Nov. 20, 2010
Box Score
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Megan Ganzer's 29 kills was not enough for the Washington State volleyball team (6-20 overall, 0-16 Pac-10) as Arizona State (12-17, 6-10) took a 25-20, 19-25, 25-21, and 25-19 win Saturday night in Tempe.
Ganzer, a junior from Black Diamond, Wash., hit .431 for the match and also contributed five digs, three blocks and an ace. Ganzer's 436 kills this season places her ninth in WSU's all-time single-season list. Rachel Todorovich added 12 kills and an ace, and Conley Kipp contributed six kills (.500) and led the match with five blocks. Sara Biondi had 47 assists while Oceana Bush and Kaleinani Kabalis combined for 30 digs. WSU hit .304 for the match and out-blocked Arizona State 9 to 4.5.
ASU had a trio of players in double digits as Sarah Reaves had 17 kills, Danica Mendivil had 14 kills and Malia Marquardt had 12 kills. Sarah Johnson led the match with 17 digs, while Reaves added 14 digs and Cat Highmark had 11 digs in addition to her 48 assists.
WSU took a 7-5 lead in the opening set before the Sun Devils scored six points in a row for the 11-7 lead. The Cougars came within three points of the home team five times after that but could not get any closer. ASU wins the set 25-20.
WSU led the second set from an opening 1-1 tie, moving to a 16-8 lead. The Sun Devils closed to gap to two points, twice, at 17-15 and again at 18-16. Ganzer had five of the Cougars' final six points as WSU took the 25-19 win. WSU hit .316 in this set and held ASU to a .103 hitting percentage.
In the third set, WSU took an 11-8 lead when ASU score six straight to go up 15-12. The Sun Devils maintained an even scoring pace to reach 24-19. Todorovich landed a kill and served an ace but Alexis Pinson's attack landed on the Cougar side of the court and gave ASU the 25-21 win. WSU hit an outstanding .444 in the set and ASU hit .364.
ASU took control of the fourth set and raced to a 25-19 win. The Sun Devils hit .351 in this set while WSU hit .281.
"I thought we competed well again tonight," Cougar Head Coach Andrew Palileo said. "We started out slow and had our chances in that first set but we just couldn't capitalize: too many mistakes. We didn't make plays when we needed them. Whenever you have stats that are reversed with the losing team having better stats that means you are not playing well in big points and that is the key. We missed serves in critical times."
Washington State returns to Bohler Gym for a pair of post-Thanksgiving matches facing No. 23 Oregon (18-10, 6-10) Friday, Nov. 26, and Oregon State (8-21, 1-14 pending Sunday's match against UCLA) Saturday, Nov. 27. Both matches begin at 7 p.m.
