Courtesy Connor Johnson, SDA Communications
TEMPE, Ariz.—The No. 7 Arizona State volleyball team opened up conference play with their 12th straight victory of the season, defeating the visiting No. 14 Arizona Wildcats (10-3, 0-1) in four sets (28-26, 12-25, 25-20, 25-21) on Thursday night at Wells Fargo Arena.
“I’m happy for our team,” head coach Jason Watson said. “I thought we got better as the match went on and we made the switch from a 6-2 to a 5-1 and I thought it went well.”
The Sun Devils are now 12-0, the second-best start in school history. The best start in ASU history happened in 1973, when the Devils went 21-0.
Additionally, in the opening match of the 2015-16 Territorial Cup Series with Arizona, the Sun Devils took a half point with the volleyball win in Tempe, and now lead, 0.5-0.
Senior Macey Gardner led ASU with 19 kills and eight digs. Gardner now has 1,821 career kills, currently the second most in school history, and 51 away from a new school record.
Junior Cassidy Pickrell had 16 kills and 12 digs for the Sun Devils, while senior Whitney Follette, junior Bree Bailey and senior Mercedes Binns each added seven kills.
Senior Bianca Arellano played nearly every point at setter for the Sun Devils in the third and fourth sets, finishing with 39 assists and eight digs. Arellano is now fifth in ASU history with 2,758 career assists.
Kalei Mau led Arizona with 27 kills and nine digs, while Tyler Spriggs added 16 kills for the Wildcats.
A big factor in ASU’s success was the support of the home crowd. There were 5,152 fans in attendance on Thursday, the highest home total since Watson became head coach. There were also a record 2,011 students in attendance at the match.
Up next for ASU is a conference matchup against Oregon State (2-9, 0-1) on Sunday at 1 p.m. PT. The match will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks.
Match Notes
Kills: Gardner (19), C. Pickrell (16)
Top Attack Pct: C. Pickrell (.375; 16K, 1E, 40TA)
Assists: Arellano (39), K. Pickrell (11)
Digs: Harker (16), C. Pickrell (12)
Double-Doubles: C. Pickrell (3rd; 16 kills & 12 digs)
Top Team Attack Pct: 4th (.423; 12K, 1E, 26TA)
Best Starts In ASU History
1. 1973: 21-0 (Mary Littlewood, Intermountain Conference)
2. 2015: 12-0 (Jason Watson, Pac-12 Conference)
3. 1976: 11-0 (Mary LIttlewood, Intermountain Conference)
4. 1985: 9-0 (Debbie Brown, Pacific West Conference)
5. 1981: 8-0 (Dale Flickinger, WCAA)
6. 1992: 8-0 (Patti Snyder-Park, Pac-10 Conference)
7. 5x at 7-0 (1x Debbie Brown (1988), 3x Patti Snyder-Park (1993, 1995, 1997), 2x Jason Watson (2013)
Top-10 ASU Home Attendance In The Coach Watson Era
1. Arizona (9/24/15)—5,152
2. Washington (10/17/14)--4,185
3. USC (10/18/13)--3,975
4. Arizona (10/29/10)--3,017
5. Arizona (9/24/13)--2,293
6. Oregon State (10/19/12)--1,873
7. Arizona (11/19/13)--1867
8. Arizona (11/2/08)--1801
9. Stanford (10/22/11)--1793
10. Arizona (10/16/09)--1678
* Includes student-section record of 2,011
-Six of ASU’s top-10 matches by attendance came in matches against rival Arizona
-The program attendance record was 8,516, set on Oct. 4, 1986 when ASU hosted Stanford
Top-25 Wins Under Watson (17)
Sept. 24, 2015 No. 14 Arizona—W, 3-1
Sept. 19, 2015 No. 6 Illinois—W 3-2
Sept. 4, 2015 No. 9 Colorado State—W 3-0
Nov. 26 2014 No. 17 UCLA*—W 3-2
Oct. 24, 2014 No. 11 Oregon*—W 3-2
Sept. 26, 2014 No. 9 USC*—W 3-1
Aug. 30, 2014 No. 17 Hawaii—W 3-0
Nov. 1, 2013 No. 23 Oregon*—W 3-1
Sept. 13, 2013 No. 2 Texas—W 3-0
Aug. 31, 2013 No. 24 Wichita State — W 3-0
Nov. 21, 2012 at No. 5 Washington*—W 3-1
Nov. 2, 2012 No. 6 USC*—W 3-0
Nov. 24, 2010 at No. 2 California*—W 3-2
Oct. 16, 2010 No. 10 UCLA*—W 3-1
Oct. 15, 2010 No. 5 USC*—W 3-1
Sept. 25, 2009 No. 14 UCLA*—W 3-0
Oct. 25, 2008 at No. 24 Oregon State*—W 3-0
Career Records Of Note
Kills
1. Christine Garner, 1992-95—1871
2. Macey Gardner (2012-present)—1821
3. Sarah Reaves, 2007-10—1796
Assists
1. Regina Stahl, 1984-87—5180
2. Cheryl Anglin, 2000-03—4296
3. Marina Mercer, 2006-09—3680
4. Jennifer Helfich, 1989-92—2956
5. Bianca Arellano, 2013-present—2758
6. Noelle Fridrich, 1986-89—2731
7. Jolynn Faatulu, 1995-98—2730
8. Tiffannie Johnson-Gates, 1990-94—2698
9. Tracy Heflin, 1993-96—2238
Block Assists
1. Tina Berg, 1987-90—378
2. Sonja Markanovich, 2008-11—329
3. Whitney Follette (2012-present)—305
Sue Nord, 1986-89—305
5. Erica Wilson, 2009-12—297
6. Tammy Webb, 1983-86—296
7. Debbie Penney, 1988-91—276
8. Nancy Christian, 1990-93—272
9. Laura Hibsman, 1996-99—259
10. Kirstin Mattson, 1993-97—258
Total Blocks
1. Tina Berg, 1987-90—530
2. Tammy Webb, 1983-86—492
3. Sue Nord, 1986-89—421
4. Whitney Follette, 2012-present—366
5. Kirstin Mattson, 1993-97—362
6. Sonja Markanovich, 2008-11—358
7. Tracey Barnerie, 1984-87—341
8. Amy Nelson, 1990-92—328
9. Erica Wilson, 2009-2012—325