by SEATTLE – There was no damming the Husky offense tonight as Washington Volleyball blitzed the Beavers with a .524 attack percentage, hitting above .500 in all three sets for a 25-19, 25-16, 25-11 sweep before 2,293 fans at Alaska Airlines Arena. The attack percentage was the best for the Huskies in a Pac-12 match since a .533 mark in 2005.
Washington (12-3, 4-1 Pac-12) had 48 kills on 82 swings with just five errors. The Dawgs played clean from the start, hitting .514 in the first set without an error, and kept it up, with a .542 mark in set two and a .522 mark in the third. It’s the highest attack percentage for the Huskies in any match during Head Coach Keegan Cook‘s eight seasons.
“The thing I most appreciated was playing really clean and keeping unforced errors down which creates a lot of pressure,” said Cook. “I liked the balance of the offense, I thought Ella May distributed the ball well to a bunch of different attackers.”
Powell had 35 assists and gave way late to Olivia Mikkelsen who closed things out with four assists of her own.
Each of Washington’s middles, Marin Grote and Sophie Summers, hit over .750 and neither made an error. Grote put away 11 kills on 14 attempts to hit .786, and Summers killed seven of nine swings to hit .778, adding three blocks.
Claire Hoffman and Emoni Bush (Wei Wai Kum First Nation) had identical lines of 13 kills, one error, on 23 swings, both hitting .522. Steady passing form the Dawgs was helped by libero Lauren Bays, who had a team-high nine digs.
Washington next hosts 12th-ranked Oregon on Sunday at 4 p.m. in a battle for first-place in the conference, as both teams are in a tie with 4-1 records. The first showdown of the year between the Northwest rivals will air on Pac-12 Networks.
