Washington advances in volleyball

Sixth-seeded Washington defeated Colorado 30-15, 22-30, 30-26, 30-24 Friday in the second round of the NCAA Volleyball Championship at Boulder, Colo.

With the win, the Huskies advanced to their fourth consecutive round of 16.

Pac-10 Player of the Year Christal Morrison led the way for the Huskies (27-4) with 13 kills and 13 digs, despite battling the flu all week. All Pac-10 honoree Jessica Swarbrick collected 13 kills and a career-high 13 blocks, while Jill Collymore came off the bench to tally 11 kills on 21 swings.

All-American Courtney Thompson paced Washington to a .246 hitting percentage with 57 assists to move her into sixth place on the NCAA all-time list with 6,432. She is 15 assists away from the No. 5 spot.

Freshman Tamari Miyashiro led Washington’s defense with 19 digs and Thompson added 11.

The win improved the defending national champion’s all-time NCAA tournament record to 22-9. The Huskies will face the winner of the Louisville subregional game – between Middle Tennessee State and Ohio – Friday in Seattle in the regional semifinal.

Women’s basketball

Alida Bower endured a scare from one of her surgically repaired knees, but she returned to match teammate Natalie Orrell with 16 points to lead unbeaten Whitworth to a 64-52 Northwest Conference victory over visiting Pacific.

Bower missed almost all of last season with a torn knee ligament in her right knee. She fell to her knees 6 minutes into the game on the defensive end of the floor and limped off the court favoring her left leg. Pirates coach Helen Higgs said Bower returned after she “functionally tested out fine” in the training room.

Whitworth led 31-29 at halftime but extended its lead once Susan McDaniel established herself in the low post. Plagued by foul trouble during the first 20 minutes, McDaniel scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half.

“Rasaan Powell proved to be too much inside as Alcorn State cruised by Idaho 81-62 in the first round of the Commerce Bank Wildcat Classic at Manhattan, Kan.

Powell poured in 28 points on 12-of-20 shooting and grabbed 16 rebounds for the Braves (2-1), who also got 21 points from Shawntawnee Collins and 16 points and nine assists from Tanika Nunez.

Katie Madison paced Idaho (2-4) with 19 points and 11 rebounds for her fifth double-double in the team’s first six games. Liz Witte scored 13 and Sara Dennehy came off the bench to contribute 12 for the Vandals.

Idaho will face Mississippi Valley State in the consolation game of the tournament today.

“Newport High School graduate Maria Barranco scored 13 and Shantel Haugen (North Central) and Emily Wittkopf (Mt. Spokane) each chipped in 12 as Community Colleges of Spokane topped Linn-Benton 69-58 in a non-conference matchup at the Everett Holiday Classic in Everett. The Sasquatch (5-1) outrebounded the Roadrunners (3-2) 42-33 while holding Linn-Benton to 28 percent shooting from the field.

“North Idaho held Douglas to just seven field goals en route to an 83-24 romp in non-conference action at Coeur d’Alene. Kay Hill tallied 21 points, six rebounds and five assists, and Paige McGowan added 17 points to pace the Cardinals (6-2). NIC converted 66 percent of its field goals in the first half while jumping to a 48-11 halftime lead.

Wrestling

North Idaho’s Heinrich Barnes (141 pounds) finished 3-2 in five matches at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, which featured 51 schools. After losing his first two matches by major decision, Barnes defeated wrestlers from Virginia, Western State and Boise State. He will need to win three matches today for third place in the 141-pound division. Robbie Shaw (285) finished 2-2 in the tournament, which used a double-elimination format. Wilson Yates (165) and Evan Mattingly (184) each won one match for the Cardinals.