Huskies make their first migration to Michigan

THIS WEEK IN HUSKY VOLLEYBALL

FRIDAY OCTOBER 18TH

Washington at Michigan, 4:00 p.m. PT
Ann Arbor, Mich. • Crisler Center
Live stream on B1G+ | Live statistics

SUNDAY OCTOBER 20TH
Washington at Michigan, 10 a.m. PT
East Lansing, Mich. • Breslin Center
Live stream on B1G+ | Live statistics

SEATTLE- The Huskies visit the Great Lakes State this weekend for the first time since 1993 and are looking to secure a three-game trip. Washington (13-3, 3-3 Big Ten) narrowly missed its biggest win of the season on Sunday, but has two more chances for important road wins this Friday, Oct. 18, in Ann Arbor against the Wolverines and on Sunday, Oct. 20 October, on his first trip to East Lansing.

Both games will be streamed on Big Ten Plus. Michigan’s first serve is at 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time and UW at MSU begins at 10:00 a.m. PT.

Washington has made only one trip to Ann Arbor in 1993, and UW and Michigan have not met on the volleyball court since 2010. The Huskies last played Michigan State in Seattle in 2015, but this is their first trip to East Lansing.

The Dawgs suffered a heartbreaking end to one of their best performances of the season on Sunday, losing a five-setter to 11th-ranked Oregon in Eugene despite outscoring the Ducks overall in the game and finishing with more kills and digs. UW had a 10-5 lead in the fifth period and was up 12-9 before the Ducks went on a run to score the final six points. But the Huskies saw a lot to build on and were excited Kierstyn Barton’s 20 kills, 16 digs in her first start since returning from injury.

It will require a similar effort against a strong Michigan team that is 4-2 in the conference and 14-3 overall. UM is coming off a 3-1 win at Ohio State that followed a three-set loss to Illinois. Michigan is hitting .248 this year and holding opponents to just .177. Allison Jacobs was one of the league’s top scorers with 4.12 kills per set and a .250 hitting average. Serena Nyambio is hitting .412 with 2.08 kills per set. Libero Maddi Cuchran averages 4.08 assists per set. The Huskies last played Michigan in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 2010, winning 3-0. Michigan’s series victory came in 1993 in Ann Arbor.

Michigan State is 7-10 and 0-6 in Big Ten play, but has played one of the toughest conference schedules so far, already playing No. 3 Penn State and No. 10 Purdue twice. The Spartans narrowly missed their first conference win in their last game, falling to Illinois in five sets. Michigan State is hitting .211 while opponents are hitting an average of .224. Akasha Anderson records 2.98 kills per set and Taylor Preston has 2.61 k/ps. Nalani Iosia currently leads the Big Ten with 4.37 digs per set, while Zuzanna Kulig is third in the Big Ten in blocks with 1.50 per set. UW last faced Michigan State in the second round of the 2015 NCAA and won 3-1.