Sept. 8, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
THE BULLDOG INVITATIONAL
Friday, September 10, Ramsey Student Center
Florida Gulf Coast vs. Georgia Tech, 1:30 p.m.
#9 WASHINGTON at Georgia, 4 p.m.
Saturday, September 11, Ramsey Student Center
#9 WASHINGTON vs. Georgia Tech, 7 a.m.
Florida Gulf Coast at Georgia, 9 a.m.
#9 WASHINGTON vs. Florida Gulf Coast, 1:30 p.m.
Georgia Tech at Georgia, 4 p.m.
SETTING THE SCENE
Washington volleyball embarks on its longest road trip of the season this week, heading on down to Athens, Georgia for the Bulldog Invitational. The Huskies have not been out to Georgia since 1996, and will be facing the Bulldogs for the first time in 12 years.
The Huskies head into the four-team tourney with a 5-0 record through the first two weeks of the season. Washington, ranked ninth this week in both polls, claimed its third-straight Northwest Challenge title last weekend in Boise. This week marks the second of four consecutive weeks away from home for the Dawgs who will have packing down to an artform by the time they play their next home match in October.
In Athens, the Huskies will open up against the host Georgia Bulldogs on Friday, Sept. 10, at 4 p.m. Pacific time at the Ramsey Student Center. It will be the home opener for Georgia so the Huskies can expect a fired-up home crowd. The next day, Washington will get set for its second double-header of the year. First up will be Georgia Tech, with first serve at 7 a.m. Pacific. The Dawgs will kick back for a few hours then hit the court again for their tournament finale against Florida Gulf Coast at 1:30 p.m. Pacific.
WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!
Washington hit the road for the first time this season, visiting Boise, Idaho for the third installment of the Northwest Challenge, pitting the Huskies against Boise State, Portland State, and Gonzaga. The same four teams have met now the past three years, with the host rotating each time. And for the third year in a row, the Huskies came out on top, sweeping all three opponents. On Friday, the Dawgs defeated Portland State, 25-17, 25-21, 25-14 led by Becky Perry's 18 kills and eight blocks from Kelcey Dunaway. A double-header on Saturday began with a 25-20, 25-21, 25-12 win over Boise State with Kindra Carlson posting 13 kills and Bianca Rowland tallying 12. Just a couple hours later, the Huskies were back in action, defeating Gonzaga 25-15, 25-21, 25-17, helped by a career-best 10 kills from Gabbi Parker and 20 digs from Jenna Orlandini. Rowland was named tournament MVP, averaging 3.33 kills per set and hitting .565 for the weekend. Orlandini, who averaged 5.11 digs/set and Jenna Hagglund, who dished 12.44 assists per set, were also named to the All-Tournament Team.
2009 IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR
Washington entered the 2009 season with typically high expectations, and burst out of the gate with straight set wins in each of its first 15 matches. Washington was the last team in the country to lose a set, winning a programrecord 46 in a row. In a win at the Tampa Twice Tournament, the Huskies swept then-No. 9 Minnesota and then-No. 4 Florida on back-to-back nights. All told the Huskies went 10-0 in non-conference play. Stanford gave UW its first loss, 3-2 in Palo Alto, but the Huskies got revenge with a sweep of Stanford in Seattle. It was Stanford's first straight-set Pac-10 loss since 2006. The Dawgs finished with a 13-5 Pac-10 record, and had to settle for second after dropping the finale in five sets to Oregon after having three match points go by the wayside. The Huskies, ranked No. 3 for much of the season, were seeded sixth in their eighth consecutive NCAA tournament and sent to Colorado State for the first and second rounds. After beating Northern Colorado in the opener, UW was upset by CSU on its home court, 3-1, to end the season. Postseason honors were numerous, as four Huskies earned AVCA All-America honors: Kindra Carlson (2nd Team), Tamari Miyashiro (2nd), Jenna Hagglund, (3rd), and Bianca Rowland (HM). Carlson, Miyashiro and Hagglund were voted All-Pac-10, and senior Jill Collymore was an Academic All-American. During the year, Miyashiro broke the school digs record, finishing ninth in NCAA history at 2,382. Rowland set the school record for attack percentage, hitting .456 to lead the Pac-10 and rank third in the NCAA. Washington led the Pac-10 in hitting at .288 and also limited opponents to a league-best .174 percentage.
