TWU Drop's Opener to Washington

Thursday, September 1, 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TWU Drop's Opener to Washington
Spartan women fall in three sets to #2 Huskies

SEATTLE, Washingon - The second-ranked Washington volleyball team defeated Trinity Western in straight sets this afternoon, 30-14, 30-15, 30-15, in an exhibition match at Bank of American Arena. Three Huskies tallied double figure kills including senior Brie Hagerty (Defiance, Ohio) who had 11 kills on 16 swings with just one error for a team-best .625 hitting percentage. Senior Sanja Tomasevic (Uzice, Serbia and Montenegro) had 12 kills for UW, while sophomore Christal Morrison (Puyallup) had 10 kills and fell just shy of a double-double with nine digs.
 
"We played well start to finish," said head coach Jim McLaughlin. "I thought our transition was very good. We are getting more swings on the ball instead of giving free balls. I like our distribution and how it is pretty even. Courtney (Thompson) is doing a great job of mixing it up."
 
"When Brie is on and is balanced, she is one of the best hitters in the country. I have challenged her to be an All-American this year just by her managing her game. She is doing a great job of that so far."
 
Washington out hit Trinity Western .407 to -.013 and held advantages in kills (46-20), service aces (8-1), digs (31-25) and blocks (9-4).
 
Junior Courtney Thompson (Kent, Wash.) paced the Huskies' offense with 41 assists, while Candace Lee (Eugene, Ore.) headlined with defensive effort with 12 digs.
 
Senior middle blocker Darla Myhre (Vancouver, BC) added five kills and four blocks in the win.
 
Trinity Western was led by Rhonda Schmuland and Alicia Van Huizen with five kills apiece, while Julie Blackburn anchored the defense with eight digs.
 
The Huskies raced out to the 13-3 lead in game one behind a four-kill effort by Morrison. Washington scored four unanswered points, including two Alesha Deesing (Salem, Ore.) kills, to go up by 15 points at 22-7. The Huskies closed out the game with a service ace by Lee and a Hagerty kill.
 
Washington out hit TWU .400 to -.115 in the set and were led by Morrison with five kills and Deesing and Tomasevic with four each.
 
Game two opened evenly thru 5-5 before Washington started to pull away. The Huskies used a 12-1 run to go up 22-8 and cruised to the 30-15 win. Hagerty and Deesing each had two kills in the rally.
 
The Huskies out hit the Spartans .500 to .080 in the second game. Hagerty had three kills in the set, while Deesing had two.
 
Game three opened much like game two with the score tied as late as 8-8. The Huskies went on a 10-1 run that included two Myhre aces and two kills apiece by Tomasevic and Hagerty to put Washington in the driver’s seat for good at 17-9. Back-to-back kills by Myhre and an ace and kill by Morrison gave UW match-point and Myhre’s fifth kill of the match put the game away at 30-15.
 
Washington out hit the Spartans .321 to .000 and was led by Morrison with four kills. Myhre and Hagerty each had three kills in the set.
 
-TW-

Last Updated: 2009-02-16
Author: Scott Stewart
Email: ssstew@twu.ca