Spikers shocked by Huskies

Published: Monday, October 31, 1994

Bruins return from Pacific Northwest with first-ever loss to unheralded UW

By Eric Branch

Daily Bruin Staff

David slays Goliath. Truman stuns Dewey. Douglas shocks Tyson. The University of Washington women's volleyball team defeats UCLA.

Saturday night in Seattle the unranked Washington Huskies scored their first-ever win over the No. 3 UCLA Bruins in front of 1,540 witnesses in Edmundson Gym. The 15-13, 3-15, 11-15, 15-12, 15-13 , two hour and 15 minute stunner broke a winless streak which spanned three presidents, 14 years and 24 matches.

The Huskies (12-9 overall, 7-6 in Pacific-10) rode the right arm of sophomore outside hitter Angela Bransom to shock the Bruins (22-3, 11-2). Bransom was unconscious on the night, peppering the Bruins with 31 kills while hitting a whopping .444. Bransom's kill total was the fourth highest in the Pac-10 this season.

After hitting a combined .378 in the second and third games, the Bruins looked to be ready to continue their unbeaten reign against the Huskies. Senior outside hitter Annett Buckner and junior outside hitter Jenny Johnson supplied the power. Buckner threw down 19 kills to go along with a match-high 19 digs, while Johnson added a team-high 20 kills.

However, the Huskies grabbed the fourth game to take the match to the rally-scoring fifth frame. In the fifth game the Huskies out-hit the Bruins .348 to .160 to grab the match and put the Bruins two games behind the No. 1 Stanford Cardinal in the Pac-10 race.

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Friday night in Pullman, the Bruins managed to keep one unbeaten streak alive. UCLA hammered Washington State 15-9, 7-15, 15-8, 15-12 to run their career record against the Cougars to a perfect 18-0. Buckner had 25 kills while Johnson added a match-high 17 digs. Senior middle blocker Alyson Randick led the team with five block assists.