With a dominant performance from Iman Isanovic, the WSU volleyball team completed their near-perfect weekend with their second sweep in as many days this time coming against Tulane, Saturday.
No. 17 WSU volleyball (5-1, 0-0 Pac-12) took down Tulsa (2-3) in a sweep 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-16). After the match, Isanovic was named the Cougar Invitational Tournament MVP, and Argentina Ung and Madga Jehlárová were named All-Tournament Team honors.
The second sweep of the Tournament meant the Cougs went 3-0 on the weekend and 9-1 in sets, just one set away from the trifecta. All three matches were convincing wins, but all three proved to have points where the team could learn and improve.
“This tournament was challenging, it was a litmus test of what we need to work on. We got a lot of great film [out of Louisville and this tournament] and we’re focusing on ourselves and what we can improve on each match,” assistant coach Shannon Hunt said.
When the first set of action finished, WSU as a team was hitting .500 with a side-out percentage of 83.3%, making it clear that dominant offense would be the focus point of the team throughout the match.
At the time, Ung had 14 assists and the offense was spread throughout the team. Both Isanovic and Pia Timmer had four kills in the first set, with Katy Ryan and Lana Radakovic adding three apiece
The second set was smooth sailing, and despite a 5-0 run to start the match for Tulsa, the third set became smooth after a timeout. Timmer finished with the lead in kills with 13 on a .545 hitting percentage. She had one of the best all-around matches as she had a double-double, adding three assists, 11 digs and three total blocks on her 13 kills.
“She’s been really working on her defensive game. The offensive part kind of comes naturally for her. The defense and passing game for her is really amped up,” Hunt said. “I’m really proud of her for all the days she’s had [recently].”
MVP of the Tournament Isanovic had 11 kills of her own, hitting .478 and adding three digs. Ung, after having 14 assists in the first set, finished with 34 in the match, adding three kills, three digs and three total blocks.
As a team, the offensive put up fantastic numbers while holding Tulsa at bay. The Cougs hit .506 on the match with a side-out percentage of 76% all while holding Tulsa to .250 and 50%, respectively.
WSU also had more aces with five to Tulsa’s three, while committing fewer service errors, seven compared to nine. All around, the Cougs rightfully looked like the stronger team and capitalized on several point-saving digs from Julia Norville and Karly Basham, who both had eight digs throughout the match.
After sweeping the Cougar Invitational, WSU hosts their second Tournament of the preseason starting at 6 p.m. Wednesday against UC Irvine in Bohler Gym. Also coming to compete in the Cougar Challenge is an 8 p.m. Thursday bout with Towson and a huge 7 p.m. Friday battle with No. 9 BYU.
