Nov. 14, 2003
EUGENE, Ore. (www.TheSunDevils.com) -- Seeing her first action of the year at outside hitter, senior Courtney Blocher notched a double-double with 10 kills and 19 digs to help lead the Arizona State Sun Devils to a four-game victory over Oregon on Friday night in Pac-10 Volleyball action at McArthur Court. Game scores were 30-28, 27-30, 30-28, 30-28 in favor of the Sun Devils.
ASU snapped a six-match losing streak with the victory to improve to 9-16 overall and 4-12 in conference play. Oregon remained winless in Pac-10 play, falling to 0-16 in league action and 3-22 overall.
Blocher (Scottsdale, Ariz.) starred for the Devils in a utility role after having one of her best matches of the year the previous night against Oregon State with 18 digs. Against the Ducks, Blocher, who was the 1999 State of Arizona High School Player of the Year as an outside hitter at Chandler Valley Christian, recorded her third career double-double with 10 kills and led all players with 19 digs. Blocher also added three block assists and one service ace to finish with 12.5 total points.
Senior middle blocker Mandy Stephens (Napa, Calif.) tied a season high with 15 kills on a .423 hitting percentage to lead ASU's balanced offensive attack. Stephens also led the Devils with four blocks. Sophomore Sarah Watkins (Mishawaka, Ind.) also contributed 13 kills and junior Natalie Harris (Tempe, Ariz.) added nine. Junior setter Giovana Melo led ASU with 28 assists.
The Ducks were led by three players with double-figures in kills. Sarah Mason and Kelly Russell each tallied 14 in the loss, while Kristen Bitter contributed 11 on a .368 hitting percentage.
The Sun Devils complete the regular season next weekend with a pair of matches against Washington State (Nov. 21, 5 p.m.) and Washington (Nov. 22, 7 p.m.)
--Sun Devil Volleyball--