Sept. 2, 2011
AMES, Iowa. – Arizona State volleyball falls to 2-2 after dropping its first match of the Iowa State Challenge, 3-1, to Iowa on Friday morning.
The Sun Devils came out strong to take the first set 25-21 but dropped the next three 26-24, 25-21, 25-22 in the loss.
“We put ourselves in a position to win – especially game two,” said head coach Jason Watson. “For us, the goal is to be better for longer. There is much for us to learn and the lessons are tough.”
The combo of Ashley Kastl and Danica Mendivil led the club offensively with 13 and 12 kills apiece, respectively. Despite the duo’s performance, the ASU squad hit at a .146 attack percentage compared to Iowa’s .222.
The match featured 12 lead changes and 27 tie scores with the largest margin of victory being four points in the first set, by ASU, and in the third, by Iowa. Both teams held strong defenses that kept offensive runs at bay, making for four sets of close scoring.
ASU returns to the court for a 4:30 p.m. showdown against tournament-host Iowa State later today. ISU headed into the weekend with a record of 3-0.