Nov. 20, 2011
LOS ANGELES – Erica Wilson’s 10 kills and .714 attack percentage led the Arizona State volleyball’s offense, but it was not enough as the Sun Devils were topped by UCLA 3-0 with set scores of 25-23, 25-19, 29-27.
ASU is 8-21 overall and 4-16 in conference action while UCLA improves to 24-5 and 17-4 in the Pac-12 with the win.
Nora Tuioti-Mariner also chipped in 10 kills and Sonja Markanovich had seven of her own for a second-best attack percentage on the day at .385.
In the opening frame, Ashley Kastl recorded six kills as a pair came back-to-back from Shannan McCready at the 23-22 mark to put ASU back into the game after starting the set down 17-9.
Arizona State stayed within reach of the Bruins, having 15 kills to their 14, but five key blocks were enough for UCLA to take the set 25-23.
ASU shook off the rocky start of the first set when it led the second stanza to the 7-7 point. From there the Bruins held a steady two-point lead to force the Sun Devils into a timeout at 19-16. UCLA continued its run to head into the break up 2-0 after taking the second set 25-19.
With 12 ties, the Sun Devils did not shy away in the final set of the match. Hitting at a .217 clip as a team, ASU tied it at 10-all, then went on a five-point run for its biggest lead of the day at five.
Not to be outdone, UCLA battled back to take a lead at 22-20. The drama of the final set was not finished as ASU tied it three more times before the Bruins forced the final two-point surge to capture the match with a set score of 29-27.
The Sun Devils stay on the road for the Territorial Cup match against Arizona on Nov. 22 at 7 p.m. (MT). For more information on the Territorial Cup click here.