The second comeback victory in as many matches elevated No. 18 ASU over No. 11 Oregon, 3-2.
Oregon got going quickly in the match, pulling ahead 9-3 in set one. The Ducks led 17-11 before ASU made a comeback and cut the deficit to three after a pair of Oregon errors and a kill from sophomore outside hitter Kizzy Willey. The Sun Devils were unable to come any closer, though, falling 25-19 in the first set.
Willey and junior outside hitter Macey Gardner only had two kill apiece in the set.
Gardner doubled her kill numbers for the first two ASU points of set two, though, and the teams fought rather evenly throughout the set. ASU hung with Oregon throughout the entire set, as the Ducks were never able to pull ahead by more than two points.
At 21-23, ASU looked like it were going to fall behind two sets to none, but a Gardner kill and an Oregon error allowed ASU to tie the set.
Another Gardner kill and another attack error was the finishing blow for the Ducks, allowing ASU to squeak by 26-24.
ASU did not play well in set three. The Sun Devils fell behind 14-21 after three consecutive hitting errors and dropped the set 20-25.
Two of those three hitting errors came from sophomore outside hitter BreElle Bailey. Her offensive struggles continued tonight, as she had five kills and four errors on 26 attempts. She hit a meager .038.
She attributes part of her struggles to confidence issues.
Set four was as close as set two. Over the course of the set there were nine lead changes and 17 ties. Neither team led by more than two points.
Both Gardner and Oregon senior outside hitter Liz Brenner had seven kills in the set. Brenner had 17 in the match and 221 on the year.
Gardner outplayed her though, recording 24 kills. She now has 337 on the year. ASU won the fourth set 26-24.
The comeback came down to the decisive 15-point fifth set. ASU took a 3-2 lead off an Oregon attacking error and finally broke free of the Ducks, winning 15-9.
Junior middle blocker Whitney Follette got the final three points for ASU, all coming on kills. She finished with a .222 hitting percentage, which is one of her lower efforts of the year, but still second-highest of the match for ASU. She trailed only junior setter Bianca Arellano, who hit .286.
Arellano’s hits weren’t what mattered. She had 43 assists and recorded 23 digs, her second match in a row with more than 40 assists and at least 19 digs.
Almost every statistical aspect of the match was close: Oregon had 65 kills and ASU had 57; Oregon hit .137 and ASU hit .150; Oregon ha 63 assists and ASU had 53.
What stood out was the blocking numbers.
Oregon had just 12 and ASU finished with 21, a nine from each Bailey and senior middle blocker Mercedes Binns. Gardner finished with eight and Follette had seven.
This number is half a block away from ASU's record, 21.5, which came against Cincinnati in 2005.
Reach the reporter at Logan.newman@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @Logan_Newsman
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