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ASU Volleyball: Sun Devils fight hard but fall to UCLA

By Nicholas Zeller-Singh

TEMPE, AZ - AUGUST 28: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot, "Sparky" performs during the college football game against the Weber State Wildcats at Sun Devil Stadium on August 28, 2014 in Tempe, Arizona. The Sun Devils defeated the Wildcats 45-14. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TEMPE, AZ - AUGUST 28: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot, "Sparky" performs during the college football game against the Weber State Wildcats at Sun Devil Stadium on August 28, 2014 in Tempe, Arizona. The Sun Devils defeated the Wildcats 45-14. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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After getting swept in the last three matches, ASU volleyball fought hard and were determined to never give up. However, the Bruins defeated the Sun Devils in four sets (22-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-23).

ASU’s offense was powerful and looked unstoppable in the first set. ASU took an early commanding lead as they led 10-4.

One problem that happened the last few matches was a lack of spreading the offense. However, in set one the Sun Devils had seven players record a kill. Danica Krstonosic stepped up after getting more playing time and got three of her four kills in the opening frame. Alyse Ford also led the offense again as she had six of her 23 kills in set one.

In the set, the offense ended with a .333 hitting percentage, and it looked like the momentum would keep rolling.

However, in set two, the problems rose again. The Sun Devils pushed hard in the beginning of the set as Megan Beedie helped ASU keep close. Ford kept the kills rolling as well Nicole Peterson who helped the offense run smoothly.

“Nicole still does everything,” said coach Sanja Tomasevic. “She sets, she hits. She flips and does this and flip and does that.”

Peterson finished with two kills, 14 assists, and 16 digs. The whole set was close but Madeleine Gates finished the Bruins’ run with two of the last three kills. The Bruins took over the momentum and did not look back.

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In set three, the Sun Devils fell back into their old struggles as Ford had to put the offense on her shoulders again. Beedie’s offensive chances disappeared as he only got one of her eight kills in the last two sets.

Callie Jones tried spreading the ball around throughout the match, as she has been a very consistent passer the last few matches. She led the team in assists again with 26.

The Sun Devils fell apart, but tried to fight back as they got a few straight points at the end. However, the Sun Devils got three straight points late but fell once again.

The Bruins offense was led by two players – Mac May and Jenny Mosser. The pair finished with 34 of the team’s 55 kills. The Bruins’ offense also clicked at the end as they bumped up their match hitting percentage to a .282. Their defense finished with 16 blocks.

Claire Kovensky did not play set one and had limited playing time in the others sets. ASU’s defense was having a great night as they finished with six blocks and 72 digs.

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ASU will now prepare to face USC on Sunday. The Sun Devils previously lost to the Trojans in a five-set match back on Oct. 12.

All quotes in this article were obtained firsthand by Devils in Detail unless otherwise noted.