by BOULDER, Colo. – Down two sets to none on the road, Washington blocked out the noise, and the Husky block wore down the host Colorado Buffaloes, as UW came all the way back for a reverse sweep at the CU Events Center, 24-26, 19-25, 25-17, 25-19, 15-13. The Huskies posted a huge 20 blocks, their highest total since 2014, to win their second five-setter in as many days.
The win gave the Dawgs the tournament title at the Buffs Classic. Senior Kiune Fletcher was named tournament MVP, and also named to the All-Tournament Team were junior Emoni Bush and freshman Julia Hunt.
Washington stays unbeaten at 5-0 through the first two weeks, coming home to host Washington State in a much-anticipated home opener this Friday, Sept. 13, at 7 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
“They were Dawg tired,” said Head Coach Leslie Gabriel, no pun intended, “so I know they had to really dig deep every play to do what we just did. I’m just proud of their effort. Our backs were against the wall and I thought our team really did a good job of answering the call to fight and to go for it. No team’s going to give you anything and we have to go get everything we want. I felt like that’s what they did, they gave it everything they had. They stayed connected and communicated.”
Of the blocking barrage, Gabriel said, “We have a lot of girls who see the game really well and got in some really good spots. We’ve been talking about just getting our hands across and taking away shots and they did that really well in pressure moments.”
It was Washington’s first 0-2 comeback since last season at Utah on Nov. 17. It’s also UW’s first back-to-back five set wins since Oct. 10 and Oct. 14 of 2021, when they won at ASU and Oregon.
The Huskies held Colorado to just .093 on offense with the 20 blocks, and UW out-dug the Buffs, 73-69, the fifth-straight match they’ve out-dug their opponent, all resulting in wins. The Dawgs hit .196 as a team, and CU won the aces battle, 9-6.
Fletcher had 13 kills, Bush had a dozen, and Madi Endsley had 10. Hunt was two kills shy of a double-double in the middle, as she had eight kills, hitting .467, with 10 block assists. Her 10 blocks are the most by a Husky since Lauren Sanders had 10 at Arizona State in 2021.
Katy Wessels had eight blocks plus four kills, and Audra Wilmes had nine kills, three aces, four blocks, and 13 digs. Alexis Haury had 22 assists and 14 digs for her third double-double of the season, and Molly Wilson got her first of the year with 19 assists and 14 digs. Lauren Bays had 18 digs and six assists.
Set One: The Huskies took their first lead of the opening set at 5-4 on an Emoni Bush kill. Washington scored five straight as CU hit a pair out, Wilmes had an ace and Bush was all over a stuff block to make it 11-7 and force a Colorado timeout. But the Buffs answered out of the timeout with five straight points to retake the lead. It was tied at 14 but Colorado scored five of six points to open up a gap at 15-19 and force a Husky timeout. Wessels got the kill to snap the run and Wilmes had a solo block for 17-20. But CU added to its lead and the Huskies called time at 18-23. Hunt sparked the Dawgs with a quick strike and then she and Endsley rejected the next Buffs swing. Fletcher then tooled the block and Haury went to Hunt for another kill for 22-23. Colorado scored to break the 4-0 run and reach set point. Endsley saved the first right a booming kill from the right for 23-24, and then UW tied it up with a CU error after a great dig by Bays. Colorado got the sideout for a third chance, and after a back and forth, Hunt’s swing in the middle was blocked and Colorado took the set, 26-24.
Washington outhit Colorado, .159 to .083 in the set, as UW had five blocks but CU’s only block came on set point. The Buffs had a 3-1 edge in aces.
Set Two: Endsley had the first two kills for the Dawgs in the second set. Fletcher then had a couple kills from Haury as UW was down 5-7. Wessels and Bush combined for a stuff for 7-8, but Colorado soon had a 4-0 run to put the Huskies down by five. The Husky block continued to dominate, stuffing two straight to pull the Dawgs back within two at 11-13. Wilson fired an ace to pull the Huskies within one again at 15-16, but it quickly went back up to four as the Huskies hit wide and then CU served a tape ace, forcing a Husky timeout at 15-19. Colorado aced the Dawgs for 17-23 to force UW’s last timeout. The Dawgs saved one set point on a Fletcher kill but then missed serve to end it, 25-19.
Colorado outhit the Dawgs in the set, .321 to .200, and had an 11-6 edge in digs. Kiune Fletcher had 4 kills on 6 swings to lead the Dawgs.
Set Three: Washington got some early momentum with a 4-1 run to start the third, including a Haury ace and a Fletcher-Hunt block assist. But CU answered quickly with four to move on top by one. The Dawgs answered that with their best sustained run, starting with two straight kills by Wilmes. The block party continued with three in a row by the Husky frontline, prompting the Buffs to take time at 10-6. An ace by Wilson and a Bush finish helped the Dawgs build a six-point lead at 14-8. Back-to-back kills by Fletcher and Hunt made it 18-11. Colorado pulled to within three points at 20-17, but that was their last gasp. Wilmes had a kill and she followed that with an ace. Endsley finished and a CU error brought it to set point. Bush ended it on one chance, as the Huskies scored the final five points for the 25-17 win.
Washington hit .242 in the third set and held Colorado to just .028, posting four blocks and ramping up the digging with 16 in the set. Wilmes had four kills without an error.
Set Four: Bush ended a long rally with a big swing from the left and Wessels had a solo block for a 5-3 lead. Wilmes followed with an ace for a three-point edge. Wilson connected with Hunt for a kill to make it 9-4 and force the Buffs timeout. Colorado closed within two, but a huge rally established the tone again, as UW had three blocks on one point all covered by Colorado, before a fourth block finally ended the point for 13-9, and UW went on to take two more points after that to get back up by six. Colorado scored four straight to get back within two, with Wilmes snapping that with an offpseed finish for 16-13. The teams traded sideouts until an Endsley kill and a CU error made it 23-18 and CU burned its final timeout. At 24-19, Fletcher finished off the fourth from a Bays bump set.
The Huskies remained locked in defensively, holding the Buffs to .048 while hitting .216 on their side. Bush and Hunt combined for seven kills without an error, and Bays had five digs and four assists.
Set Five: Hunt opened things for the Dawgs with a kill, then Fletcher stuffed one, and Fletcher finished a Haury set for an early 4-2 lead. But the Huskies then gave a couple away on attack errors to fall behind. After one challenge reversal went against the Dawgs, UW got one of its own, getting a key touch call on a Wilmes swing that snapped a 5-0 Colorado run. Bush followed that with a kill and a CU error had it back even at 7-7. Another Wilmes kill off the block’s fingertips made it 8-7 at the side switch. Bush and Wessels teamed for another denial to crack open a 10-8 lead, and then a Buffs error made it 11-8. Hunt and Bush blocked one more to push it to 13-9 and force a Colorado timeout. And CU had another run left, as the Dawgs couldn’t put it away for a few points, and suddenly a Colorado ace tied it at 13-all. But Bush came up with the clutch right side kill to stop the skid and reach match point. Fittingly, it ended on a Husky block, with Hunt and Fletcher getting across and sending back the Buffs last swing.
The Dawgs had five big blocks in just the fifth set, Hunt assisting on four and Fletcher assisting on three, holding down CU to a .034 percentage in the final set.
