Washington State University Athletics
WSU Falls in Four at No. 20 Arizona State
November 09, 2015 | Volleyball
TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Washington State volleyball team (14-12 overall, 3-11 Pac-12) battled back but could not overtake No. 20 Arizona State (18-7, 7-7) Sunday afternoon, losing at the Wells Fargo Arena in set scores of 26-24, 25-21, 23-25, and 25-23.
Kyra Holt led WSU with 19 kills, 12 digs and three aces. McKenna Woodford contributed 11 kills and 14 digs while Haley MacDonald also tallied a double-double with 51 assists and 10 digs. Kate Sommer led the team with 20 digs. Blocking stats included three each from MacDonald, Casey Schoenlein and Ella Lajos, who also added seven kills with no errors in the two sets she played. WSU out-blocked ASU 12 to 11.
ASU also had a trio of double-doubles: Cassidy Pickrell had 17 kills and 21 digs, Lexi MacLean had 13 kills and 14 digs, and Brianca Arellano had 28 assists and 13 digs. BreElle Bailey added 13 kills and Halle Harker had 15 digs. Whitney Follette led the match with five blocks and Jasmine Koonts tallied four blocks.
The Sun Devils hit .257 for the match and WSU hit .191. Cougars served five aces to ASU's two.
In the opening set, WSU took charge early but then relinquished a five-point advantage. ASU tied it up at 22 and went ahead 23-22. Taylor Mims subbed into the set and landed a kill for a tie at 23. Follette's kill put ASU on the line to serve for set, 24-23 but MacDonald's slam knotted the set at 24. MacLean landed back-to-back kills to give the home team the 26-24 win. The second set saw WSU make the late charge, scoring six out of seven points and closed to within one point, down 20-19. Sun Devils took advantage of three Cougar attack errors and captured the 25-21 win. Down early in the third set, WSU battled back, scoring six in a row and eventually 9 of 10 points to take 20-18 lead. Cougars pushed the lead to 24-20 but ASU was also in the battle mood, coming back with three straight. Ella Lajos' fourth kill of the set nailed the WSU must-win third set, 25-23. Tied at 19 in the fourth set, WSU ahead 20-19 but allowed three straight from the Sun Devils who led 22-20. After trading points, ASU's service error closed the gap for WSU to one point, trailing 23-22. Follette's kill put ASU at match point but Holt countered with a soft tip. MacLean laced one down the line and ASU took the 25-23 win.
“We really need to take advantage when we're up like that (in the first set). I'm proud of the way we fought back in the third set but it's really important when you have a lead in that first set to take that one and put pressure on the other team. Unfortunately we let them take that first set and that puts a lot of pressure on us,” WSU Head Coach Jen Greeny said. “When we're put in those tough situations we need to learn how to close it out. I give a lot of credit to Arizona State: they played some amazing defense and weren't letting anything hit the floor. That's what we need to do as well. I think we could have done a better job blocking, setting a really big block and take advantage of our size.”
WSU plays the final home matches this week. California (9-16 overall, 3-11 Pac-12) comes to Bohler Gym for a Friday, Nov. 13, 7 p.m. contest. WSU hosts No. 8 Stanford (17-5, 11-3) Sunday, Nov. 15, for an 11 a.m. match to be televised on the Pac-12 Networks. This match will be also be a celebration for Cougar senior Kate Sommer.
