The Washington women’s volleyball squad is officially back in the Top 25, hitting No. 22 in the AVCA coaches poll after a scorching 11-0 start to the season! This isn’t just a bump in the rankings, folks; it’s the first time the Dawgs have been ranked since October 2024, and the highest they’ve climbed since November 2022 when they hit No. 21. Talk about making a statement early in the year!
Coach Gabriel Has These Dawgs Absolutely ROLLING
Head coach Leslie Gabriel, a legend who played for Washington herself and spent 22 years as an assistant, has this team absolutely dialed in. She took over after Keegan Cook bounced for Minnesota, and she’s got the Huskies looking like a force right out of the gate. An 11-0 record is no joke, especially after coming into the Big Ten! This team just completed their first 2-0 road week since joining the conference, sweeping both Michigan State and Michigan, who were also undefeated when the Dawgs took ’em down. You love to see our own making such big moves at Montlake.
Dominance on the Road: Big Ten Just Got a Wake-Up Call
Let’s talk about those road wins because they were straight-up clinical. Last Friday, the Huskies went head-to-head with Michigan State, a squad that rolled into conference play boasting the NCAA’s best attack percentage at .345. What did our Dawgs do? They shut that down cold, holding the Spartans to a measly .132 attack percentage. Meanwhile, Washington was firing on all cylinders, hitting .310, their second-highest mark of the season! They even tied a season high with 12 aces and set new season bests with 13.5 blocks. Second-year outside hitter Simona Mateska was an absolute beast, dropping 12 kills, 3 aces, and 8 digs. Then on Sunday, the Huskies rolled into Michigan and swept the Wolverines in straight sets, a first since 2010. The attack was spread out, with six different players grabbing at least 4 kills, led by second-year Maija Howse with 11, third-year middle Julia Hunt with 9, and first-year Kylie Kleckner also putting up 9. This team is DEEP.
What’s Next for the Huskies? Two HUGE Home Matches!
The Big Ten is stacked, with seven other programs ranked right now, including No. 1 Nebraska and No. 6 Wisconsin. But our Huskies aren’t backing down. They’re about midway through the season with 15 regular season games left, including matchups against all those ranked conference teams. This Friday, the Dawgs are back in Seattle to host Illinois, who just upset Minnesota and USC. Then on Sunday, it’s a massive showdown against No. 10 Purdue, which will be the program’s first top-25 match of the entire year! You know T-Mobile Park gets loud for our Mariners, and Climate Pledge Arena for the Kraken, so let’s get that same energy for our volleyball squad. With the Big Ten Championships in November and the NCAA Tournament on the horizon, these home matches are huge. Let’s show up and make some noise for the undefeated Dawgs!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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