Sept. 1, 2000
TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Arizona State volleyball team defeated Cal Poly 3-2 in come-from-behind fashion to conclude the first day of the 2000 Phoenix Airport Hilton/Sun Devil Challenge 1-1. ASU lost a five-game thriller to San Jose State (4-15, 15-9, 15-17, 15-12, 15-13) to open the season, but bounced back in the last game to even their season record.
In the first game, the Sun Devils were hot out of the gates, scorching the Spartans 15-4. Senior outside hitter Amanda Burbridge put down two quick kills to reach the 1,000 mark for her illustrious ASU career. SJSU bounced back with a 15-9 win in game two. After ASU inched out a win in game three (17-15), the Spartans went on a tear to win the next three games and capture their first win of the early season.
Burbridge led ASU with 24 kills and 16 digs. Freshman setter Cheryl Anglin had 48 assists and has emerged as the starter at that position for ASU. Freshman defensive specialist Courtney Blocher had three service aces.
For the Spartans, outside hitter Joslyn Gallop had 31 kills and had 10 digs to pick up the double-double. Brianna Blair tallied 18 kills and setter Savannah Smith had 60 assists.
In the night game, ASU took another match to the maximum five games, but escaped with a thrilling 3-2 win over Cal Poly. After taking the first game in convincing fashion 15-5, Poly emerged by taking the next two games. Down 2-1, ASU battled back for a tough 16-14 win in game four and in game five, after being down 11-9, pulled out a 15-11 to notch the first win of the 2000 season.
The turning point came in the fifth game when ASU was down 11-9 and head coach Patti Snyder-Park called a timeout. From there the Sun Devils caught fire to overcome the Cal Poly lead. Freshman outside hitter Kim Mehlhorn had several key kills and Burbridge served out to game to put away the Mustangs (0-2).
"We really fought with some intensity late in the fifth game vs. Cal Poly and that showed me something," said Snyder-Park. "We were sluggish mentally early in the game, but when it came down to crunch time we came to play and put them away when we needed to. We had some freshmen step up tonight to help lead us to victory and Amanda really served well down the stretch."
Burbridge led all players with 31 kills and had 20 digs to tally her first double-double of the year. Anglin had 77 assists, which ranks fourth in the ASU record books for assists in a match, and contributed 12 digs. Junior Jami Coughlin put down 23 kills and had 15 digs.
Melanie Hathaway led the Mustangs with 24 kills and added 17 digs.
In other tournament action, No. 23 Loyola Marymount is the only undefeated team beating Cal Poly and San Jose State. ASU will battle the LMU Lions at 3 p.m. tomorrow at Wells Fargo Arena to close out the annual tournament, while Cal Poly and SJSU will meet in the early match at 1 p.m.
--Go Sun Devils--