Between winning two critical matches and having junior libero Sydney Donahue make school history, it was certainly a successful weekend for the ASU volleyball team.
The Sun Devils (13-13, 5-10) beat Oregon State 3-1 Thursday, and then strengthened their NCAA tournament hopes with a 3-1 upset win over No. 24 Oregon Friday.
"Our season's still alive," coach Brad Saindon said. "We're still in the hunt and we're playing well right now."
In addition, Donahue became ASU's all-time leader in digs in Friday's win. She had 49 total digs this weekend, giving her 1,613 in her career and moving her past Christy Nore's mark of 1,597 that had stood for 18 years.
"I think it's awesome," Donahue said of breaking the record. "I don't really focus on that stuff, but it's exciting."
If the Sun Devils reach the postseason, the match against Oregon (17-7, 7-7) could ultimately prove to be the difference-maker.
The Ducks came out on fire in Friday's first game. They took command with a 20-11 lead and hit .318 for the game, going on to win the opener 30-23.
ASU bounced back with a dominant performance in the second. After Donahue set her record on the first point of the game, the Sun Devils won 14 of the next 17 points and went on to win 30-14.
They hit .303 in the game, while Oregon hit .023 and failed to score even one point on its own serve.
"I don't know what happened to us, but we just caught fire," Saindon said. "That's as good as I've ever seen us play. It was fun for me to watch."
The two teams battled back and forth for much of the third game, as neither team held a lead larger than three points until the Ducks' 6-1 run put them up 24-20.
ASU responded again, however, ending the game on a 10-3 run capped off by senior outside hitter Nicole Morton's kill to win 30-27.
Oregon then had a 16-12 lead in the fourth before the Sun Devils took over, using an 18-5 run to seal the match with a 30-21 win.
"We wanted it, and we had such a good game plan," Donahue said. "It was just our time to have confidence and fight back. This is just one more step to make it to the tournament."
Saindon said he was especially happy that the team's three seniors - Morton, outside hitter Nina Reeves and middle blocker Tierra Burnley - all made important contributions to the win.
Reeves led the team with 19 kills and eight blocks, Morton had nine kills - including the clincher in the pivotal third game - while Burnley added six kills and six blocks.
Sophomore outside hitter Margie Giordano also had one of her best performances of the season, hitting .385 with 16 kills and just one attack error.
The Sun Devils also took care of last-place Oregon State (3-20, 0-14) Thursday to complete their season sweep of the Beavers.
ASU hit .393 in the first game to win 30-17, but Oregon State won its first game in more than a month by taking the second 31-29.
The Sun Devils regained control after halftime, as they never trailed in either the third or fourth games. They won the third 30-26 and then cruised to a 30-17 win in the fourth, hitting .375 in the final game.
Reach the reporter at matthew.storey@asu.edu
