The ASU volleyball team exorcised its fifth-game demons Thursday night, defeating Washington State 3-2 and keeping its NCAA tournament hopes alive.
The Sun Devils (14-13, 6-10) had lost their previous three matches this season that had gone five games, but they got the victory when they needed it most. They now need just one win in their final two matches to clinch a winning record and be eligible for the postseason.
ASU hit .268 in the opening game, but Washington State (15-14, 3-12) was even sharper, hitting .311 and never trailing on its way to a 30-27 win.
The Sun Devils battled back with a strong second game in which they hit .250 and made just three attack errors to tie the match with a 30-26 win. Then they took the lead by winning the third 32-30, a game that featured 14 ties and four lead changes.
However, the Cougars would not go away quietly on their home court, as they won the fourth 30-23 to push the match to a deciding fifth game.
This time, unlike matches against Purdue, Duke and USC, the Sun Devils came out on top in the final game, winning 15-13 to seal the victory.
ASU junior libero Sydney Donahue had 41 digs in the victory, her second-highest match total this season.
It also gave her 651 on the season, breaking her own single-season school record of 628 that she set last year. This was her second ASU record in as many matches, as she became the school's all-time leader in digs in the team's 3-1 win over Oregon Nov. 10.
Sophomore outside hitter Margie Giordano had a season-high 23 kills and 21 digs, senior outside hitter Nina Reeves added 24 digs and 19 kills and redshirt freshman setter Marina Mercer had 58 assists and 13 digs.
The Sun Devils can clinch their first winning season in four years tomorrow night, but they will have to beat No. 2 Washington (23-3, 13-2) on its home court to do so.
The defending national champion Huskies have won 28 straight home matches dating back to 2004, and they are currently tied with Stanford for the Pac-10 lead.
They are also one of the hottest teams in the nation, having won 11 straight matches including a 3-0 sweep of ASU Oct. 19.
Washington boasts one of the Pac-10's best offenses, which entered the week leading the conference with a .305 team hitting percentage, 17.45 kills per game and 16.53 assists per game.
Senior setter Courtney Thompson, a 2005 first-team All-American, is the catalyst for that offense. Her 1,351 assists lead the team, and she leads the nation with 15.01 assists per game.
Junior outside hitter Christal Morrison, the 2005 NCAA tournament MVP, leads the Huskies with 424 kills and 27 service aces, while middle blockers Jessica Swarbrick and Alesha Deesing are both hitting over .400 individually.
If the Sun Devils cannot pull off the upset of Washington, their chances at a tournament invite would come down to the final match of the season, when they host UA Nov. 24.
Reach the reporter at matthew.storey@asu.edu
