Cougars drop one, win one in doubleheader

Freshman outside hitter Pia Timmer led WSU with 16 kills in win over Stony Brook

WSU+volleyball++celebrates+after+winning+the+match+against+Tennessee+on+Dec.+1+in+Bohler+Gym+to+advance+to+the+third+round+of+the+NCAA+Tournament.

BENJAMIN MICHAELIS | DAILY EVERGREEN FILE

WSU volleyball celebrates after winning the match against Tennessee on Dec. 1 in Bohler Gym to advance to the third round of the NCAA Tournament.

JAKOB THORINGTON, Former Evergreen reporter

The Cougars split Saturday’s doubleheader in the James Madison University Invitational, sweeping Stony Brook University and getting swept by the University of Iowa in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

WSU dropped its first match of the day losing 25-19, 25-19, 25-22 to Iowa. The Cougars would go on to beat Stony Brook 25-12, 25-15, 25-21 and move to a 2-1 record on the year, beating James Madison University Friday morning.

Stony Brook kept the third set close, never being down by more than four throughout the set. After they tied the set at 18-18, WSU went on a 7-3 run to close the match that included a service ace from junior outside hitter/setter Penny Tusa. She had three aces in the match.

The Cougars opened the second set against Stony Brook with 7-0 run with 2 kills from freshman outside hitter Pia Timmer. She led WSU in the match with 16 kills and 39 total attacks.

Stony Brook hit .039 percent on the match and had 17 attack errors. The Cougars hit .210 percent had 40 kills with 18 attack errors on 105 total attacks. Stony Brook out-blocked WSU 10-6, getting three each from senior outside hitter Maria Poole and senior middle blocker Kendra Harlow.

WSU kept it close in the final set against Iowa, trading points up until the set was tied 19-19. Iowa closed out the match by going on a 6-3 run despite freshman outside hitter Reagan Cooper getting two late kills during that sequence.

Cooper finished with 5 kills against Iowa, finishing third on the team against Iowa in kills. Redshirt senior middle blocker Jocelyn Urias led the team offensively with 8 kills and a .333 hitting percentage.

The Cougars came up short closing out sets against Iowa. In the second set, they were unable to answer an 8-3 run from Iowa after being down 17-16. In the first set after a 19-19 tie, Iowa took advantage of three WSU attack errors to go on a 6-0 run.

WSU had a .069 hitting percentage to Iowa’s .290 percentage. The Cougars finished the match with 28 total kills and 21 hitting errors.

The Cougars are back on the road to compete in the Portland Tournament Friday and Saturday in Portland, Oregon. They will face Utah State University for their first match at 9:30 a.m.