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Cougs Down ASU in Five-Set Thriller

by wsucougars.com
Jan 28, 2021

Box Score (PDF) | Boxscore

TEMPE, Ariz. – Washington State Volleyball took down the Sun Devils of Arizona State in fives sets on the road Thursday afternoon.

Set scores from the match were: 17-25, 26-24, 25-10, 23-25, and 16-14 in favor of WSU (2-1, 2-1 Pac-12).

The Sun Devils of Arizona State (1-2, 1-2 Pac-12) began this match with some heat against Washington State, posting a 5-1 scoring run. The Cougars throughout this opening set continued to stop the ASU runs, but the Sun Devils continued to piece together multiple point runs over WSU. Arizona State took control of set one with a 6-1 run midway through, to lead the Cougars 21-13. WSU went on to see kills from Charity Bradley and Penny Tusa, but ultimately the Sun Devils took set one, 25-17.

Set number two brought more intensity between these programs, as this game featured eight ties leading up to a 10-10 score. The Cougars continued to pull ahead of the Sun Devils with a slim lead throughout the set, after kills from Bradley, Timmer and Jehlářová put the score at 21-21. Washington State forced an ASU timeout after back-to-back aces to swing the momentum in favor of the Cougars. WSU then finished off the Sun Devils in the set with a kill from Bradley, and an error from Arizona State for the 26-24 win. 
 
Set three was all Washington State, beginning with a scoring run of 13-4 that featured kills from Julianna Dalton, Pia Timmer, and Bradley. The defensive front was stepped up in this set by the Cougs with blocks from Kalyah Williams, Hannah Pukis, and Magda Jehlářová. The Cougars continued to dominate ASU in this set as back-to-back kills from Dalton, and two consecutive service aces from Timmer propelled WSU to a 25-10 set victory. 

WSU looked to pick up where they left in the previous set, jumping out to a 12-8 lead as Timmer and Williams fueled the offensive attack. Arizona State began to find some success, and eventually turned that into an 8-0 scoring run for a 16-12 lead. The Cougs fought back and eventually knotted up the score at 20-20 with some help from kills by Bradley and Tusa. ASU managed to generate yet another run to end set four, scoring four consecutive to take the set 25-23. 

The final set of this intense match-up saw the Cougs jump out ahead with a quick 3-0 run, supported by kills from Jehlářová and Dalton, and an ace from Pukis. Arizona State turned it back around on WSU to take a slim lead, but the Cougars posted a 4-0 run to hold a 10-8 advantage. These two squads went on to trade points down the stretch in this set, until Washington State finished off the match with back-to-back kills from Timmer and Williams. 

STAT OF THE MATCH
Sophomore Magda Jehlářová filled the stat sheet in today's win over Arizona State, posting 11 kills on 20 total attacks. Magda also posted a team-high attack percentage of .400, along with added a match-high seven blocks.

INTO THE TWITTER-VERSE

MATCH NOTES

  • Pia Timmer and Julianna Dalton each led the offensive attack with 14 kills each on the day.
  • Kalyah Williams provided a spark both offensively and defensively with 11 kills and five total blocks.
  • A third straight double-double from Hannah Pukis today after posting 45 assists and 20 digs in the match. 
  • Charity Bradley added nine kills of her own in the contest, and added two blocks to her stat line.

 

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