Saturday, Dec 1, 2018 (all times Pacific)
1pm on Friel Court in Beasley Coliseum: Boise State at WSU
Women’s Basketball
6pm in Bohler Gym, WSU Volleyball vs. Tennessee
6pm in Las Cruces, N.M., WSU Men’s Basketball at New Mexico
State
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WSU VOLLEYBALL:
Text below based on what provided by WSU Sports Info and
other sources
In Bohler Gym on Friday night: WSU Volleyball Knocks off
Northern Arizona to Advance to NCAA Second Round. Mims, Woodford, and Urias
lead the way offensively for the Cougars in the four-set win.
Next up: Tennessee at WSU
The Cougs gear up for the second round of the NCAA
Championship Tournament, Saturday, December 1, as WSU will host the University
of Tennessee inside Bohler Gym, with first serve scheduled for 6 p.m. PT.
(Tennessee gets to play WSU by beating Colorado State on
Friday night in Bohler. Colorado State had a 2-0 lead, but Tennessee rallied to
win 3-2 (26-28, 20-25, 25-18, 25-21, 15-12).
WHO WHAT WHEN WHERE
PULLMAN, Wash. – The No. 16 seeded Washington State Cougars
(22-9) downed Northern Arizona in the opening round of the NCAA Championship
Tournament in four sets inside Bohler Gym.
Set scores from the match were: 25-23, 25-15, 22-25, and
25-21 in favor of the Cougars.
The opening set of this NCAA Championship Tournament first
round match saw both the Cougars and The Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona (26-9)
come out swinging, as three ties would occur within the first six overall
points scored in this set. NAU found a bit of separation with a 3-1 run to hold
down a slim lead of 14-12 midway through the first game. Washington State was
ready with a counter attack, first creating a 3-0 scoring run, and then topped
off the set with a 5-0 run to hold the 23-21 advantage. Jocelyn Urias recorded
a pair of kills to cap off the set one victory at 25-23 overall.
Set number two brought the same intensity and post-season
atmosphere as the first, but a 6-1 run from the Cougars midway through the
round created the separation the home squad needed. Kills from Ella Lajos,
Taylor Mims, and Urias, along with an Alexis Dirige ace helped fuel WSU out the
a solid lead over the Lumberjacks. Washington State built yet another run to
end set two, winning seven straight points to put away Northern Arizona on
back-to-back Urias aces.
Washington State took control of set number three early with
a 6-0 run, backed by multiple Mims service aces, and back-to-back kills from
McKenna Woodford for the 9-5 advantage. Northern Arizona slowly began to chip
away at the home lead, ultimately taking not only the lead in the set, but
winning it as well with a 7-1 run overall to claim the round at 25-22.
The Cougars came out in set number four focused and ready to
reclaim the home energy of Bohler with a 5-1 run after a pair of kills from
Lajos, and another added by Mims. Additional scoring runs created by Washington
State of 4-0, and 3-0 with some offensive help from Ashley Brown, and Woodford
to see the home squad take a 20-14 lead. WSU continued to hold strong against
the Lumberjacks as kills from Claire Martin, and Woodford helped seal the NCAA
Tournament first round victory at 3-1 overall.
VOLLEYBALL STAT OF THE MATCH
Jocelyn Urias had a fantastic overall offensive game, but
she stepped up on the court tonight with four total service aces to lead
Washington State and tie her career-high in the stat category.
VOLLEYBALL NOTES
McKenna Woodford anchored the offense with a team-high 16
kills in the contest, along with adding two block assists to her stat sheet.
Taylor Mims posted a solid night with double-digit kills
totaling 14 overall, and added three aces to her game as well.
Ashley Brown continued to guide the offensive attack with 54
assists, and notched another double-double with 11 digs.
Claire Martin provided the strong defensive front on the
night with four total blocks, totaling three block assists, and one solo.
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Below from Spokane S-R
College volleyball: Washington State tops ‘scrappy’ Northern
Arizona team in NCAA Tournament opener
UPDATED: Fri., Nov. 30, 2018, 11:05 p.m.
By Peter Harriman , Spokane S-R
Washington State’s volleyball team advanced to the second
round of the NCAA Tournament against Tennessee with a four-set win against
smaller but defensive-minded Northern Arizona Friday in Bohler Gym in Pullman.
“Credit to them,” Cougars coach Jen Greeny said of NAU.
“They were scrappy.
“Their first line of defense is their serve, and their serve
got us out of system. It did take us a little while to adjust and start mixing
up our shots.”
NAU hung with the Cougars because its defense forced WSU
into becoming predictable on offense, Greeny said.
McKenna Woodford finished off the Lumberjacks after taking a
pass from Taylor Mims and hammering a shot through the block of Heaven Harris.
The Cougars took the match 25-23, 25-15, 22-25, 25-21. As
the Cougars pulled away late in the fourth game, Greeny said she was looking
forward to not having to play a fifth “more than life itself.”
Harris predicted a fifth game would have been “16-14, our
favor.”
