Well- it was a win the Buffs needed, and they got it. Not a pretty one necessarily, but saved by T. Simpson and A. Austin offensively, and the block defensively. (Per the stats, looks like the Buffs totaled 13 blocks, very good for a 3 set match.) The serve, although improved later in the match at least as far as errors are concerned (4 in set one, 2 total in sets 2 and 3), didn’t seem to bother WSU that much, at least compared to how the Buffs have usually been able to bother teams at home, or even UCLA on the road. Overall, it was nice to see them pull out all the sets pretty late, showing growing maturity as they learn “how to win” as the season goes on for a team with many young players.
And most importantly, as Orr notes- (another) road win! That makes 2 for the year out of 4 opportunities, and already equals the 2 wins they had in TOTAL (both last year) over the first 3 years in the Pac 12.
Against Washington, they’re going to have to go for it more on their serve (hopefully without too many errors). Offensively, hopefully they’ll be able to diversify the offense some (A. Austin and T. Simpson totaled 30 out of a total 46 Buff kills tonight). Washington is the best blocking team in the Pac 12 (if not the nation), and even our top hitters are going to have a problem Sunday if their middles can just camp out near our left side hitters waiting for them to get most every ball. In our upset last year over WA, we were able to effectively use the two middle blockers involved (17 kills combined) and right side K. Schroeder (9 kills), while running a very quick offense that was able to keep the Huskies guessing. Of course, it’s going to be a tall order in any case to defeat the #3 team in the nation on the road. (Just watched the Washington – Utah match, and Washington won in 3 sets.)