WSU swept Utah and Colorado over the weekend and dominated in doing so. Their successful conference play through eight matches maintains their No. 4 AVCA ranking for the third consecutive week, the second highest in the Pac-12, just behind No. 3 Stanford.
While not perfect, the Cougs have looked much improved on their second-round team from just one year ago. Each returning player has improved chemistry with one another and new additions have fit in seamlessly. WSU is already nearing their win total from 2022, which has largely been thanks to consistent attacking.
Limiting errors and finding holes in the opposing defense has seemed to come easier for the Cougs in 2023. Led mainly by Magda Jehlárová, the Cougs rank fifth in the nation in hitting percentage, second in the Pac-12 behind Stanford.
As a team, they are hitting .302% and Jehlárová herself is first in the Pac-12 and sixth in the nation with her individual .439% hitting.
There are four players for the Cougs with at least 60 sets played this season and who are hitting above .300%. After Jehlárová, Argentina Ung is hitting .406%, Katy Ryan is third with .332% hitting and transfer Iman Isanovic rounds out the list at .301%.
As a team, WSU is averaging 13.88 kills per set, good for No. 22 in the nation and No. 3 in their conference. It is clear that they win their matches when they perform at their best with their attacks.
Argentina Ung has steadied the offensive attack and got the flow of spreading her passes down to a T. She is No. 21 in the nation in assists per set at 10.57 and, including herself, there are six Cougs with at least 100 attacks and two with over 500 attacks.
In other statistics, WSU is No. 106 in the country in aces per set with 1.65, No. 55 in blocks with 2.45 per set, No. 244 in digs with 13.37 and No. 40 in assists at 12.51.
Despite the low ranking in digs per set, Karly Basham is third in the Pac-12 with 3.85 and with herself, Julia Norville, Emma Barbero and Logan Golden have commanded the back row, especially proving to be vital in the team’s wins over the recent weekend.
Defense has been rather elite despite the lower statistical rankings. While the Cougs have hit .302%, they have limited their opposition to hitting .188% with 366 errors over 2,185 attacks.
WSU has averaged 13.37 digs while the teams they have played have averaged just 11.75. Blocks have also been better from the side of the Cougs, as their 2.45 is well above the opposition’s 1.83.
Jehlárová is the active leader in the NCAA in career blocks and that skill has translated into the new year. Averaging 1.40 blocks per set, she is No. 18 in the nation and No. 2 in the Pac-12. She is nearing the Pac-12 volleyball record for most blocks in a career. After getting to 688 total blocks on her career, she is 68 away from tying Marissa Hatchett of UCLA.
The WSU dominance and fight to break records continues at 7 p.m. Friday as they head back on the road to take on USC in Los Angeles in the Galen Center.
