Volleyball loses 3-1 to No. 4 Cal
Arizona State volleyball suffered a 3-1 loss to No. 4 California, dropping the club to 4-11, 0-6 in Pac-12 play. The Sun Devils fell with set scores of 25-19, 25-23, 18-25, 25-15.
Ashley Kastl led both teams with 19 kills for a .250 attack percentage. The fourth-ranked Bears improve to 15-2 overall and 5-2 in conference action with the victory.
ASU opened the evening on a 3-0 run while hitting at a .263 clip in the first, as Kastl led the offensive charge with five kills. A spread of three Bears with four kills apiece helped the Cal effort in a .455 attack percentage en route to topping the Sun Devils 25-19.
Set two featured an impressive showing from the Devils who jumped to an 8-4 lead – with Kastl racking up six additional kills to keep ASU within reach of two points throughout the remainder of the stanza. Heading into the break, Kastl led both squads in kills with 11.
Cal continued its hot streak offensively in the second though, hitting .324 despite four attack errors to claim its second set, 25-23.
Arizona State answered with gusto in the third, however, tallying a team-best .324 attack percentage and holding the Bears to .273. The Sun Devils played cleanly with zero errors and used Cal’s five to gain a cushion in the 25-18 set victory.
The Sun Devils gained footing at the 13-9 mark and held on to its cushion – extending it to seven points at 20-13. Malia Bachynski threw down three kills with help from Sarah McGaffin’s 11 assists in the frame to further help the maroon and gold cause.
In the fourth and deciding frame, the Bears held ASU at bay with seven kills and 11 errors damaged the Sun Devils’ chance of playing late into the set. Cal captured the match 3-1 with a set win of 25-15 in the fourth.
The A-State volleyball club returns to the friendly confines of Wells Fargo Arena on Oct. 7 to host UCLA and Saturday against USC. Both games are slated for a 7 p.m. start.