Photo: (Tyler Rittenhouse/WCSN)
The Arizona State Sun Devils lost in 4 sets (29-27, 17-25, 16-25, 23-25) to the Oregon State Beavers Friday night in Corvallis, Oregon.
ASU has made a recent habit of starting strong but failing to finish. This was the fourth of the last five games in which the Sun Devils won the first or second set but failed to win any more.
The two teams went back and forth in the opening set, as they were never separated by more than three points. ASU eventually prevailed, as freshman Griere Hughes got her sixth kill of the set off of sophomore Nicole Peterson’s assist to win the opening frame 29-27.
The Beavers responded though, dominating in sets two and three.
ASU kept up for the first half of set two, as it trailed 14-12 after consecutive kills from senior Oluoma Okaro and Hughes. Oregon State pulled away after that, scoring eight of the ensuing nine points with the help of two service aces to take a 22-13 lead. The Beavers went on to win by eight, evening the match at a set apiece.
The Sun Devils started better in set three, but they fell even harder. ASU led by as much as 8-4 before Oregon State scored five straight points to get right back in it. Then, with ASU up 12-11, the Beavers nearly doubled their previous run, scoring nine consecutive points to go up 20-12 and ultimately put the set out of reach.
The third set run by Oregon State was largely self-inflicted on the part of ASU, as its attacking errors accounted for five of Oregon State’s nine straight points.
The Sun Devils battled to keep the match going in set four, as they rallied from an 18-12 deficit to even the match at 22, thanks to three attacking errors and two service errors by the Beavers in that span.
The home team closed it out though, as senior Mary-Kate Marshall’s kill prevented extra points in set 4.
ASU once again recorded more digs than its opponent (83-75), which they’ve done all but one match in Pac-12 play. However, attacking errors hurt the Sun Devils, as they tallied 29 to Oregon State’s 20. The Beavers also recorded seven service aces on the match to ASU’s zero.
Marshall led both teams with 22 kills, while Okaro led the Devils with 21. Beavers freshman Grace Massey led the match with 25 digs, and freshman Kylee Mclaughlin added a match high 57 assists.
Oregon State improves to 15-7 overall and 5-5 in the conference with the win, while ASU falls to 10-11 overall and 0-9 in Pac-12 play.
The Sun Devils return to action Saturday night when they visit No. 15 Oregon at 7 p.m.
