UW Volleyball | Huskies finish strong sweep

Washington volleyball coach Jim McLaughlin preaches that his teams don't need to rise to greatness until November, when postseason play begins.

It appears his 2006 Huskies might be ahead of schedule.

Friday night, No. 4 Washington took on the team that eight of 10 Pac-10 coaches predicted in a preseason poll would win the conference crown — sixth-ranked Stanford.

The result, an impressive UW 3-0 sweep in front of 4,128 in Hec Edmundson Pavilion, might have people rethinking their view of the restocked defending national champion.

"Everybody thought that they would drop because they graduated several people," said Stanford coach John Dunning, referring to five departed UW seniors who played key roles in Washington's 2005 NCAA Championship run.

"But what they did was add a junior and senior transfer," Dunning said, "and what they end up with is another very experienced team. I think it's surprising everyone that it's fitting together this early, but that just means that Jim's doing a great job."

McLaughlin's players completed a remarkably successful weekend, which began with a 3-0 runaway over No. 8 California on Thursday night, by racing past Stanford. UW won 30-21 in the opening game, battling valiantly in Game 2 (with five lead changes and 15 ties) to pull out a 30-28 victory and fighting off a late Stanford surge to win Game 3 by a 30-25 count.

Against an imposing opponent, whose lineup included 6-foot outside hitter Cynthia Barboza, a member of the USA Senior National Team that competed at the 2005 Pan Am Cup, Washington (12-1 overall, 2-0 Pac-10) excelled in every department, particularly in its savvy serve-and-pass offense.

The Huskies committed just eight attack errors; Stanford (10-2, 1-1) recorded 23.

"To start Pac-10 play with two solid wins is great," said All-American senior setter Courtney Thompson, whose 53 assists Friday lifted her into second place among Pac-10 career assists leaders with 5,433.

"More than that, we were able to execute what we've been working on the past two weeks," she said. "That's the best feeling in the world. That's how you get confidence."

Junior All-American outside hitter Christal Morrison, who turned 21 Friday (and was serenaded by friends with Happy Birthday courtside after the match), led a forceful Washington offense with 17 kills while also posting a dozen digs.

Janine Sandell, UW's senior transfer (from UC Santa Barbara, where she was the 2005 player of the year in the Big West), added eight kills. Stevie Mussie, a redshirt junior transfer from Pacific who led Washington against Cal with 19 kills, had seven Friday.

Middle blockers Alesha Deesing and Jessica Swarbrick were sensational on offense and defense. Deesing posted 14 kills on 18 swings and no errors, an impressive .778 hitting percentage. Swarbrick had 10 kills and six block-assists.

Deesing, a mild-mannered junior off the court, might be known differently after pounding down a crucial kill late in Game 3, giving UW a 25-23 lead after Stanford had just gone on a 6-2 run.

Deesing let out a huge yell as she went up for Thompson's set and continued shouting and pumping both fists as her attack richoceted into the distance.

"Our hitters were on fire tonight," Thompson said. "Dees was amazing. I've never seen her celebrate like that. Then she came back and kept doing it on offense."

McLaughlin even allowed himself a few tiny fist pumps.

"I'm stoked," he said. "We still have a lot to improve on, but this was a good match for us."