The volleyball team keeps on winning, as simple as that. Now, up to 12 straight victories, the team continues to push as one of the best teams in the nation. Their most recent victory was over their friendliest rivalry as they traveled to Corvallis, Oregon, to take down the Oregon State Beavers.
No. 7 WSU volleyball (13-1, 3-0 Pac-12) swept the Beavs (5-8, 0-3 Pac-12) 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-17) in what quickly became a tune-up for their upcoming bout with the top-10 Oregon Ducks.
The defense stood out for WSU, holding OSU to hitting .110% and tallying 34 digs and 10 blocks. In the third set, they even forced the Beavers into hitting -0.032%, the lowest of any mark against the Cougs this season in a single set.
Jasmine Martin, a native of Bend, Oregon, led the way in her most significant action of the 2023 season. She led the team with five blocks in her home state while adding six kills and hitting .308%.
Both Iman Isanovic and Magda Jehlárová finished right behind Martin with four blocks each, with Jehlárorá also leading the Cougs in kills and hitting percentage with 10 and .643%, respectively.
Katy Ryan continued her great campaign with eight kills on .333% hitting, adding two blocks at the net for an all-around solid performance. She has quietly become one of the best attacking opposite hitters in the entire country.
According to Chad Gordon on X, Ryan has been the third best attacking opposite in the country, valuing at +0.221 in system above expected production and +0.172 out of system above expected production, a total of +0.221 above expected efficiency of the average D1 volleyball player.
Ryan and the team finished the match against OSU, hitting .284% and a side-out percentage of 69.2%, which are strong numbers but not their best by any means.
As the team looks ahead, they have their toughest Conference bout of the first two series Sunday, a match with No. 6 Oregon. At noon Sunday, the Cougs head over to Eugene, Oregon, to take on the Ducks in a battle of two top-10 schools.
