Sept. 2, 2011
AMES, Iowa. - In the opening day of the Iowa State Challenge, the Arizona State volleyball team fell to Iowa and Iowa State on Friday at the Hilton Coliseum.
ASU (2-3) dropped its second match of the day to Iowa State, 25-16, 25-18, 19-25, 25-17. With the win the Cyclones move to 5-0.
"We played well, but not for long enough periods of time," head coach Jason Watson said. "It is in us, but we need to battle for each play. Iowa State is an extremely disciplined team. Tonight they simply played better than us for much longer."
The Sun Devils opened with a slow start, hitting below .170 in the first and second sets only to come back with an astounding .400 attack percentage in the third to take the frame 25-19.
Top hitters were Ashley Kastl and Danica Mendivil with 12 and 13 kills, respectively. Sarah McGaffin pitched in 44 assists but it was not enough for ASU as the Cyclones were consistent offensively hitting above the .300 clip with the exception of the third stanza.
ASU looks to rebound on Saturday when it faces Southern Miss at 9 a.m. (PT).