On Saturday, the Cougs got back in the win column after defeating Loyola Marymount University 3-1.
After dropping consecutive games against Pepperdine and the University of San Diego, the Cougs needed to keep a positive outlook on the season and respond in the game.
“Not getting too down on that loss [to San Diego will help us bounce back],” WSU head coach Korey Schroeder said after the loss to San Diego. “You know, ultimately, in the scorebook it counts as one loss. We gotta try to respond on Saturday with LMU.”
The Cougs already defeated the Lions once this season in straight sets and looked to do it again.
Early on in the first set it looked like LMU had a real chance of getting revenge. The Lions found themselves up 7-5 with a .500 hitting percentage. Wazzu on the other hand, was hitting .000. The Cougs kept with it though and eventually tied the game at 9-9.
WSU and LMU’s volleyball team huddling together after a point on Oct. 18 2025.
Lions’ outside hitter Maddie Boerstra, despite having two kills, helped the Cougs get back in it with two attack errors. The Cougs then pulled ahead 15-12 after two kills and an ace by middle blocker Lucie Blažková, and a kill by opposite Kate Hayhurst and outside hitter Taryn Vrieling.
Wazzu later extended their lead to five, going up 21-16. However, just when it seemed the Cougars would run away with the set, the Lions went on a 5-0 run to tie the game at 21. Lions’ outside hitter Nicole Schuetz contributed three kills on the run.
After a Wazzu timeout, the Cougs went up 24-22 after two more kills from Vrieling and Hayhurst and an LMU service error. But they allowed Lions’ outside hitter Sophie Stephenson to get a kill and a serve on back-to-back points to put the set into extra points.
Regardless, the Cougs eventually prevailed 26-24 after outside hitter Mary Healy recorded her second kill, and Hayhurst ended it with a service ace.
“It was a pretty awesome feeling [to get the ace],” Hayhurst said. “I usually don’t serve a ton… I [just told myself] ‘You got this, like, get it,’ and that’s exactly what I did. It was fun to have my teammates there to just cheer with me and lift me up after that.”
Despite winning the set, the Cougs were only hitting .167 offensively and LMU was playing strong defensively.
The Cougs’ lack of offensive output would go on to hurt them in the second set. Midway through the second set, the Cougs were down 13-10 and were hitting .000 for the set. They found themselves down 18-12 after two more attacking errors and an LMU service ace, on top of allowing Boerstra to record her sixth kill.
Wazzu went on to drop the set 25-21 and was down 22-14 earlier on. They fell after allowing Stephenson her fifth kill of the match in the set point.
Tied one set apiece, the Cougs and Lions went back and forth to start the third. There were eight ties in the set before the Cougs were leading 11-10. WSU extended its lead after going on a 6-2 run led by Blažková, who had two kills and two blocks in that stretch.
The Lions fought their way back into the game, cutting Wazzu’s lead down to three at 20-17 after two Stephenson kills. But the Cougs still went on to win the set 25-20. Vrieling got the Cougars’ last two points, putting her at 10 kills in the match.
Italia Bernal gets ready for a play against LMU for the WSU volleyball team on Oct. 18 2025.
The fourth and final set saw the Lions jump out to an 11-7 lead. Boerstra had four kills to start out and setter Delfina Schuh had two kills and two service aces. But the Cougs rallied back, tying the game at 11 apiece before going on a 7-1 run to go up 18-12. Vrieling had three kills and a block in the run.
The Cougs then went on a 4-3 run to go up 22-15. Again, it looked like the Cougs would run away with the set. But the Lions ended up going on a 8-1 run to cut the Cougs’ lead to 23-22. The Lions benefited from three WSU attack errors and a service error.
However, the Cougs held on, winning the set 25-22, after a Lions’ service ace and block by Healy and middle blocker Camryn Lingenbrink to win the last two points.
This was Wazzu’s first win since the last time they played LMU. It also completed a Cougar sweep of LMU this season, after being swept by them last season.
What helped turn things around in the third and fourth set was the offensive production. At the end of the second set, the Cougs were hitting .149, but in the last two sets, WSU hit a .325 average. Vrieling and Blažková both finished the game with 16 kills.
“[Not] every game is gonna be perfect offense-wise,” Blažková said. “I think it was amazing how we still found a way to win the first set, even though it wasn’t perfect [offensively].”
The Cougs’ now have a week break until they take on the University of San Diego (15-4, 8-0) again on Saturday.
“[We’re] going to take some rest here as much as we can this next week and not drag out practices all week,” Schroeder said. “We’ll prepare well for San Diego.”
