A key 7-0 run from No. 17 Utah ended ASU volleyball's (13-9) winning streak in a five-set thriller Friday night (29-27, 25-23, 25-21, 25-23, 15-8).
Junior outside hitter Andrea Mitrovic and senior outside hitter Ivana Jeremic led the Sun Devils with 17 kills each.
Junior outside hitter Claire Kovenksy provided 12 kills for ASU.
The first set went down to the wire, as both teams jostled with the lead throughout. Both teams traded points and runs until the Utes strung together three straight points to win the first set.
Tied at 20-20 in the second set, junior middle blocker Megan Beedie came up with consecutive kills to reach match point. Shortly after, Beedie came up with the point-winning tip to tie the match.
ASU couldn't catch up to Utah for most of the third set. After trailing 21-14, ASU put together a late 5-0 run, but it wasn't enough to pull ahead as Utah took the third point.
Despite trailing for most of the fourth set, ASU found itself leading 23-19 late. Mitrovic and Kovensky finished off the set with successive kills to push the match to a decisive fifth set.
After starting the final set tight, the Sun Devils surrendered a 7-0 run, which put the team in a hole they could not overcome.
ASU will take on Colorado next on Nov. 3 at 1 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.
