Sept. 14, 2002
LUBBOCK, Texas (www.TheSunDevils.com) -- Arizona State junior setter Cheryl Anglin recorded 67 assist to move into third place in the ASU career record books, helping lead the Sun Devil volleyball team to a 3-2 victory over Clemson Saturday afternoon in the Sheraton Four Points/Red Raider Classic. Game scores were 30-22, 30-23, 24-30, 28-30, 15-12.
The victory improved the Sun Devils' season record to 3-1, extending their winning streak to three matches. Clemson drops to 4-6 with the loss in the inaugural meeting between the two schools. The Sun Devils and Tigers battled through four tie scores in the fifth game before junior middle blocker Jodi Smith sealed the 15-12 win with a kill to end the match.
ASU jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but couldn't finish off the match, dropping games three and four to the Tigers. Clemson pushed the match to the deciding fifth game by inching out a 30-28 win in game four.
The Devils out-hit Clemson, .224-.157, to pull out the victory. Junior Juliana Escobar (Sobradinho DF, Brazil) recorded her third double-double of the year with a match-high 21 kills and added 15 digs and two service aces. The 2001 AVCA/NJCAA Player of the Year is now averaging 4.65 kills and 3.06 digs in her first four matches as a Sun Devil.
Sophomore opposite hitter Alicia Akporiaye (Tucson, Ariz.) matcher her career high with 13 kills, while also adding an impressive .333 hitting percentage. Senior middle blocker Julia Leddy (Mesa, Ariz.) contributed a season-high 18 kills and team high five blocks, while junior Kim Mehlhorn (15 kills, 11 digs) and junior Jodi Smith (11 kills) each had solid matches to help lead the ASU to the victory. Junior libero Courtney Blocher (Scottsdale, Ariz.) anchored the Sun Devil defense with a match-high 16 digs.
Anglin (Queen Creek, Ariz.) entered the match only seven assists short of cracking the top five, but with her 13th career match with 60 or more assist catapulted into third place with 2,758. She now trails second place (Jennifer Helfrich) by 198 assists. With a season-high 15 digs, Anglin also contributed her 20th career double-double.
The Sun Devils will take on tournament host Texas Tech on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the United Spirit Arena in Lubbock. to decide the tournament championship. TTU (4-3) defeated Clemson Friday night 3-1. The Sun Devils hold a 5-1 advantage over Tech in the all-time series with the last meeting being a 3-0 ASU win in 1995. --Sun Devil Volleyball--