PULLMAN, Wash. – Arizona State women's volleyball dropped the match at No. 18 Washington State in straight sets (25-12, 25-20, 25-21) in Bohler Gym on Sunday afternoon.
"We had a slow start, but I like how we came out in the second and third set," Arizona State head coach Sanja Tomasevic said. "It's a tough place to play. They have good seniors, good leadership here. I thought we got better at some things, but there are a lot of things we identified that we need to keep working at. Tuesday is a new week, a new day to get better for this young team."
Arizona State (13-13, 4-10 Pac-12) continues to struggle. Washington State (18-6, 9-5 Pac-12) swept the season series with the win, taking both in straight sets. The Cougars were on fire offensively, hitting .344 in the match compared to the Sun Devils' .143.
Courtney Leffel continues to shine defensively, extending her career-high streak of double-digit digs to 11-straight matches after notching 11 in today's match. Alyse Ford led the team with 11 kills while Nicole Peterson added eight kills, her highest total since collecting 10 against Cal earlier this season. Callie Jones had 27 assists and two block assists, the first of her career.
In the first set, the Sun Devils struggled to find a way past the Cougars' block. Washington State had four blocks in the opening set. Arizona State struggled to find a groove, falling behind early. Ivana Jeremic had three kills, earning her third after ASU's second timeout to make it a 16-8 deficit. WSU did not let up, however, taking the set 25-12.
The Sun Devils got rolling in the second set. Three kills from Peterson powered a 7-0 run for ASU, putting them up 13-9. The Cougars started to get back in it, tying it up 18-18 after a 5-1 run. Jones' first career block put the Sun Devils back up by one, 19-18. Washington State closed out the set with four straight points to win 25-20.
The third set saw the home team jumping out to a 7-3 lead after four points in a row. But an ace from Peterson got the Sun Devils within two, down 13-11. After WSU pushed their lead up to four, ASU strung together three in a row to make it 17-15 in favor of the Cougars. Unfortunately, the comeback effort fell short as the Sun Devils dropped the set, 25-21, and the match.
Arizona State will be back on the road next weekend against the mountain schools, Colorado and Utah.
"We had a slow start, but I like how we came out in the second and third set," Arizona State head coach Sanja Tomasevic said. "It's a tough place to play. They have good seniors, good leadership here. I thought we got better at some things, but there are a lot of things we identified that we need to keep working at. Tuesday is a new week, a new day to get better for this young team."
Arizona State (13-13, 4-10 Pac-12) continues to struggle. Washington State (18-6, 9-5 Pac-12) swept the season series with the win, taking both in straight sets. The Cougars were on fire offensively, hitting .344 in the match compared to the Sun Devils' .143.
Courtney Leffel continues to shine defensively, extending her career-high streak of double-digit digs to 11-straight matches after notching 11 in today's match. Alyse Ford led the team with 11 kills while Nicole Peterson added eight kills, her highest total since collecting 10 against Cal earlier this season. Callie Jones had 27 assists and two block assists, the first of her career.
In the first set, the Sun Devils struggled to find a way past the Cougars' block. Washington State had four blocks in the opening set. Arizona State struggled to find a groove, falling behind early. Ivana Jeremic had three kills, earning her third after ASU's second timeout to make it a 16-8 deficit. WSU did not let up, however, taking the set 25-12.
The Sun Devils got rolling in the second set. Three kills from Peterson powered a 7-0 run for ASU, putting them up 13-9. The Cougars started to get back in it, tying it up 18-18 after a 5-1 run. Jones' first career block put the Sun Devils back up by one, 19-18. Washington State closed out the set with four straight points to win 25-20.
The third set saw the home team jumping out to a 7-3 lead after four points in a row. But an ace from Peterson got the Sun Devils within two, down 13-11. After WSU pushed their lead up to four, ASU strung together three in a row to make it 17-15 in favor of the Cougars. Unfortunately, the comeback effort fell short as the Sun Devils dropped the set, 25-21, and the match.
Arizona State will be back on the road next weekend against the mountain schools, Colorado and Utah.