Oct. 9, 1999

Box Score

TEMPE, Ariz. - The Arizona State Sun Devils had to battle back but used the home court advantage to take a 3-1 win over the Washington State Cougars Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Arena at Tempe. The game scores were 14-16, 15-12, 15-7, 16-14.

WSU falls to 7-8 overall, 2-6 in conference play while Arizona State moves to 9-4 overall, 5-2 in Pac-10 contests.

LaToya Harris, LaToya Harris and Joy Sperry led the Cougs with 13 kills each. Holly Harris had 14 digs and Trina Kightlinger, a junior transfer from Loyola Marymount, had a Cougar career-high of 13 digs and three aces.

Jami Coughlin had 17 kills for ASU while Ashley Hubbard added 13 digs and Julie Leddy had nine blocks.

WSU came to life early, taking a 10-2 lead in the first game. The Sun Devils fought back to tie it up at ten-all. ASU took the first lead of the game at 13-10 when Kightlinger's hit went long, followed with a kill from Robyn Mattingly for 14 but the Sun Devils were stopped at game point by a vicious kill from LaToya Harris. A miss-hit by ASU gave WSU 13 and a kill by Holly Harris tied it up at 14. Kightlinger redeemed herself with an ace and Holly Harris' kill ended the game in the Cougs' favor, 16-14.

In game two, WSU scored seven in a row to take an 8-5 lead but the more experienced ASU reeled off five straight for a 10-8 lead. WSU tied it at 10 but gave up three points before scoring again. Mattingly's two kills and an ace by Amanda Burbridge gave the Sun Devils the 15-12 win.

ASU came off the break with momentum and led from start to finish in game three with the Cougars only coming within four at 10-6. ASU, hitting .319 to WSU's .091, took a 2-1 match lead with the 15-7 win.

Game four saw ASU claim an 8-0 lead when Adrian Hankoff came off the bench to rally WSU for a 14-1 run and a 14-9 lead. Coughlin's kills stopped both the first, second and third Cougar tries at game point and a Cougar hitting error stopped the fourth attempt. ASU ran off seven points and Jamie Peck's three consecutive kills put ASU on top 15-14. On the fourth try, the Sun Devils won 16-14.

"Overall, I'm extremely pleased with the way they played," Cougar coach Cindy Fredrick said. "But we need to learn how to close and that is something that makes freshmen pretty darn nervous. And we need to take care of our passing."

WSU returns to the Palouse to play border rival Idaho Tuesday, Oct. 12, and cross-state rival Washington Saturday, Oct. 16. Both matches begin at 7 p.m. at Beasley Coliseum.

Arizona (9-4, 5-2 Pac-10) d. Washington State (7-8, 2-6 Pac-10) 3-1

Game scores: 14-16, 15-12, 15-7, 16-14
STATISTICS:
KILLS: L. Harris (WSU) 13, Sperry (WSU) 13, H. Harris (WSU) 13, Coughlin (ASU) 17, Burbridge (ASU) 15.

ASSISTS: Wright (WSU) 48, Sidoti (ASU) 54.

DIGS: H. Harris (WSU) 14, Kightlinger (WSU) 13, Hubbard (ASU) 1.

BLOCKS: H. Harris (WSU) 5, Leddy (ASU) 9.

SERVICE ACES: Kightlinger (WSU) 3, Coughlin (ASU) 3. Attendance: 492.