by LOS ANGELES – UCLA hit the Huskies with their best shot, but the Dawgs got up and kept coming, and eventually wore down the Bruins to take a big early season road win at Pauley Pavilion. 18th-ranked Washington (10-2) completed a 2-0 opening Pac-12 week and won its sixth-straight overall with a 21-25, 25-21, 25-17, 25-19 victory in an ESPNU televised match.
The Bruins saw their standout outside hitter Charitie Luper return to the starting lineup for the first time since UW was last at Pauley Pavilion near the end of the 2021 regular season, and Luper helped UCLA hit a scorching .625 in the first set. But the Huskies stayed focused, adjusted, and after taking a tight second set, UW cooled UCLA down to .179 and .188 attack percentages in the final two sets to pull away.
“Things steadily improved at the net and behind it after the first set,” said Head Coach Keegan Cook. “We talked about turning it into a grittier match and extending some rallies, and that things would get better for us if we did that. Little by little we did, and we were really steady siding out as well. We talked about last year, we were in this same environment and situation, and we felt like we missed that moment, and we were determined not to miss it again. So really proud of the performance.”
Washington wound up outhitting UCLA for the match, .365 to .318, and had a 7-3 advantage in aces and a 8.0 to 3.0 lead in blocks.
Ella May Powell moved up two more spots in the Pac-12 career assists top-10, passing Holly McPeak and Dana Burkholder into eighth with 41 assists tonight, giving her 5,452. Powell added a career-high tying six kills on nine attempts, plus 10 digs for the 57th double-double of her career and fifth this season.
All-American senior Claire Hoffman had her own double-double with a team-high 17 kills, hitting .298, with 10 digs for her 14th career double-double. She also added two aces. Sophomore Emoni Bush (Wei Wai Kum First Nation) put away 13 kills on a .357 attack percentage and had three blocks, while senior Marin Grote was excellent again, posting a dozen kills on a .579 percentage with three stuffs.
