Volleyball readies for match with ranked Washington

Rival UW heads to Pullman with an eight-game winning streak

DES MARKS | Daily Evergreen File

Senior outside hitter Casey Schoenlein spikes the ball in a game against Stanford on Sept. 30, 2016.

RYAN MOSHER, Evergreen reporter

WSU volleyball (11-1) will face off against No. 7 University of Washington (10-1) on Wednesday in Pullman, just as Head Coach Jen Greeny surpassed 100 career wins, in what will be a competitive match. Both teams enter with an eight-game winning streak.

UW and WSU faced off twice last year. The first meeting went to the Cougars, 3-1, but the second match belonged to UW as they swept the Cougs 3-0. This year, both teams are looking for the top spot in the Pac-12.

The Huskies are currently undefeated on the road and nine of their 10 wins have been sweeps. UW is led by Head Coach Keegan Cook, who took the reins in 2015. Cook holds a 70-9 record with the Huskies. They are currently tied for the second-best record with Colorado State in the Pac-12 standings.

Greeny has led the Cougs since she became the 12th coach in program history six years ago. She was named 2016 Pac-12 coach of the year and secured her 100th win after the team defeated Tennessee State (4-7) on Friday.

Among Greeny’s coaching staff is her husband, Burdette Greeny. He serves as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator for the team. He was nationally recognized for his recruitment classes from the years 2013-2015.

“Burdette Greeny should be credited for much of the hard work in securing these top-ranked recruiting classes,” Jen Greeny said of her husband.

Recent classes include WSU’s first players named to a U.S. national team since 1997 — junior opposite Casey Schoenlein and sophomore outside hitter McKenna Woodford.

WSU currently holds the best record in the Pac-12. However, the team is not ranked in the top-25 of the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll.

This game marks the start of conference play. The match is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Bohler Gymnasium, and will be available through the Pac-12 networks.