Oct. 17, 2003
TEMPE, Ariz. (www.TheSunDevils.com) -- Senior outside hitter Juliana Escobar recorded a match-high 16 kills on a scorching .538 hitting percentage to lead the Arizona State Sun Devils to a three-game sweep of the Oregon Ducks in Pac-10 Volleyball action Friday night at Wells Fargo Arena. Game scores were 30-17, 30-26, 33-31 in favor of the Devils.
With the victory, ASU ended a season-high four-match losing streak to improve to 7-10 overall and 2-6 in Pac-10 play. Each of ASU's four previous defeats came at the hands of teams ranked in the top 10 nationally. Oregon fell to 3-15 overall and 0-9 in conference play.
Escobar (Brasilia, Brazil) scorched the Ducks for 16 kills with only two errors in 26 total attacks. She fell one dig short of recording her team-leading 10th double-double of the year. Senior middle blocker Mandy Stephens (Napa, Calif.) also had a standout performance, recording 11 kills on an errorless .647 hitting percentage. Redshirt junior Natalie Harris (Tempe, Ariz.) added 12 kills and senior libero Courtney Blocher (Scottsdale, Ariz.) led all players with 12 digs.
The Ducks were led by the 10 kills from freshman middle blocker Sarah Mason (Hilo, Hawai'i). Junior outside hitter Lauren Westendorf and junior libero Katie O'Neil each had 10 digs in the loss.
The Sun Devils continue their weekend homestand against the Oregon schools Saturday with a 7 p.m. match against Oregon State at Wells Fargo Arena.
--Sun Devil Volleyball--