Utah will play its second-to-last match of the season, and last home match, Wednesday afternoon against Washington.
The Utes hope to take down the No. 2 team in the nation and give fans at the Huntsman one last victory before the season ends.
This will be Utah’s first match against the Huskies this season, but Washington leads the all-time series 12-6. Utah did manage to break a 10-game losing streak against Washington last season with a 3-2 win at home, but maintaining that success will be a tall task this season.
Washington has a 26-2 record, with its only losses coming to USC and Stanford. The Huskies are riding a nine-game winning streak, and there is a reason they are the second-ranked team in the nation. They are an extremely talented team with many skilled players.
Tia Scrambray leads Washington with 247 kills, and Lianna Sybeldon is second on the team with 246. Courtney Schwan completes the three-headed monster for the Huskies with her 221 kills. Much like Utah, Washington runs a 6-2 offensive set and has two players with 500+ assists in Katy Beals and Bailey Tanner. On the front line, Washington has two extremely imposing players in Lianna Sybeldon and Melanie Wade. Sybeldon leads the team with 129 blocks, while Wade has 128.
As a team, Washington leads the Pac-12 in hitting percentage, opponent hitting percentage and blocks, and is second in assists, kills and service aces. The Huskies have also played in the least amount of sets in the Pac-12. They often finish their matches quickly, dispatching opponents in three or four sets.
Head coach Beth Launiere is preparing her team to be at its best.
“We’re going to have to play a good match,” Launiere said. “They are big and physical. They don’t make a lot of errors and are unforgiving. You have to play a really clean match to have a shot at them. I think we can do that. We have had moments, and we are going to have to put it together.”
In this final match at home for the season, the Utes will honor their seniors with a special pre-game ceremony. This will be the last home match for both Kendall Cygan and Brenna DeYoung, two players who have been leaders for Utah throughout the season.
In her two seasons with the Utes, DeYoung has recorded 129 kills and 134 blocks. She also earned a Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week award earlier this season. Cygan is currently sixth all-time in Utah’s history with 2,386 assists.
These two will be honored by the Utah Athletics Department for everything they have accomplished during their time in the program, and they hope to end their home career with a win.
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