BERKELEY, Calif.—The No. 20 Arizona State volleyball team rebounded from Wednesday night’s close loss to take down California in four sets, 26-28, 25-22, 26-24, 25-22, on Friday night at Haas Pavilion.
“I felt like we played well for long periods tonight, which we have really been focusing on,” head coach Jason Watson said. “It wasn’t easy. Cal is a team that always find a way to pressure you and make you play well.”
The Sun Devils are now 17-9 on the year with a 7-7 mark in Pac-12 play, while Cal falls to 8-15 on the year and 0-13 in conference action. ASU has now won five consecutive matches over the Bears.
Junior Macey Gardner led the way with 22 kills, while junior Mercedes Binns added 11 and sophomore Bree Bailey added 10 more.
Gardner has now had nine matches this season with 20 or more kills, all of which have happened during conference competition. The Gilbert, Ariz., native has become the sixth Sun Devil to eclipse 1,500 kills with a career total of 1,518, good for No. 5 all time.
After a back-and-forth battle, the Bears edged ASU in the first set, before the Sun Devils used 15 kills and six Cal errors to take the second set to tie the match at 1-1. ASU came out of the break and won another close set before taking the fourth frame, 25-22.
Freshman Madison McDaniel set a career high in both kills and digs with seven and six, respectively, while sophomore Mia Mazon also set a new career best with 11 digs.
“We’re looking forward to getting home and having three good days of practice,” Watson added. “We have a big challenge coming up with the Oregon schools.”
Up next, the Sun Devils return to Wells Fargo Arena to host Oregon State and Oregon on Thursday, Nov. 13 and Saturday, Nov. 15, respectively. Both matches will begin at 7 p.m. MT and will be streamed via thesundevils.com.
Match Notes:
Double-Digit Kills: Macey Gardner (22)*, Mercedes Binns (11), Bree Bailey (10)
*9th match with 20 or more kills this season
Top Attack Percentages: Mercedes Binns (.286; 11K, 3E, 28TA), Whitney Follette (.263; 7K, 2E, 19TA)
Double-Digit Digs: Halle Harker (18), Shannan McCready (16), Mia Mazon (11), Macey Gardner (10)
Career Highs: Madison McDaniel (7 kills, 6 digs), Mia Mazon (11 digs)
Double-Doubles: Macey Gardner (14 total, 22 kills, 10 digs)
Top Attack Percentage By Set: 2nd set (.300; 15K, 3E, 14TA)
Digs: ASU 71, Cal 65
Season Notes:
ASU Top-10 Career Kills
1. Christine Garner, 1992-95, 1871
2. Sarah Reeves, 2007-10, 1796
3. Tammy Webb, 1983-86, 1679
4. Amanda Burbridge, 1997-00, 1597
5. Macey Gardner, 2012-present, 1518
6. Christy Nore, 1985-88, 1517
7. Valentina Vega, 1982-83, 85-86, 1392
8. Jami Coughlin, 1998-01, 1360
9. Margie Giordano, 2005-08, 1312
10. Lisa Stuck, 1980-83, 1296