LOS ANGELES – Despite three players notching double-doubles, No. 25 Arizona State women's volleyball fell in five sets (23-25, 25-21, 25-18, 23-25, 15-9) at No. 15 USC on Friday night.
After ASU forced a fifth set, USC took the advantage early and pushed the lead with a 4-1 run to go up 9-5. There were three challenges in this set and the Sun Devils came out on top of all three of them. However, they were unable to grab any momentum from that, losing 15-9 and dropping the match.
"I think we fought tonight," Arizona State head coach Sanja Tomasevic said. "It was a nice thing to see that we didn't give up after certain rallies. But we have to take good swings at the end of a match when the game is on the line. This is the first time in a long time we were under pressure and needed to take big swings and we didn't. Now we get two and a half days off before getting back in the gym to keep getting better."
Arizona State (13-7, 4-4 Pac-12) played its second five-set match of the year and is now 1-1 in those matches. USC (13-5, 5-2 Pac-12) has now won seven in a row over ASU, dating back to 2015. There has been just one other five-set match in that span. The Sun Devils are now 11-2 this season in matches where they won the first set.
Three Sun Devils notched double-digit kills and three had double-doubles in the loss. Nicole Peterson had a career-high 23 digs while also dishing out 29 assists. Ivana Jeremic tied her career-high in digs with 19 while collecting 15 kills. Leading the team, Claire Kovensky had 17 kills on a .333 clip. The third double-double went to Callie Jones who had 20 assists and 12 digs. In her return to her former school, Alyse Ford notched 12 kills.
The Sun Devils started the match hot, scoring four straight points. The Trojans got back in it with a 4-0 run, but Carmen Unzue killed the ball to end the run. That sparked four consecutive points of their own, pushing the lead to 15-9. However, the Trojans made it interesting down the stretch, fighting off three set points for the Sun Devils. A sharp-cross kill from Ford finally finished the set, giving Arizona State the 25-23 win.
After getting down early in the second set, Kovensky caught fire, scoring three-straight kills for the Sun Devils to tie it up at 6-6. The Trojans started to pull away, stringing together a 6-1 run to go up 19-14 and force Tomasevic to call both timeouts during that span. Megan Beedie had three kills down the stretch to close the gap, but USC was able to hold on, taking it 25-21.
The Trojans kept the momentum in the third set, leading for the entirety of the frame aside from the first point. A 3-0 run for the home team widened the gap until Jeremic killed the ball to cut into the lead, 15-12. Peterson earned a kill down the stretch, but the gap was too much to overcome. USC won the third set 25-18, taking a 2-1 match lead.
Of the Sun Devils' first eight points in the fourth set, five were blocks by Beedie. Those blocks helped ASU score six straight to go up 9-5. However, USC responded with a 6-1 run to earn the 11-10 advantage. The Sun Devils fought to keep it tied with back-to-back kills from Jeremic until a 5-1 run for the home team pushed their lead to 19-15, forcing a timeout from ASU. Five in a row from the Sun Devils that included two kills from Ford and Kovensky each pushed them ahead, 20-19. The Trojans battled off two set points, but the Sun Devils held on to the 25-23 victory to force a fifth set.
USC would go on to a 15-9 fifth-set win, fighting off ASU in the Galen Center.
Arizona State returns home next weekend for matches against Utah and Colorado on Friday and Sunday, respectively. For more updates, follow the team on Twitter, @SunDevilVB.
After ASU forced a fifth set, USC took the advantage early and pushed the lead with a 4-1 run to go up 9-5. There were three challenges in this set and the Sun Devils came out on top of all three of them. However, they were unable to grab any momentum from that, losing 15-9 and dropping the match.
"I think we fought tonight," Arizona State head coach Sanja Tomasevic said. "It was a nice thing to see that we didn't give up after certain rallies. But we have to take good swings at the end of a match when the game is on the line. This is the first time in a long time we were under pressure and needed to take big swings and we didn't. Now we get two and a half days off before getting back in the gym to keep getting better."
Arizona State (13-7, 4-4 Pac-12) played its second five-set match of the year and is now 1-1 in those matches. USC (13-5, 5-2 Pac-12) has now won seven in a row over ASU, dating back to 2015. There has been just one other five-set match in that span. The Sun Devils are now 11-2 this season in matches where they won the first set.
Three Sun Devils notched double-digit kills and three had double-doubles in the loss. Nicole Peterson had a career-high 23 digs while also dishing out 29 assists. Ivana Jeremic tied her career-high in digs with 19 while collecting 15 kills. Leading the team, Claire Kovensky had 17 kills on a .333 clip. The third double-double went to Callie Jones who had 20 assists and 12 digs. In her return to her former school, Alyse Ford notched 12 kills.
The Sun Devils started the match hot, scoring four straight points. The Trojans got back in it with a 4-0 run, but Carmen Unzue killed the ball to end the run. That sparked four consecutive points of their own, pushing the lead to 15-9. However, the Trojans made it interesting down the stretch, fighting off three set points for the Sun Devils. A sharp-cross kill from Ford finally finished the set, giving Arizona State the 25-23 win.
After getting down early in the second set, Kovensky caught fire, scoring three-straight kills for the Sun Devils to tie it up at 6-6. The Trojans started to pull away, stringing together a 6-1 run to go up 19-14 and force Tomasevic to call both timeouts during that span. Megan Beedie had three kills down the stretch to close the gap, but USC was able to hold on, taking it 25-21.
The Trojans kept the momentum in the third set, leading for the entirety of the frame aside from the first point. A 3-0 run for the home team widened the gap until Jeremic killed the ball to cut into the lead, 15-12. Peterson earned a kill down the stretch, but the gap was too much to overcome. USC won the third set 25-18, taking a 2-1 match lead.
Of the Sun Devils' first eight points in the fourth set, five were blocks by Beedie. Those blocks helped ASU score six straight to go up 9-5. However, USC responded with a 6-1 run to earn the 11-10 advantage. The Sun Devils fought to keep it tied with back-to-back kills from Jeremic until a 5-1 run for the home team pushed their lead to 19-15, forcing a timeout from ASU. Five in a row from the Sun Devils that included two kills from Ford and Kovensky each pushed them ahead, 20-19. The Trojans battled off two set points, but the Sun Devils held on to the 25-23 victory to force a fifth set.
USC would go on to a 15-9 fifth-set win, fighting off ASU in the Galen Center.
Arizona State returns home next weekend for matches against Utah and Colorado on Friday and Sunday, respectively. For more updates, follow the team on Twitter, @SunDevilVB.