Aug. 24, 2012
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
EL PASO, Texas - Arizona State volleyball started its season with a rollercoaster 3-2 win (20-25, 25-17, 22-25, 29-27, 16-14) against the Idaho State Bengals on Friday night.
The Sun Devils opened the tournament by dropping its first set, 20-25, only to come back for a quick win in the second set, 25-17, tying it at 1-1. Despite numerous rallies in the third, ASU's late comeback was not enough, eventually falling 22-25.
The fourth set saw 18 ties before the Sun Devils could come out ahead, 29-27 and force a fifth and deciding set. Arizona State garnered its first win of 2012, 3-2, after closing the match 16-14 in the fifth frame.
"This afternoon we found a way to win. It is going to be that way as our young athletes become more accustomed to college volleyball," head coach Jason Watson said. "Each match will be a battle. We showed considerable character - something we will continue to develop this season."
In the opening set, three freshmen got their first career starts in Whitney Follette, Macey Gardner and Allison Palmer. The Sun Devils worked from behind in the early points, using momentum during Stephanie Preach's serve to push ASU ahead at the 7-6 mark. Senior Erica Wilson then put up back-to-back-to-back points forcing ISU into a timeout at 14-16.
Idaho State answered with a small run to extend its cushion and force the Sun Devils into a timeout at 17-21. The Bengals used kills from Breanne Van Every and an ace by Lori Mendenhall to cap the set at 25-20.
In the second set, ASU worked a 7-3 lead to start off, its earliest lead of the day. Freshmen Follette and Gardner worked in tandem to stretch the Sun Devil lead to 11-5. The Bengals did not go away however, closing the gap to 14-13.
Gardner went on to finish the night with 16 kills and 11 digs, en route to her first career double-double and one of the team's first of the season - Palmer tallied 50 assists and 13 digs.
Unwilling to relinquish the lead, the Sun Devils were strong at the net which was showcased at 22-15 with consecutive block assists by Nora Tuioti-Mariner and Pinson followed by Follette and Gardner. ASU took the set 25-17 to tie the match at 1-1.
Set three offered six ties before ISU claimed a 10-6 lead to start. ASU rallied within two points of the lead at 15-17 and 17-19. After a pair of kills from Wilson, followed by her third ace of the day, ASU made it a 21-22 game with a timely block assist from Pinson and Tuioti-Mariner. The Bengals took a 2-1 lead in the match after taking the frame 25-22.
Blocks aided the effort in the fourth frame with the Sun Devils picking up three block assists by the 5-4 mark. After the 5-5 point, neither team could grab sustained footing on a lead as the set had 18 ties that went down to the wire until 27-27. A kill by Gardner, set up from Jenny Teslevich, then gave ASU the 28-27 edge. A Bengal attack error sealed the set for ASU, 29-27, and helped extend the match to a fifth set.
In the final set, ASU worked mostly from behind until a four-point streak with kills from Pinson and Gardner and a pair of aces from Wilson gave the Devils a 7-5 advantage. Keeping the momentum, Arizona State held the Bengals to three points to their five for a safe 12-8 lead. Like the fourth set, neither team could pull ahead for very long - Idaho State came back to tie it at 14-14 before two errors doomed the Bengals as ASU picked up the set 16-14 and the match, 3-2.
On the night Wilson had a team-best 18 kills, Gardner with 16 and Pinson with 12. Pinson also connected for a club-high eight block assists.
Up Next:
ASU will face Fresno State at 10 a.m. PT and UTEP at 6:30 p.m. PT on Saturday. Due to the tournament format, some matches may run behind schedule. Check Twitter @SunDevilVB for updates on match times for Saturday.