“I only wish it could have been,” NAU’s Kaylee Jorgenson
said. “I think it would have been a fun match to watch.”
WSU faces Tennessee on Saturday in the second round. The
Volunteers dropped the first two games but beat Colorado State 26-28, 20-25,
25-18, 25-21, 15-12.
“(Tennessee) is a bigger, more powerful team, like we’re
used to playing in the Pac-12,” Greeny said
Woodford finished with a .275 hitting percentage and had 16
kills. Elevating and blasting shots off the corner, she keyed the Cougars’
attack.
“All of our hitters
need to produce, even when we’re not passing well. McKenna came through big for
us,” Greeny said.
Mims added 14 kills, Jocelyn Urias 12 and Ella Lajos 10.
In the third game, the Lumberjacks came from five points
down to overtake the Cougars.
“We really pushed on defense,” Harris said. “We said, ‘Point
after point. We’re going to play point after point.’ ”
The Cougars finished with a .264 team hitting percentage and
held the Lumberjacks to .180.
“We’ve done a good job of keeping our opponents’ hitting
percentage low,” Greeny said. “Their hitting percentage was too high for what
we like.”
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WSU FOOTBALL
Gardner Minshew vs. Brett Rypien? Yes, please: Five
intriguing bowl matchups for Washington State
UPDATED: Thu., Nov. 29, 2018, 8:58 p.m.
By Theo
Lawson of Spokane S-R
….
Where to?
National media outlets guess where the Cougars will spend
their Christmas – or perhaps New Year’s – holiday.
CBS Sports – Alamo Bowl vs. West Virginia
ESPN – Fiesta Bowl vs. Michigan (Bonagura), Alamo Bowl vs.
West Virginia (Sherman)
Sports Illustrated – Fiesta Bowl vs. UCF
Yahoo! – Alamo Bowl vs. West Virginia
USA Today – Fiesta Bowl vs. UCF
Sporting News – Fiesta Bowl vs. UCF
Bleacher Report – Fiesta Bowl vs. UCF
The Athletic – Alamo Bowl vs. West Virginia
247Sports – Alamo Bowl vs. West Virginia
SB Nation – Alamo Bowl vs. West Virginia
…………..
PULLMAN – Most Washington State fans sunk their heads into
their hands when the College Football Playoff committee released its most
recent rankings on Tuesday. Heading into conference championship weekend, the
10-2 Cougars sit right on the bubble of a New Year’s Six bowl berth – and
behind four teams who’ve lost one more game than them.
Depending on what happens in title games across the country
Friday and Saturday, and how CFP voters are feeling about the Cougs when they
get out of bed Sunday, WSU will either earn a bid to a major bowl game for the
first time in 15 years or “settle” for an above-average non-NY6 game.
The official word comes Sunday, so while you wait, here are
five intriguing bowl matchups we’ve drawn up for the 2018 Cougars – a few of
them more realistic than the others.
1. WSU vs. Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl
How it could happen: On Boise State’s end, the Broncos would
have to take care of business against Fresno State in the Mountain West
championship game. Bryan Harsin and his crew will also be big Memphis fans this
weekend. To reach the Fiesta Bowl for the fourth time in school history, BSU
would need the Tigers to beat UCF in the AAC title game and the Knights would
need to drop below the Broncos in the College Football Playoff rankings. And
for WSU to reach a NY6 bowl? Well, the Cougars need even more help. A quartet
of three-loss teams – Washington, Penn State, LSU and Florida – sits above WSU
in the rankings and only one of them, the No. 11 Huskies, plays a game this weekend.
Committee members would have to reevaluate the Cougars’ resume and decide to
bump WSU ahead of at least one of the three-loss teams to give Mike Leach a
shot at his first NY6 bowl as the coach in Pullman.
Why we’d like it: First and foremost, because it would be
the rubber match in an entertaining series between the Mountain West Broncos
and Pac-12 Cougars. Each of the last two meetings were decided by three points,
with BSU edging WSU 31-28 on the blue turf two years ago and the Cougars
outlasting the Broncos 47-44 in a triple-overtime thriller in Pullman last
season. Brett Rypien, the Spokane native and Shadle Park grad with some
well-documented ties to WSU, has thrown for more than 13,400 yards as a
four-year starter for the Broncos and will be playing his final game in the BSU
blue.
2. WSU vs. West Virginia in the Alamo Bowl
How it could happen: At No. 16 in the College Football
Playoff rankings, the Mountaineers are completely out of the picture when it
comes to a New Year’s Six bowl. The Cougars, now No. 13, no longer control
their NY6 destiny after a 28-15 loss to Washington in the Apple Cup. With
Oklahoma and Texas in NY6 bowls, it seems most likely the Alamo Bowl would grab
WVU. If WSU can’t secure a trip to the Fiesta or Peach Bowl, the Cougars would
become the most attractive choice for the San Antonio game.
