There are few certainties in life, but the most certain thing of all is that it is time for WSU volleyball to begin Conference play. After splitting last season’s matches, the Cougs look to take control in 2023 as the higher-ranked team and make up ground in the all-time matchup before the dissolution of the Pac-12. 

No. 7 WSU volleyball (10-1, 0-0 Pac-12) will bring in Washington (9-2, 0-0 Pac-12) to Bohler Gym as the favorites. Starting the new season 6-0 in their newly renovated gym, WSU has already taken down a top-10 opponent at home and two other ranked opponents, including defending champion Texas, on the road. 

UW, through their first 11 matches, is 3-0 on the road and 3-2 on neutral-site courts, with their losses coming against UTEP in the season opener and Pepperdine Friday. While their strength of schedule pales in comparison to the Cougs, this Huskies team spent a lot of time ranked in 2022. 

Riding a five-match Bohler win streak over UW in recent years, the Cougs hope this year is no different. But, despite the recent success, the Huskies still hold a 22-14 match advantage in Pullman. It is also the first time under Jen Greeny that WSU comes into a match against their greatest rival as the higher-ranked team. 

Last year, the Bohler Apple came at the end of the season, and in front of a record-breaking crowd of 3,005, the Cougs swept UW 3-0 (27-25, 27-25, 25-20). Katy Ryan had a fantastic match, having seven kills and hitting .778% in the first set, finishing with 12 kills, zero attack errors and hitting a team-best .632%. 

Now ranked No. 7, WSU’s schedule has been tough to begin the season. It has been no big sweat with the play of Magda Jehlárová and the rest of the team. Named the most recent Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week, she averaged 2.13 blocks/set with 1.88 kills/set in the team’s big wins over ranked Baylor and Texas on the road. 

On the season, she ranks as the 21st best in the NCAA and the best in the Pac-12 in blocks per set at 1.4, right around her average over the past two seasons. 

Michella Chester named Argentina Ung to her rotation of the week on NCAA volleyball’s Twitter for her recent performances, as she has been finally recognized for her fantastic start to the season. She currently ranks No. 12 in the NCAA and second in the Pac-12 with 10.95 assists/set while also averaging 2.13 digs/set, 1.38 blocks/set, and 0.75 kills/set. 

Ung and Jehlárová will look to bring WSU to their sixth-consecutive home win over UW in volleyball at 7 p.m. Thursday in Bohler Gym.