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Utah upsets No. 17 ASU volleyball in four sets

Sophomore outside hitter BreElle Bailey blocks a hit to win the match point against North Carolina Central University on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014, at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. The Sun Devils swept the Eagles 3-0. (Photo by Ben Moffat)
Sophomore outside hitter BreElle Bailey blocks a hit to win the match point against North Carolina Central University on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014, at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. The Sun Devils swept the Eagles 3-0. (Photo by Ben Moffat)

BreElle Bailey blocks Sophomore outside hitter BreElle Bailey blocks a hit to win the match point against North Carolina Central University on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014, at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. Bailey hit .067 with 11 kills and nine errors against Utah on Sunday. (Photo by Ben Moffat)

No. 17 ASU volleyball was upset by an unranked Pac-12 opponent Sunday, as Utah's 28 blocks were too much for the Sun Devils to overcome.

Before heading to travel for the weekend, ASU coach Jason Watson talked about Utah’s ability to block kill attempts.

“I know that their identity is they’re going to go block a lot of balls,” he said on Tuesday.

No. 17 ASU has played against sound defensive teams this year, but those schools typically rely on digs. Utah’s defense is different, and it affected ASU harshly.

Utah had 28 total assisted blocks, which proved to be too much for ASU.

This reflected poorly in ASU’s hitting percentage. It took 45 attempts for junior outside hitter Macey Gardner to get her 15 kills, and she also had eight errors. Sophomore outside hitter BreElle Bailey hit .067 with 11 kills but nine errors.

ASU fought hard, after losing 25-11 in the first set. The Sun Devils won the second set 25-20.

"I’m really pleased with how well we responded after dropping game one,” Watson said.

Junior middle blocker Andi Lowrance, playing for the injured junior middle blocker Whitney Follette, was a high point for ASU.

She recorded six kills on 16 attempts and only had one error. She led ASU with a .312 hitting percentage.

It looked like ASU was going to take a 2-1 lead in the third set, but faltered after leading 21-15.

Utah caught up and and cut the deficit to 22-20 and eventually scored consecutive points to go ahead 25-24. The Utes won the next point to take set three.

“Points are hard to score in this conference, and learning how to close out close games is tough,” Watson said.

Gardner has been able to score points in the Pac-12 this season. Her 15 kills today put her in eighth place for most kills in ASU history, with 1325 in two and a half seasons.

The fourth set was nearly opposite of set three. ASU fell behind 22-18 but nearly caught up, narrowing the deficient to just one points but were unable to get over the hump.

The Sun Devils lost the set 25-23 and the match 3-1.

Utah freshman outside hitter Adora Anae was a high point for the Utes. She recorded a match-high 17 kills on a .424 attacking percentage. She made up for the struggles of Utah senior outside hitter Chelsey Schofield-Olsen, attacked at a .195 percent but had 41 attempts.

Senior right side hitter Shelby Dalton was another key part of Utah’s game. She recorded 10 kills on 22 attempts and had seven block assists. The only player with more was senior middle blocker Bailey Bateman, who had eight.

Despite the loss, Watson isn’t worried about his team.

“This was a very tough stretch for us,” Watson said. “We feel like we are in an okay place right now, and we are eager to get back home and play in front of our fans."

2014 season in photos

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Reach the reporter at logan.newman@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @Logan_Newsman

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