TEMPE, Ariz. – No. 22 Washington State volleyball fell to the Sun Devils of Arizona State Thursday evening, 3-1 inside Desert Financial Arena.
Set scores from the match were: 23-25, 20-25, 25-19 and 21-25 in favor of ASU (16-12, 8-9 Pac-12).
Washington State (22-7, 11-6 Pac-12) got off to a solid start with a pair of points, led by a
Penny Tusa kill. The Sun Devils posted a quick 3-0 scoring run to take the 4-2 early lead however. Arizona State generated a 7-1 run to take a commanding lead over the Cougars at 16-8, but WSU was ready with a counter attack.
Jocelyn Urias got things started with a kill and a service ace, followed by a block from both Urias and
Hannah Pukis to cut the deficit to 16-11. WSU remained red hot with an 8-2 scoring run, as
Pia Timmer posted three consecutive kills, and a Sun Devil attack error saw the Crimson and Gray taking the 20-19 advantage. A pair of kills from
Alexcis Lusby, and a service ace from
Julia Norville forced the ASU timeout as the Cougs held the 23-22 lead. Arizona State rebounded out of the stoppage however, taking set number one at 25-23.
Arizona State surged out in front early in set number two with an 8-3 run. WSU fought right back once more as
Kalyah Williams provided a spark to the offense with a pair of kills to trail at just 8-6. The Sun Devils strung together multiple small runs to claim a 15-10 advantage midway throughout the second period of action. The Cougs began building a 4-1 scoring run as a solo block from
Magda Jehlářová, and a kill from Urias closed the gap to just 18-15. ASU and Washington State traded small scoring runs down the stretch of the set, but it was the Sun Devils who won set two at 25-20.
The Cougars came out swinging to begin set three as kills from Pukis and Urias fueled the WSU offensive attack. Washington State continued to see the ball find the floor as kills from Williams, Lusby, and Pukis kept WSU out in front midway through the set at 14-9. The Cougs remained in control of set three, as a 4-0 run late put the advantage at 23-15 overall. Pukis continued to record kills as she posted yet another, and a solo brock from Urias helped seal off the set victory at 25-19.
These two Pac-12 programs traded points to start off set number four, until back-to-back kills from Lusby gave WSU the 7-6 advantage. Arizona State would then out score the Cougs 6-0 to take the 12-7, lead and force the Washington State timeout during the run. The Cougars closed the gap to 13-10 after the
Pia Timmer kill, but ASU generated yet another run at 4-0 for a 17-10 advantage. Washington State began creating a comeback of their own, posting a 5-1 run anchored by kills from Williams, Lusby, and Pukis. Unfortunately the Sun Devils closed out the set with a 4-2 scoring advantage, and despite a kill from Williams, and a solo block from Urias, ASU took the set at 25-21 to claim the match.
STAT OF THE MATCH
Pia Timmer led Washington State on the night totaling 13 kills and 10 digs, posting her fourth double-double of the season as well.
INTO THE TWITTER-VERSE
MATCH NOTES
- Kalyah Williams recorded double-digit kills in the contest with 11 overall, and posted a hitting percentage of .360 also.
- Hannah Pukis stuffed the stat sheet once again with 36 assists, six kills, hit .500 overall, and recorded five blocks.
- Jocelyn Urias anchored the defensive front with seven total blocks, two of which were solo blocks.
- Washington State returns to action next, Sunday, Nov. 24 as the Cougars will travel to Tucson to face Arizona with first serve set for 11 a.m. PT.
