SEATTLE -- A new career-best 31 digs from senior libero Jenna Orlandini paved the way for the third-ranked Huskies to rally from a set down and stop Arizona State in four sets at the Wells Fargo Arena this afternoon. Washington (20-1, 12-1 Pac-12) also racked up a huge advantage at the net, blocking 18 Sun Devil swings in the 24-26, 25-22, 25-15, 25-17 win.
The first two sets were a grind for both teams. Washington saved three set points in the first set before falling short, and then in set two, the Huskies built a 19-12 lead but had to battle after Arizona State (16-10, 5-9 Pac-12) put on a 7-0 run to tie it, responding with a 6-3 stretch to even the match. But from there the Dawgs gradually asserted their will with stronger serving, blocking and digging. The Huskies had six aces to ASU's two, and also had a season-high 82 digs, with Jenni Nogueras also tying her career-high with 14 to go with 26 assists.
Junior Krista Vansant had 17 kills and junior Kaleigh Nelson added 16, with Melanie Wade and Kylin Muñoz adding seven apiece. Sophomore Lianna Sybeldon had nine blocks with a career-high three solo stuffs. Macey Gardner led the Sun Devils with 18 kills but hit just .108 as UW held ASU to just .102 as a team.
No. 1 Texas 3, Kansas 1
AUSTIN, Texas -- Behind a season-high 25 kills from junior All-American Haley Eckerman, No. 1 Texas downed No. 24 Kansas 3-1 (25-16, 15-25, 25-22, 25-21) Saturday afternoon at Gregory Gym. The win extends the Longhorns' streak to 14 consecutive matches, including a perfect 11-0 start in Big 12 Conference contests.
Eckerman added 13 digs for her second consecutive double-double and 13th of her career. Senior All-American Bailey Webster also recorded double-digit kills with 16, while senior setter Hannah Allison notched a team-high 40 kills and senior libero Sarah Palmer led the Horns with 14 digs.
Catherine Carmichael led the Jayhawks with 13 kills, while Sara McClinton, Caroline Jarmoc and Tayler Soucie added 11 apiece.
No. 2 Penn State 3, Indiana 0
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Eight members of Penn State (22-2, 13-1) recorded at least one kill in a consecutive set victory (25-16, 25-11, 25-11) against Indiana (10-16, 1-13) on Saturday evening at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lion victory extends the current PSU winning streak to 13 consecutive matches.
Senior Deja McClendon led the group with nine kills on .643 hitting, adding two digs and two blocks. Slay followed close behind with six kills on 14 errorless swings, while leading the team with five blocks. Redshirt freshman Paulina Prieto Cerame matched a career-high mark, tallying three solo blocks, while also registering four kills.
Junior Micha Hancock paced the PSU offense to a .427 hitting percentage, distributing 26 assists and totaling three aces, a squad-best eight digs and three blocks. Hancock has now guided the Nittany Lion offense to .300 or better hitting in the last three consecutive matches.
No. 8 San Diego 3, San Francisco 2
SAN FRANCISCO -- Behind a career-high 22 kills from senior middle hitter Chloe Ferrari, and four other Toreros in double-digit kills,San Diego rallied to picked up a 3-2 win against San Francisco.
With the 25-18, 25-27, 24-26, 25-23, 15-10 win, the Toreros move into a tie for first place in the WCC with BYU at 13-2, while improving to 21-3 overall and running their season-high winning streak to 12. With the loss, the Dons fall to 11-13 overall and 7-7 in the WCC.
Ferrari recorded her career-high 22 kills on 44 swings, to hit for a .386 clip, while also recording four blocks. Alaysia Brown recorded 15 kills, hit .294 and recorded three blocks. Katie Hoekman recorded 11 kills and racked up a season-high nine blocks, while Taylor Hollins recorded 10 kills and had 16 digs to post a double-double. C'era Oliveira recorded a season-high 27 digs, while Jianna Bonomi (33 assists) and Rachel Alvey (25 assists) helped steer the USD offense to a .207 attack percentage.
No. 10 Colorado State 3, Nevada 0
FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- Head Coach Tom Hilbert earned his 600th career victory on Saturday night as his No. 10 Colorado State Rams (23-0, 14-0) remained undefeated with a sweep against Nevada (25-18, 25-18, 25-19) in front of 4,418 fans at Moby Arena.
With the win, Hilbert becomes just the 10th coach in NCAA history with 600 career wins and a career .770 winning percentage.
“I have 600 wins because I’ve been consistently good over the past twent years, but I’ve been a coach all that time and I’ve gotten to do a really cool job. That’s what 600, to me, means,” Hilbert said. “I’m not winning any of these games, but I’m shepherding this program through a pretty good time and I’m happy about that.”
In a season full of highlights and record-breaking performances, the Rams added to it on Saturday night. With 23 consecutive victories, Colorado State ties the school record for most consecutive victories which was set in 2003. Dating back to Oct. 25, 2012, the Rams have now won 31 consecutive regular-season matches which is the longest active streak in the nation.
