Oct. 21, 2011
TEMPE – The Arizona State University volleyball team gave a spirited effort against the California Golden Bears on Friday night at Wells Fargo Arena, but fell in three sets (25-22, 25-20, 26-24) against the second-ranked team in the country.
Sophomore Ashley Kastl notched 17 kills in the game - a season’s best for a three-set match – but it was not enough for the Sun Devils (5-15, 1-10 Pac-12) who collectively had just a .119 hitting percentage on the day. The team as a whole scored 35 kills, but had 21 errors in the process.
Christina Higgins and Tarah Murrey both had nine kills for the Golden Bears (20-2, 10-2 Pac-12) as Cal hit .212 from the court on the evening.
The Sun Devils got off to a quick start in the first set, riding several Cal errors on their way to a 9-3 lead. Cal was able to settle in though, using an 11-4 run of its own to take the lead midway through the first.
ASU was able to hold strong, going back and forth with the Golden Bears down the stretch behind four Kastl kills, taking a 21-19 lead in the process. Cal closed on a 6-1 run, however, as the Sun Devils managed just a .048 hitting percentage in dropping the first frame 25-22.
Kastl continued to pace the Sun Devils in the second set, accounting for seven of the team’s 11 kills. However, the women fell behind early and could never get closer than two points en route to a 25-20 loss in the set. The team’s hitting struggled again, going only .083 from the floor, despite Kastl’s kills.
The best set of the competition came in the third frame, with neither team ever taking more than a two-point advantage as they fought back and forth to the tune of nine lead changes and 17 ties. Leading 24-23 and with a chance to send the match into a fourth set, ASU dropped the next three points to fall in the set, 26-24, ending the match.
The Sun Devils will attempt to regroup before facing another high-ranked opponent tomorrow in No. 5 Stanford. The game is set to get underway at 7 p.m. MST in Wells Fargo Arena.