LOS ANGELES – The offense struggled as No. 25 Arizona State women's volleyball lost in straight sets (25-13, 25-20, 25-14) at No. 20 UCLA on Wednesday night.
The Sun Devils (13-6, 4-3 Pac-12) had their worst offensive match of the year, hitting a season-low .054. On the other side of the net, the Bruins (9-5, 4-3 Pac-12) hit .293 in their seventh win in a row over ASU. Of the last seven wins for UCLA, five have been sweeps.
Courtney Leffel was a bright spot for Arizona State in the match, recording 13 digs for her fourth-straight match with double-digit digs. Carmen Unzue, Megan Beedie and Alyse Ford each recorded five kills in the loss. Unzue and Beedie also added three and four blocks, respectively.
Ivana Jeremic got the first set started with a couple of blocks early to go up 5-3. However, the Bruins responded with a 9-1 run to take a 12-6 lead. The home team controlled the set from there on out. A late ace from Leffel sparked some life into ASU, but the damage had been done for that set. UCLA took the 25-13 win.
The momentum was still in favor of the Bruins in the second set, scoring eight straight to start. A kill from Claire Kovensky finally got the Sun Devils on the board, 8-1. ASU got back into it with a 5-0 run, highlighted by two blocks, to cut into the lead, 13-10. The middles got the team fired up with back-to-back kills from Unzue and Beedie to make it 20-18 in favor of UCLA. Ultimately, the comeback came up short as the Bruins won the second set, 25-20.
The teams kept it close in the third set to start. A tip kill from Nicole Peterson put the Sun Devils down by just one, 8-7. From there, UCLA started to pull away. Unzue's kill ended a 7-0 run, making it 22-12 in favor of the Bruins. Arizona State would get two more points before UCLA took the third set, 25-14, and the match.
The Sun Devils are back in action on Friday at No. 15 USC. The match will begin at 7 p.m. PT and will be on the Pac-12 Network. Links for streaming and live stats can be found on the women's volleyball schedule page.
The Sun Devils (13-6, 4-3 Pac-12) had their worst offensive match of the year, hitting a season-low .054. On the other side of the net, the Bruins (9-5, 4-3 Pac-12) hit .293 in their seventh win in a row over ASU. Of the last seven wins for UCLA, five have been sweeps.
Courtney Leffel was a bright spot for Arizona State in the match, recording 13 digs for her fourth-straight match with double-digit digs. Carmen Unzue, Megan Beedie and Alyse Ford each recorded five kills in the loss. Unzue and Beedie also added three and four blocks, respectively.
Ivana Jeremic got the first set started with a couple of blocks early to go up 5-3. However, the Bruins responded with a 9-1 run to take a 12-6 lead. The home team controlled the set from there on out. A late ace from Leffel sparked some life into ASU, but the damage had been done for that set. UCLA took the 25-13 win.
The momentum was still in favor of the Bruins in the second set, scoring eight straight to start. A kill from Claire Kovensky finally got the Sun Devils on the board, 8-1. ASU got back into it with a 5-0 run, highlighted by two blocks, to cut into the lead, 13-10. The middles got the team fired up with back-to-back kills from Unzue and Beedie to make it 20-18 in favor of UCLA. Ultimately, the comeback came up short as the Bruins won the second set, 25-20.
The teams kept it close in the third set to start. A tip kill from Nicole Peterson put the Sun Devils down by just one, 8-7. From there, UCLA started to pull away. Unzue's kill ended a 7-0 run, making it 22-12 in favor of the Bruins. Arizona State would get two more points before UCLA took the third set, 25-14, and the match.
The Sun Devils are back in action on Friday at No. 15 USC. The match will begin at 7 p.m. PT and will be on the Pac-12 Network. Links for streaming and live stats can be found on the women's volleyball schedule page.