Nov. 16, 2002
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Junior outside hitter Juliana Escobar led four Sun Devils with 10 or more kills with a match-high 23 as the Arizona State Sun Devils completed a weekend sweep with a three-game victory over the Oregon Ducks Saturday night in Pac-10 Volleyball action at Wells Fargo Arena. Game scores were 28-30, 30-23, 30-17, 30-27 in favor of the Sun Devils.
The win improved the Sun Devils to 12-9 overall and evened their Pac-10 record at 8-8 with two conference matches remaining in 2002. The Ducks fell to 11-19 overall and 1-15 in Pac-10 play.
In addition to Escobar's big night, senior Julia Leddy had 12 kills on a .310 hitting percentage highlight her final home match as a Sun Devil. ASU's two other seniors also had good performances, with libero Brittany Arnett leading all players with 20 digs and setter Fernanda Habiger recording three blocks and 21 assists.
With her 23 kills and 15 digs, Escobar notched her 14th double-double of the year. The junior outside hitter from Brasilia, Brazil is now averaging 4.39 kpg and with two more service aces tonight vs. Oregon has 45 on the season. Escobar also contributed a career-high three solo blocks in the victory for a match-high 27.5 total points.
Junior outside hitter Kim Mehlhorn (Tempe) had 11 kills in the victory on a .226 hitting percentage, while junior Courtney Blocher added a spark off the bench with a career-high four service aces.
The Ducks were led by the 18 kills and 11 digs from freshman outside hitter Dariam Acevedo. Lindsay Closs added 13 kills in the loss.
The Sun Devils stumbled in game one by hitting only .100, but had their chance to win the game slip away when Oregon pulled away with a 30-28 victory. Escobar hit .500 in the opening frame with seven kills to lead ASU. Blocher came off the bench to add a spark with three service aces.
Arizona State was in jeopardy of falling behind 2-0 to the Ducks when they were down 22-19. From there the Sun Devils put together a 11-1 run to even the match at 1-1 with a 30-23 victory. Smith had five kills in game two to lead the Devils. After a dominating 30-17 showing in game three, the Devils pulled through with the victory with a 30-27 in the third fourth game to seal the win.
With a plethora of ceremonies before, during and after the match, the 2002 Senior Night was also highlighted by the unveiling of the Arizona State 30th Anniversary Team and a special post-match ceremony honoring the final home match for 14-year head coach Patti Snyder-Park.
Arizona State will conclude the conference portion of its Pac-10 season next weekend with matches at UCLA (Nov. 21) and at No. 2 USC (Nov. 22)