Oct. 12, 2001
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Arizona State University middle blocker Julia Leddy had a career night, hitting .500 and logging a career-high 23 kills, but it wasn't enough as the University of Washington Huskies handed the Sun Devils their fifth straight loss in a 3-1 setback Friday night in Pac-10 volleyball action at Wells Fargo Arena.
The Huskies improved to 9-7 overall and 3-5 in Pac-10 play, ending a three-match skid of their own. The 36-38, 30-28, 32-30, 30-22 UW victory snapped a four-game losing streak to the Sun Devils and improved their lead in the all-time series to 19-16. The UW victory was fueled by four players with double-digits in kills, including outside hitter Vanessa Gilliam who led the Dawgs with 21 kills. Paige Benjamin (14 kills), Allison Richardson (17 kills) and Kaitlin Leck (11 kills) all added to the victory with impressive performances. Setter Gretchen Mauer paced the Husky offense with 57 assists and added 14 digs.
Arizona State dropped its fifth straight match to fall to 5-8 overall and 1-5 in Pac-10 play. The five-match skid is the longest for the program since enduring a six-match streak back in 1997.
The Sun Devils were led by Leddy (Mesa), who passed her old career high of 18 kills (held three previous times) before entering the fourth game. Hitting .500 (18-6-45) on the night, Leddy continually came up with the big kills for the Sun Devils as they were in every game. The junior also contributed a career-high five digs in the loss.
Sophomore Cheryl Anglin continued to pace the Sun Devil offense with precision, logging a season-high 61 assists. Anglin now has 10 career matches of 60+ assists and with Friday's season-high performance passed the 2,000-assist plateau for your young career. The sophomore now has 2,008 in just 48 career matches. She also played solid defense vs. the Huskies, tying a season-high with 12 digs.
Sophomore defensive specialist Courtney Blocher (Scottsdale) was the defensive star of the night for ASU, logging a career-high 21 digs in the loss. Blocher surpassed her previous high of 17 digs set last year vs. the same Huskies in Tempe. Another key part of ASU's "Sensational Sophomores," Kim Mehlhorn (Tempe) set a career high with 18 kills and added 14 digs. Senior outside hitter Jami Coughlin hit a dismal .088 on 57 attacks, but did contribute her eighth double-double of the year with 16 kills and 19 digs.
The Sun Devils will look to end their five-match losing streak tomorrow night with a 7 p.m. match against Washington State at Wells Fargo Arena. ASU swept the Cougars last year (both 3-2 wins) and have not lost to the Cougs at home since 1997.
Washington def. Arizona State 36-38,30-28,32-30,30-22
Washington (9-7, 3-5 Pac-10) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Gilliam, Vanessa 21-0-3, Richardson, Allison 17-2-5, Underhill, Lisa 14-0-5, Benjamin, Paige 14-0-4, Leck, Kaitlin 11-0-2, Maurer, Gretchen 3-1-1, Ross, Elissa 0-1-0, Churnside, Britni 0-1-1, Totals 80-5-11.0. (Assists) - Maurer, Gretchen 57. (Dig leaders) - Richardson, Allison 20, Leck, Kaitlin 15, Churnside, Britni 15, Maurer, Gretchen 14, Gilliam, Vanessa 10
Arizona State (5-8, 1-5 Pac-10) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Leddy, Julia 23-0-2, Mehlhorn, Kim 18-1-0, Coughlin, Jami 16-0-1, Akporiaye, Alicia 7-0-5, Smith, Jodi 4-0-4, Anglin, Cheryl 3-1-2, Stephens, Mandy 1-0-0, Blocher, Courtney 1-1-0, Arnett, Brittany 1-0-0, Totals 74-3-10.0. (Assists) - Anglin, Cheryl 61. (Dig leaders) - Blocher, Courtney 21, Coughlin, Jami 19, Mehlhorn, Kim 14, Anglin, Cheryl 12, Arnett, Brittany 10
Site: Tempe, Ariz. (Wells Fargo Arena)
Date: Oct 12, 2001
Attend: 572 Time: 2:15