MATCH STATS
- No. 18 Washington State Sweeps Arizona State 3-0: 25-21, 25-18, 25-20
- Team’s Record: WSU (16-5 overall, 6-3 Pac-12), Arizona State (8-13 overall, 1-8 Pac-12)
- Schedules: WSU here, Arizona State here.
Washington State Press Release
It was a short turn-around between matches but the No. 18 Washington State volleyball team (16-5 overall, 6-3 Pac-12) took a 25-21, 25-18, and 25-20 win over Arizona State (8-13, 1-8) Wednesday night at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe.
This was WSU’s 10th three-set sweep of the season, and stemmed a three-match losing streak including a pair of five-set losses at home last Friday and Sunday.
Kyra Holt led the match with 13 kills, hitting .393, and had WSU’s lone ace in addition to four blocks. McKenna Woodford, playing before family and friends from nearby Chandler, Ariz., had seven kills and two solo blocks. Taylor Mims added six kills (.333) and led the match with seven blocks. Claire Martin added three blocks while Casey Schoenlein and Hailey Bethune had two blocks each. Haley MacDonald and Nicole Rigoni combined for 26 assists and Alexis Dirige had 10 digs.
The Sun Devils were led by Lexi MacLean’s nine kills and Oluoma Okaro had six kills. Jasmine Koonts had a team-high six blocks. Nicole Peterson and Kylie Pickrell combined for 27 assists with Peterson and Okaro serving one ace each. Halle Harker had 10 digs.
WSU hit .253 for the match and held ASU to a .040 team hitting percentage. The Cougars dominated the blocking with 13 to ASU’s seven. WSU edged the Sun Devils in kills 33 to 31, and in digs, 32-31.
“I’m proud of this team for coming back and being resilient after a couple of tough losses last weekend,” WSU Head Coach Jen Greeny said. “We came out and played really well at times and were able to adjust to some of the things Arizona State was doing. I think we were much more consistent from the beginning tonight.”
“Kyra is playing really well and even though teams can key on her, I think our setters are doing a really nice job of distributing the ball. We have enough weapons that we can spread the ball around,” Greeny said. “Arizona does not play before we go to them for our second match of the week so it was important to win in three tonight, get some food and back to the hotel to rest. It was a great win for the Cougs.”
WSU travels across the desert to take on Arizona (13-7, 5-3) Friday, Oct. 21, in Tucson, in a match televised live on the Pac-12 Network.
Arizona State Press Release
The Arizona State Volleyball team (8-13, 1-8 Pac-12) fell in three sets to the No. 18 Washington State Cougars (16-5, 6-3 Pac-12), 21-25, 18-25, 20-25, on Wednesday evening in Wells Fargo Arena.
“It’s never good to lose, that’s for sure,” head coach Stevie Mussie said. “I like how Oluoma (Okaro) is continuing to take big swings. I think Lexi (MacLean) is doing what Lexi does, but we need to get her to manage things when they are not in her favor. The truth of the matter is you have to know how to score. Having one hundred swings and only thirty-one kills is a problem we have to address.”
SophomoreLexi MacLean led the Sun Devils with nine kills while junior Oluoma Okaro added six kills. Sophomore Jasmine Koonts tied a season high with six total blocks on the match, including three solo blocks.
Junior Halle Harker had 10 digs on the match, giving her 1,233 for her career. She now sits 20 digs away from tying 2009 Sun Devil Hall of Famer Christine Garner for ninth on the school’s all-time career digs list.
Washington State senior Kyra Holt led all scorers with 13 kills, hitting .393 on the evening. Sophomore Taylor Mims recorded 7 total blocks along with six kills on .333 hitting.
Up next, the Sun Devils will be back at Wells Fargo Arena to continue Pac-12 play. They will host No. 7 Washington on Friday, Oct. 21 at 8:00 p.m. PT on the Pac-12 Network. Amy Gant and Rich Burk will be on the call.
Match Notes
Kills: MacLean (9)
Assists: K. Pickrell (14), Peterson (13)
Blocks: Koonts (6TB: 3BS, 3BA)
Digs: Harker (6)
Aces: Peterson (1), Okaro (1)
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