Volleyball beats rival Arizona
In front of nearly 2,000 maroon and gold faithful and a Fox Sports live broadcast nationwide, the Sun Devil Volleyball team didn't disappoint Sunday afternoon as they collected a 25-22, 25-17 and 25-23 sweep over their in-state rival Arizona. The win gives ASU a record of 12-11 overall and 3-7 in the Pac-10 while Arizona falls to 13-9 overall and 3-7 in conference play.
The `Cats hung tough in the first set, pulling the score to a tie five times and forcing two lead changes, but in the end, ASU blazed by them with a smoking .361 attack percentage for 15 kills. Leading the way was Margie Giordano who dropped six kills for a .545 attack percentage while getting low on the hardwood for seven digs as ASU took a 25-22 win in the first.
The second set saw the Devil D click into high gear as well as they collected 3.5 blocks and 13 digs to keep the Wildcat attack at bay, holding UA to a .121 attack percentage. The offense held their own again, this time spreading the wealth with Sarah Reaves collecting three kills and Kristin Trayser, Marina Mercer and Margie Giordano all grabbing two apiece as well as ASU shot past UA with a 25-17 win to go 2-0 into the break.
The `Cats came out feisty in the third set, as they went head-to-head with the Sun Devils, both collecting 15 kills during a nailbiter that saw 16 tie scores and four lead changes. In the end it was Arizona's errors that cost them and Sarah's Reaves hitting a phenomenal .714 in the set for five kills and four digs. The Sun Devils snaked off with a 25-23 win to complete the sweep with the performance for Jason Watson's first rivalry win at the helm of ASU Volleyball.
Post match, Coach Watson was elated in his team's performance, stating, "I'm happy for our athletes, as I know that this match meant a lot to the team, especially after our disappointing performance last time in Tucson. Today we performed better than we have all season; the team stayed on task and drove each other today. It's amazing to see our athletes perform so well over a long period of time; it shows that we have the characteristics for success. Now it's a matter of maintaining it in the second have of the Pac-10 season."
Up next the Sun Devils gear up for another tough weekend as they will set to host the Bay Area schools as Cal and Stanford travel to the Valley to face the Sun Devils. ASU will face the Stanford Cardinal next Friday, November 7 and the Cal Golden Bears Saturday, November 8. Both matches will start at 7 p.m. MT and will be held at ASU's Wells Fargo Arena.