ALL HOME MATCHES ARE ONDEMAND
If you miss any of Washington's home matches this year, or just want to relive the action or a particular play, remember that every match is available to watch on Comcast OnDemand. The video is taken from the GoHuskies.com live stream with all the accoutrements of your typical television broadcast. To find the Huskies, start under "Get Local" or "Sports & Fitness" then "Local Sports" followed by "UW" and then "Volleyball."
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Georgia got off to a 6-0 start before dropping a tough five-setter at North Colorado, a team the Huskies defeated 3-1 in the NCAA First Round last season. The Bulldogs returned six starters from a squad that went 17-14 last season and finished tied for fifth in the Southeast Conference. Georgia began the year with a win at the Deacon Invitational, defeating host Wake Forest on the final day. The match against UW will be the home opener for UGA. On the stat sheet, Georgia is outhitting its opponents .285-.137, led by senior middle Valentina Gonzalez who was an All-SEC Second Team pick last year and is hitting .433. Tied with Gonzalez at .433 is junior outside Ann Dylla, who averages 3.28 kills per set. Dylla is also averaging 1.48 blocks per set. Freshman Brittany Northcutt has made a big impression, racking up 18 aces already and 3.32 kills per set. Joel McCartney is in his fourth season in charge in Athens.
ABOUT THE SERIES
This will be the third meeting between the Huskies and Bulldogs. Georgia won the first meeting, in Athens, in four sets in 1996. The Huskies returned the favor with a three-set win in Seattle in 1998.
SCOUTING THE YELLOW JACKETS
Georgia Tech will make the trip to Athens from Atlanta, bringing a 3-3 mark into the weekend. The Yellow Jackets will face Florida Gulf Coast on Friday before meeting UW Saturday morning. Last season the Jackets made their first NCAA tourney since 2004, going 21-10 and 15-5 in the ACC under first year coach Tonya Johnson. Georgia Tech has suffered a pair of tough 3-2 losses to Indiana and Loyola Marymount, then was swept by Kansas State in its last match at KSU's tourney last weekend. Keeping watch on rightside hitter Monique Mead will be key to UW's success, as the sophomore leads the squad with 4.18 kills per set, hiting .261. Mead had a career-high 23 kills vs. LMU. Junior Asia Stawicka has also been efficient, finishing at a .347 clip with more than two kills a set. Senior setter Mary Ashley Tippins runs the offense, averaging 9.41 assists per set, and is a Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Candidate.
ABOUT THE SERIES
This will be the first meeting ever between the Huskies and Yellow Jackets.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
Florida Gulf Coast was 18-13 a year ago and 15-5 in the Atlantic Sun conference. FGCU just made a trip through the Northwest, taking on both Oregon and Oregon State, but dropping both matches in straight sets. They came up short against UNLV, 3-2, in their last match, and sit at 2-6 overall with both Georiga and Georgia Tech on tap before the Huskies. FGCU has six players with between 38 and 50 kills so far this season, but is hitting just .161 as a team while its opponents have hit .246. Holly Youngquist leads the team with an impressive 4.25 digs per set.
ABOUT THE SERIES
Washington and Florida Gulf Coast have never met before.
HUSKIES IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Washington stayed put at the No. 9 spot in both polls this week despite some shifts around them in the Top-10. Texas, Hawai'i, and Minnesota all suffered their first losses among Top-10 teams last week, though only the Gophers dropped behind UW. USC leapfrogged the Huskies after upsetting the Rainbow Wahine. The Huskies opened the season ranked in the Top-10 in both preseason polls. The AVCA coaches poll ranked the Dawgs eighth, the second-highest Pac-10 team behind No. 4 Stanford. Volleyball Magazine started the Huskies 10th. Penn State is the top-ranked team in both polls. Stanford has now moved up to No. 2 in both rankings, with USC at No. 6/8 just ahead and No. 10 California right behind UW, none of which will matter much when the teams settle it on the court. Seven Pac-10 teams were ranked in the AVCA preseason poll, easily the most of any conference, leading the four from the Big Ten.
