WSU beats USC to win first Pac-12 volleyball match

Sep 26, 2022 - 1:10 PM

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L.A treated the Cougs well on Saturday, as Washington State volleyball defeated the USC Trojans in five sets (25-19, 25-27, 25-22, 19-25, 15-6) to pick up their first Pac-12 victory of the season.

It was senior Pia Timmer that had a team-high 24 kills for her season high in only the second Pac-12 match-up. Fifth-year transfer Laura Jansen was the second player to go into the 20s in kills, finishing the day with 20. The women took the match into five and ended with a hitting percentage of .550 in the decisive set.

With her 24 kills, Timmer is only two kills away from joining a new club that we’ve heard is pretty fun: the 1,000 career kill club. Timmer ended with 24 kills against five errors on 57 swings and to finish with an excellent .333 hitting percentage.

Jansen also had another significant night, getting her first double-double wearing the crimson and gray with 20 kills and 14 digs.

Our amazing setter Argentina Ung added to the kill tally with eight, which was also her season high. She also had a hitting percentage of .333 and 52 assists. Libro Karly Basham had eight assists and 13 digs, just one behind Jansen. But it wasn’t Basham or Jansen that led the Cougs with digs, it was Julia Norville.

Magda Jehlarova also had 12 kills and seven blocks with four aces during the match. Four aces is a career-best for Jehlarova.

The two teams battled back and forth to force an extra set. WSU won the first set (25-19) and the third set (25-22), while USC forced the second set into extra points (25-27) and also took the fourth set (19-25).

First Set: (25-19)

The match opened tight early before USC won three consecutive points to take an 8-5 lead. WSU won seven of the next 11 points to make the match 12-12 — and that’s where the Cougs took off. They won nine of the next 12 points to open up a 21-15 lead, keyed by a trio of kills from Timmer ... and also three service errors by the Trojans. The two teams split the next eight point, and fittingly, it was another USC service error that ended the set.

Second Set (25-27)

USC raced out to a 15-9 lead, but WSU won the next six points to tie it up. From there, the Trojans continually led by a point or two before the Cougs took a 24-23 lead. With a chance to win the set, the Cougars couldn’t prevent a kill by Skylar Fields — who led everyone with 25 — and a service ace by USC on the next point tied it up again. The Trojans won the next two points on yet another kill from Fields and a WSU hitting error to take the set. It was USC’s best hitting set this season with 16 kills.

Third Set (25-22)

The third and middle set proved to be an important one for the Cougs. The Cougs went on an early 7-1 run which allowed the Cougs to lead 11-7. The set tied up at 15 apiece before Julia Norville came back to the service line. If you’ve ever seen Norville play, you would know how dynamite she is behind the line. The Cougs then battled to win seven consecutive points to put themselves ahead 22-15. The Cougs won 25-22 and went up 2-1 going into the fourth set.

Fourth Set (19-25)

The Cougs and Trojans went back and forth for the first part of the set until WSU started to lead 16-13. USC went on a 9-1 run in which they took control of the set and ended up winning. Jansen had six kills this set which was the team-high in the fourth set. Timmer also had four of her 24 kills in this set on seven attempts. Timmer ended the set with a hitting percentage of .571.

Fifth Set (15-8)

In the fifth and final set, the Cougs went on an early 8-2 run. Remember, in the fifth set, the magic number is 15. The Cougs dominated the last set, going seven for seven on side outs and 11 of the 15 points were kills. The Cougs paved the way to win 15-6 and get their first Pac-12 win of the season.

The Cougs have been on the road for the last seven matches, but they aren’t done yet. The Cougs will spend a little bit more time in California going to the Bay Area to play the California Golden Bears who are 7-5 (0-2) on the season. The Cougs will play on Friday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. After the Cougs will head to Stanford that following Sunday, Oct. 2^nd at 12 p.m. to close out this long road trip. The Cougs will be back in Pullman on Oct. 7 to play the Oregon Ducks.

If you haven’t watched a match this season you should. Jansen, Timmer, and Jehlarova are three extremely fun and talented players to watch. Coach Jen Greeny has done an amazing job coaching this program to be one of the best in the country.

LINKS

Washington State rewind: Cougar passing game, quarterback Cameron Ward bright in loss to Oregon | Washington State University | khq.com
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Washington State rewind: Cougar passing game, quarterback Cameron Ward bright in loss to Oregon | The Spokesman-Review
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