19 and 25-20. They led 15-10 in the third, just 10 points from advancing to the elite eight.

Things then started slipping away for the Huskies. At times, they appeared out of position and sorts while the Longhorns’ front line suddenly awakened and began hammering down winners. Texas won 15 of the last 21 points for a 25-21 third-set victory.

The comeback initiated an inexplicable momentum shift. The Huskies couldn’t muster any sort of rally against the Longhorns aggressive onslaught. Texas won the fourth set, 25-9, and the fifth (to 15), 15-9. It was the first time all season the Huskies scored fewer than 16 points in any regular set.

“You have to give (Texas) credit for doing everything at a higher level. I thought they created some huge plays at the end of the third set when things really mattered,’’ Cook told the media afterward. “I'll think about that third set for a while, but that's sports.”

The loss denied the Huskies a return trip to the Final Four, where they advanced last spring. With all but one starter back from last season’s 20-4 team, there were higher expectations. However, it was not a season of despair. After their 0-2 start in Pac-12 play, the Huskies finished with a 17-3 conference record for their seventh title.

Their only other conference loss was a threeset decision to UCLA on Oct. 31. They then closed out the season with eight consecutive victories, including avenging their earlier loss to the Cougars, 3-1. That win gave them their second straight conference championship.

The steadiness of the team’s veteran players allowed the Huskies to overtake the Bruins. They were led by three All-Americans, first team junior setter Ella May Powell (Arkansas), who had 1,283 assists this season, first team outside hitter senior Samantha Drechsel (Woodinville), second on the team in points, and second team junior outside hitter Claire Hoffman (Oregon), the team points leader.

Drechsel, Lauren Sanders and Emma Calle, fifth-year seniors, all were part of a school-record 118 victories. The previous record was 117.

Freshman libero Lauren Bays (Orange County, Calif.) and outside hitter Canadian Emoni Bush (Campbell River, B.C.), significant contributors this season, are among the underclassmen poised to continue the Husky traditions.