RECORDS WATCH
One Husky has already surpassed a big career milestone early on this season, as setter Jenna Hagglund went over 4,000 career assists in the first match of the year. Hagglund now has 4,173 assists, second only to Courtney Thompson, the all-time Pac-10 leader. Hagglund is approximately 400 assists away from breaking into the Pac-10 career Top-10 list. Fellow senior Becky Perry recently surpassed 1,000 points for her career, currently owning 1,036.5 to become the sixth Husky to pass the mark. Senior Kindra Carlson is right behind Perry with 979.5.
REPORTING FOR DUTY
Four new faces have joined the Husky family this season, three freshmen and one transfer, and two more Dawgs have discarded the redshirts and moved from the bench to the starting lineup early on this season. Jenna Orlandini and Kylin Muñoz had to wait a long time for their collegiate debuts, each redshirting the 2009 season, but they put the extra time to good use, and both have earned starting roles thus far. Orlandini becomes just the third different Husky to start at libero since 2001, following All-Americans Candace Lee and Tamari Miyashiro. Orlandini had a career-best 20 digs in her last match against Gonzaga, the most by a Pac-10 player in a three-set match this year. Muñoz made her starting debut on the outside with six kills on 11 error-free swings against Mercer and is fourth on the team with 21 kills. Entering into the same waiting game as Orlandini and Muñoz is junior Amanda Gil, who joined UW from Pac-10 rival UCLA and must redshirt the season due to transfer rules. Gil was second in the NCAA and led the Pac-10 in blocks last year, and will make UW better every day in practice. Of the three freshmen, Gabbi Parker of Eugene, Oregon saw first playing time, checking into UW's match against Eastern Washington and then starting against Gonzaga and posting 10 kills and hitting .450. Setter Anna Cesari of Woodway, Wash. and middle blocker Stephanie Stoll of Bellevue, Wash. project more long-term but have bright futures.
NEXT UP
The Huskies continue their road warrior ways, making another lengthy trip, this time to Pittsburgh for the Pittsburgh Blue & Gold Tournament. Once again the Huskies will start with the tournament host, the Pitt Panthers, on Thursday, Sept. 16. They'll then take on Eastern Illinois on Friday and Robert Morris on Saturday.
UW ON THE TUBE
Washington fans will have three chances to catch the Huskies on television this year no matter where they live. Matches will air on a delayed basis on FSN as well as Fox College Sports (FCS). The first televised match for the Huskies will be the October 8 in-state battle when Washington State visits Hec-Ed Pavilion. Washington will be the match of the week again the very next week, as UW's visit to Stanford on Oct. 15 will be taped. The Huskies will then be featured in another road contest when they arrive in Los Angeles to face USC on Oct. 30. Official broadcast dates and times will not be available until the week of the matches. Of course, UW fans can watch every home match live on GoHuskies.com and archived on Comcast OnDemand.
COACHES PICK HUSKIES SECOND IN PAC
In a vote by the conference head coaches, Washington was chosen to place second in the Pac-10 Conference for the 2010 season. The Huskies received two out of 10 first place votes. There was a consensus top three teams in the polling, with defending champion Stanford earning the top spot with the Huskies right behind. The Cardinal, who edged UW for the 2009 Pac-10 title by one game, picked up 77 points and six first-place votes for the top spot, while UW had 72 points, followed by USC, fifth in the league a year ago, with the remaining two first-place votes and 70 points overall. Behind Washington was a sizeable gap to Arizona which was picked fourth with 52 points. California was fifth with 48 points, Oregon comes in sixth with 39, seventh was UCLA with 37, and eighth is Arizona State with 22 points. Washington State and Oregon State ranked ninth and 10th with 17 and 10 points, respectively. Last season the conference sent a record-tying eight teams to the NCAA Championships.
