Courtesy Connor Johnson, SDA Communications
TEMPE, Ariz.—The No. 7 Arizona State volleyball team remained undefeated and moved to 13-0 this season on Sunday afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena, defeating the visiting Oregon State Beavers (2-10, 0-2) in three sets (25-18, 25-19, 25-20).
“We weren’t as clean as we would have like to have been,” head coach Jason Watson said. “But we ended better than we started and I think that’s a nice trait. We are 2-0 in conference and we are feeling pretty good about that.”
Macey Gardner led the Sun Devils with 16 kills and 11 digs, finishing with her fifth double-double of the year as ASU moved to 2-0 in Pac-12 play for the first time since 1999, when Patti Snyder-Park's team swept the both Oregon schools at home.
Senior setter Bianca Arellano finished with 35 assists and 14 digs, her sixth double-double of the season. Arellano played the entire match, adding three blocks and two kills, while fellow senior Mercedes Binns added four solo blocks to her three kills.
Lila Toner led Oregon State with 10 kills and eight digs, while Mary-Kate Marshall added nine kills for the Beavers.
Gardner now has 1,837 career kills and is now only 34 kills away from the school record of 1,871 set by Christine Garner from 1992-95.
Up next for ASU is the second top-10 home matchup of the season, hosting Stanford on Friday, Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. PT. On Sunday, Oct. 4, the Sun Devils will take on California at 1:30 p.m. PT at Wells Fargo Arena. Both matches will air on the Pac-12 Networks.
Match Notes
Kills: Gardner (16)
Assists: Arellano (35)
Digs: Harker (18), Arellano (14), Gardner (11)
Double-Double: Arellano (6th; 35 assists & 14 digs), Gardner (5th; 16 kills, 11 digs)
Pac-12 Starts: ASU opens Pac-12 play at 2-0 for first time since 1999 (ASU def. Oregon, 3-0 & Oregon State, 3-0)
Best Starts In ASU History
1. 1973: 21-0 (Mary Littlewood, Intermountain Conference)
2. 2015: 13-0 (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), Jason Watson (2013)
Career Records Of Note
Kills
1. Christine Garner, 1992-95—1871
2. Macey Gardner (2012-present)—1837
3. Sarah Reaves, 2007-10—1796
Block Assists
1. Tina Berg, 1987-90—378
2. Sonja Markanovich, 2008-11—329
3. Whitney Follette (2012-present)—307
4. 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—370
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