Why we’d like it: There’d be a storyline just about
everywhere you look. Two Heisman Trophy candidates – WVU’s Will Grier and WSU’s
Gardner Minshew – squaring off in the Alamodome might be the best QB matchup of
the postseason, barring a potential CFP meeting between Kyler Murray and Tua
Tagovailoa. Just as fascinating, the reunion of Mountaineers coach Dana
Holgorsen and Cougars coach Mike Leach. Holgorsen played for Leach at Iowa
Wesleyan, then coached alongside Leach at Valdosta State and spent seven more
seasons with the former Texas Tech boss in Lubbock. Since then, Holgorsen has
worked to spread the Air Raid gospel at Houston, Oklahoma State and West
Virginia. Leach returning to Texas gives us another subplot here. Sovereign
immunity, anyone? Both of WSU’s specialists, kicker Blake Mazza and Oscar
Draguicevich, also hail from the Lone Star State.
3. WSU vs. UCF in the Fiesta Bowl
How it could happen: Even without standout QB McKenzie
Milton, the Knights of UCF are still favored to beat Memphis by three points in
the AAC championship game. If they do, they’ll lock down a NY6 bid for the
second time in as many years. WSU, as mentioned above, needs plenty of help
from committee members on college football’s “Selection Sunday,” but enough of
the prognosticators are recognizing the Fiesta Bowl as a potential destination
for WSU – and UCF as a potential foe – that we’ll give it some ink, too.
Why we’d like it: Earlier this year, Leach revisited the
still-popular 1999 Red River Rivalry game between his Oklahoma Sooners and the
Texas Longhorns. Leach, OU’s offensive coordinator, devised a fake call sheet
and left it on the field prior to the game for Longhorns coaches to find. As
the story goes, a UT grad assistant picked up the bait and on the first OU
drive, quarterback Josh Heupel fired a 44-yard touchdown pass, executing a play
that was opposite of the one on Leach’s mock call sheet. Heupel is the coach at
UCF, so Knights vs. Cougars would give us another matchup between Leach and an
old pupil. We’d definitely scan the turf for stranded playbooks beforehand,
too.
4. WSU vs. Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl
How it could happen: The Buckeyes are a heavy favorite to
beat Northwestern in the Big Ten title game. If they do, this possibility would
be null, because Ohio State would head to the Rose Bowl. If – a big, big “if” –
the Wildcats can pull off an upset, they’d fly to Pasadena and OSU would settle
for another NY6 game, perhaps the Fiesta Bowl. Yes, we understand that also
makes it more difficult for WSU to secure an NY6 spot, but perhaps CFP voters
decided to knock the three-loss teams below the Cougars. Lots of “perhaps” and
“ifs” here, but where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Why we’d like it: The reunion with former WSU defensive
coordinator Alex Grinch, a first-year co-DC/safeties coach in Columbus, is an
obvious plot line here. The Buckeyes rank just No. 67 nationally in total
defense and as much Air Raid as Grinch saw over the years in Pullman, they’re
just No. 77 against the pass. If Minshew doesn’t get a trip to New York City
for the Heisman Trophy ceremony, OSU QB Dwayne Haskins is probably the one
getting his ticket. The matchup between two high-caliber passers also gives
this matchup intrigue.
5. WSU vs. Michigan in the Peach Bowl
How it could happen: If the Cougars are fortunate enough to
nab a New Year’s Six spot, it’d almost surely be the Fiesta Bowl. The Peach
Bowl is another option, however. Most already expect Michigan to be courted by
the Atlanta-based game. The Wolverines, at 10-2 and No. 7 in the CFP rankings,
don’t play this weekend and therefore won’t slip out of the top 12. If CFP
committee members get out of bed Sunday and somehow fall in love with the
Cougars again – and fall out of love with the Nittany Lions, Tigers and Gators
– WSU could face the Big Ten for a third consecutive postseason.
Why we’d like it: The press conference might draw bigger
numbers than the game itself. On one side of the podium, Jim Harbaugh, who once
climbed a tree while recruiting a top cornerback prospect. On the other, Leach,
who last year during a pre-Holiday Bowl presser, elaborated on his experience
owning a pet raccoon. Two of college football’s most riveting interviews,
Harbaugh and Leach are also a few of the sport’s most innovative minds and
Michigan and WSU respectively rank No. 21 and No. 15 in scoring offense this
season.
And just for kicks…
6. WSU vs. Northwestern in the Holiday Bowl
How it could happen: OK, now we’re really stretching, but
stretch with us here. If Utah ekes out a win in the Pac-12 championship game,
the Utes would be Rose Bowl-bound and the Pac-12 would presumably be shielded
from a second NY6 berth. The Alamo Bowl could technically grab UW at this
point, because the Huskies would still be within one conference loss of the
Cougars. The Holiday Bowl, theoretically, could take Stanford if the Cardinal
avoid a fourth conference loss this Saturday against Cal. But 10-win Wazzu
still is the more attractive option – yes, even for the Holiday Bowl.
Why we’d like it: Behind Leach and Minshew, Northwestern
strength coach Alex Spanos would be the third-most recognizable character in
this game. Spanos’ tight purple polo shirts and jacked up biceps have become
virally famous – far more so than any player or coach on Northwestern’s roster.
That’s about all we have here.
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