ASU volleyball (12-8) used blocking and key kills to once again come back from two sets down to defeat Oregon Friday night (25-21, 25-17, 25-14, 25-19, 15-12).
Junior outside hitter Andrea Mitrovic and senior outside hitter Jada Burse led the Sun Devils with 13 and 12 kills respectively.
Senior outside hitter Ivana Jeremic added nine kills and a team-high six blocks.
The first set went back and forth between the two teams, including trading 4-0 runs early. But the Devils were not able to build any offensive momentum and dropped the set.
Oregon dominated ASU early in the second set, leading by as much as 20-8. Oregon put together three runs of 3-0 or greater, including a 6-0 surge.
The Sun Devils fought back with two 4-0 runs to close the deficit, but the Ducks were able to close them out to take a two-set lead.
ASU came back strong in the third set with 4-0 and 6-0 runs early on. It kept piling on points and cruised to a win to stay alive in the match.
The fourth set played much like the first, with both teams trading 3-0 runs early. But the Sun Devils put together another 3-0 run and a 4-0 burst to give them enough cushion to force a decisive fifth set.
ASU went down early in the fifth set, surrendering four straight points out of the gate. But the team stormed back with four straight of its own to tie the match.
The Sun Devils then rattled off a 6-1 run to put them in control. They held off a late 3-0 run from Oregon with a block from Jeremic, whose match point kill completed their second straight comeback from two sets down.
Coach Sanja Tomasevic noted how "two different teams showed up" and what the team needed to fix to come back.
"I'm pleased with how we came back and how we fought," Tomasevic said. "I think that's something that's becoming the identity of this team: we don't quit."
Senior setter Nicole Peterson attributed ASU's slow start against Oregon to discipline, something that improved in the later sets of the match.
"We just needed to focus on ourselves staying disciplined," Peterson said. "After that second set, once we realized it was on our side, we need to come back, it really didn't matter what we had to do, because we had to fix ourselves."
ASU will take on Oregon State next on Oct. 27 in Tempe at 12 p.m. MST.
Reach the reporter at jhorst2@asu.edu and follow @HorseySeven on Twitter.
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Jeffrey Horst is the digital editor-in-chief of The State Press. He previously served as the publication's sports editor and worked at Cronkite News and ArizonaSports.com.
