(Tempe, AZ) Two Sun Devils reached double figures in kills in Arizona State volleyball’s loss to Washington State in four sets (22-25, 25-16, 25-16, 25-19) at Desert Financial Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Notable Stats
- Arizona State (1-3) struggled against the block of Washington State (3-1). The Cougars out-blocked the Sun Devils 15 to 5.
- For the fourth match in a row, sophomore Iman Isanovic reached double figures in kills, notching a match-high 16 kills. She also had 12 digs for her second double-double of the season and two solo blocks.
- Freshman Marta Levinska had 13 kills, her third match reaching double-digit kills. She also had eight digs.
- Junior Paige Denton got her first career start at libero in the match. She led all players with 15 digs.
- Junior outside hitter Maddie McLaughlin had a career-high eight kills in the match, hitting .280, which led the team.
- Sophomore setter Shannon Shields saw her first time on the court as a Sun Devil, entering in the fourth set. She collected three assists.
Quotes
Arizona State Head Coach Sanja Tomasevic:
“I’m not very happy with how we played today. It was not a good match or good showing for us. We passed better than we have in the past games, but we couldn’t get our offense running. On the other side, it kind of looked like they wanted it more than we did. As a coach that’s always frustrating, seeing that the other team wanted it more than your team. Hopefully we can come back this week and be ready to go in practice. We have a really, really good team coming to play against us (Utah). We’ve got to get ready and we’ve got to be better when we show up again on Friday.”
On the next match against Utah:
“I think we are going to have to get better faster. Utah is a really good team, and in my opinion, the best team in the Pac-12. We are going to have to be a lot more disciplined and stay patient throughout the rallies. That starts with practice. We’re going to have to get good shots in at practice, pass good balls at practice, and make good decisions at practice.”
Freshman setter Ella Snyder:
“The effort and energy has to be there. If we are going to win these tough games, then we need to be locked in and have all the energy. We have the coaches that support us and our team is super stacked. We just need to come together and be a team.”
Set One: Arizona State 25, Washington State 22
ASU developed an early lead, going up 3-1 against Washington State. The Cougars were able to come back and eventually tied the game at 7-7. A kill by McLaughlin once again tied the set, this time at 15-15. An ace by Washington State gave the Cougars a two-point lead, but a kill by Isanovic kept the Sun Devils in it. A final kill by Isanovic sealed their fate and allowed Arizona State to win the first set of the match.
Set Two: Washington State 25, Arizona State 16
Arizona State secured an early lead, but a 5-0 run by Washington State gave the Cougars a 7-5 advantage. A block by the Sun Devils tied the game at 11-11, but the Cougars went on another run to develop a 15-11 lead. A serving error by Arizona State increased the Washington State lead and a late kill by the Cougars gave them a 23-15 edge over ASU. A hitting error by the Sun Devils ended the set and allowed Washington State to tie the match at one apiece.
Set Three: Washington State 25, Arizona State 16
Set three was all Washington State as the Cougars opened the set with a 5-0 run. An ASU block brought the score to 12-8 in favor of the Cougars. A kill by Isanovic allowed the Sun Devils to come within one point. However, the Cougars went on another big run, scoring seven of the next nine points. Two-straight kills by the Cougars ended the set.
Set Four: Washington State 25, Arizona State 19
The fourth set began with neither team getting much of a lead over their opponent. A service error by WSU tied the game at 4-4. The Cougars then went up by a few points, but an ace by Megan Beedie tied the game back up at 14-14. A block by Washington State allowed them to produce a 19-15 advantage over Arizona State. Back-to-back kills by Levinska brought the Sun Devils within two points. However, the last-ditch effort by Arizona State wasn’t enough as a final kill by the Cougars completed their victory.
Up Next
On Friday, February 5, Arizona State will host the University of Utah at 3:00 p.m. MST. This will be the first of two matches between the Sun Devils and the Utes. Fans can watch on the Pac-12 Network or follow along through live stats or social media (@SunDevilVB).
