The ASU volleyball team (10-8) dropped its fourth straight game Friday at the hands of No. 10 Washington in four sets (25-20, 25-20, 25-21, 25-22).
Junior outside hitter Claire Kovensky led the Sun Devils will 15 kills and freshman outside hitter Iman Isanovic added 13.
The Sun Devils' back row of senior libero Courtney Leffel, senior outside hitter Ivana Jeremic and sophomore setter Noa Miller kept the team in the game with their defense, tallying 26, 14 and 13 digs, respectively.
ASU was able to keep pace with Washington throughout the back-and-forth first set. The Sun Devils put together a 6-1 run to close it out and capture the first point.
In the second set, it was the Huskies that finished strong. They strung together a 7-1 run to even the score.
Washington caught fire towards the middle of the third set and built its largest lead at 15-20. ASU then countered with a 6-0 run to take a 21-20 lead. But Washington came right back with a 5-0 run of its own to take the third set.
The Sun Devils took a 14-12 lead in the fourth set thanks to a 4-0 run before the Huskies put together a 6-2 run of their own to take a two-point lead. From there, Washington was able to close out ASU to win the match.
While ASU made Washington senior outside hitter Kara Bajema work for her kills, it still couldn't limit her impact. Bajema, one of the five best hitters in the Pac-12, scored 21 kills on 66 attempts for the Huskies.
Other Washington standouts included junior outside hitter Samantha Drechsel and junior middle blocker Lauren Sanders, who combined for 31 kills.
Next up, ASU will play No. 21 Washington State on Sunday Oct. 20 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.
