Washington Sweeps Arizona Behind Season-Best .333 Hitting Effort

#14 Washington def. #18 Arizona 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-23)

• Washington moves to 12-3, 4-1 Pac-12; Arizona falls to 14-3, 3-2 Pac-12
• Tucson, Arizona
• Box Score
• Washington Recap / Arizona Recap

Washington put up nine blocks and outhit Arizona a season-high .333 to .173 to snap the Wildcats’ two match win streak on Friday night.

The Huskies outdid Arizona 43-39 in kills and 9-1 in blocks, but trailed 5-3 in aces.

Samantha Drechsel downed 14 kills, while hitting .333 to guide the UW attack. Kara Bajema (9), Destiny Julye (8) and Avie Niece (7) aided the offense. Niece hit at a match-high .500 clip (7-0-14) and put up five blocks.

Kendra Dahlke racked up a match-high 18 kills, while hitting .382 and adding six digs. Candice Denny and Devyn Cross followed with six putaways each.

It was a team effort tonight in Tucson for @UWVolleyball.

Catch the highlights from the Huskies' sweep over the Wildcats. 🎥 pic.twitter.com/GCIYAAZRFP

— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) October 6, 2018

UW hit .385 in the opening stanza, while limiting Arizona to a .097 effort. The Huskies raced out to a 12-4 lead with help from four kills and a block by Bajema. Two Dreschel putaways and two miscues put Washington ahead 16-8. Arizona cut the margin to five at 19-14, but four Wildcat errors helped the Huskies finish off a 25-18 win.

The Wildcats hit .265 in Set 2, but trailed Washington’s .343 clip. UW went up 7-2, only to see Arizona rally for a 12-11 advantage, including back-to-back aces by Emi Pua’a. Trailing 17-16, the Huskies scored three in a row, including two errors, to go up 19-17 and despite a tie at 19, held on for the win. Two Dreschel kills put UW on the hill at 24-22 and Niece ended the stanza two points later.

The Huskies hit .293 in the final stanza, while UA made eight errors and hit just .152. Washington went up 8-3 in Set 3 and built a six-point advantage at 18-12. Arizona rallied to within one with five straight points and eventually pulled even at 23. UW called timeout and got a Drechsel kill and help from a Wildcat miscue to wrap up the sweep at 25-23.

The Wildcats played without the services of outside hitter Paige Whipple, who is out this weekend with a concussion.

Next up, the Huskies head to Tempe for a 3 p.m. ET Sunday meeting with Arizona State. Arizona, meanwhile, plays host to #20 Washington State at 3 p.m. ET.