Looking to make its fans proud on senior night, ASU defeated No. 22 Washington State in four sets (25-23, 25-20, 25-19, 25-21) Thursday for its third straight victory.
“It was a lot (of) emotion, just crazy and heightened,” senior setter Nicole Peterson said. “But honestly, at the end of the day, we came together as a team and got it done.”
Junior outside hitter Andrea Mitrovic led the way with a team-high 11 kills. Junior middle blocker Megan Beedie shined with 10 kills of her own.
Junior outside hitter Claire Kovensky turned in an impressive effort with eight kills and 13 digs while senior outside hitter Ivana Jeremic put on a balanced performance with 10 kills, nine digs and four blocks.
“I’m thinking about the win,” Jeremic said of senior night. “I’m not thinking, ‘oh this is senior night, this is crazy.’ But I think I’m also trying to hide it, trying not to think about it, because I’m kinda sad.”
Peterson and senior setter Callie Jones had double-doubles with 19 assists and 10 digs and 24 assists and 10 digs, respectively.
In the first set, Beedie led a fierce Sun Devil offensive attack. But Washington State fought back after being down 16-9, putting both teams at a 20-20 tie. Yet ASU prevailed in the clutch and won the first set by two.
“We were up 16-9 and it turns into a nailbiter,” head coach Sanja Tomasevic said. “We got mad during one of those timeouts and decided that we weren’t losing this. It was pretty cool how they did at the end of that set.”
The Sun Devils never trailed in the second set and cruised to a five-point victory to take a 2-0 lead.
But in the third set, ASU fell behind early and was not able to recover. The team ultimately lost the set 25-19, but its spirit remained intact.
“For me, a big thing that we turn to is that not one person can win a match,” Peterson said. “We all have to come together.”
Neither team gained much ground in the fourth set until the Sun Devils started to pull away midway through, taking a 17-10 lead. But the Cougars tightened that gap as the set progressed.
Clinging to a 21-19 lead, ASU won three rallies in a row and eventually emerged victorious in the fourth set, 25-21, earning itself a season sweep of Washington State.
“Yeah, they were ranked,” Jeremic said. “But honestly, before the game, I didn’t know that they were ranked. We don’t focus on, ‘yeah, they’re ranked,’ it’s more about focusing on our side.”
ASU improved to 16-12 (8-9 Pac-12) following the win. It will play No. 10 Washington Sunday, Nov. 24 at 12:00 p.m. MST in Tempe.
Reach the reporter at cvanligt@asu.edu and follow @Connor_VL on Twitter.
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