Sept. 14, 2012

Final Stats |  Photo Gallery  vs. Villanova
Final Stats | Photo Gallery vs. UC Riverside

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL | RADIO FOR ASU MATCHES |
GAMETRACKER VS FAU | GAMETRACKER VS GONZAGA
TEMPE, Ariz. - The Arizona State volleyball team (9-2) kicked off the home opener with a pair of victories. After a 3-0 sweep of Villanova in the early match (25-9, 25-9, 25-22), the Sun Devils then outlasted UC Riverside, 3-1, in the nightcap (25-16, 23-25, 25-22, 25-12).

In its first home match of the season, ASU swept Villanova, 3-0 (25-9, 25-9, 25-22) earlier on Friday. Erica Wilson posted a team-high 17 kills against Villanova, which helped the team outhit its opponent .260 to their -.021.

In the nightcap, Arizona State closed the first set convincingly, 25-16, by holding UC Riverside to a negative attack percentage. The Highlanders answered with a second set victory, 23-25, to tie the match 1-1. The third set was all ASU, 25-22, who hit .294 behind seven kills from Macey Gardner and 16 assists from Allison Palmer. Arizona State picked up the 3-1 win after running away with the fourth set 25-12.

2-0 at home and 9-2 on the year #GreatStart @thesundevils VB plays FAU and Gonzaga on Saturday thesundevils.com/sports/w-volle... @asu

-- Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) September 15, 2012

GAME TWO: Arizona State 3, UC Riverside 1 (25-16, 23-25, 25-22, 25-12)
Despite starting behind 5-7, ASU rallied for a 9-3 run to take a 14-10 lead and force the Highlanders into a timeout. An ace by Alexis Pinson followed by a pair of UCR miscues saw the Sun Devils build breathing room at 21-14. Aided by .259 hitting clip, Arizona State closed the set 25-16 to go ahead 1-0.

UC Riverside commanded the board for an early four-point lead, but a few kills from Macey Gardner closed the gap for ASU to close in at 5-8. Trailing later 7-13, the Sun Devils took a timeout but UCR held a comfortable lead at the 13-18 mark.

Four-straight points lifted Arizona State to within four, 16-20 and a kill then block by Pinson chipped the UCR lead to just two, 19-21, to frustrate the UCR bench into its second timeout. Momentum kept the Sun Devils close but the Highlanders' early lead proved useful as ASU fell 23-25.

Set three featured Pinson and Wilson trading kills to give ASU a 6-2 jump. Though the Devils dropped the second set, the momentum still carried from the previous stanza which was noticeable as Arizona State held its lead going to the 11-10 mark. UCR never completely went away, 19-16, but timely kills by Wilson late in the set allowed ASU to finish it 25-22. Palmer tallied 16 assists in the set while Gardner had a set-high seven kills.

Whitney Follette was lights out in the fourth set, tallying the first kill and consecutive aces to put up her squad 3-0 and make UCR take an early timeout. Aces continued to pad ASU's lead, with four being recorded before the 12-5 mark. From there, Wilson and Nora Tuioti-Mariner would help ASU swing at a .304 clip, the duo both record three kills in the frame. Arizona State took the set 25-12 and the match 3-1 to improve to 9-2 on the year and 2-0 at home.

GAME ONE: Arizona State 3, Villanova 0 (25-9, 25-9, 25-22)
The Devils took an early 8-1 lead in the first set with on-point serving from freshman Macey Gardner. Arizona State continued to excel, with their smallest lead over Villanova at five points and their largest at 16 when they finished the set at a score of 25-9.

Villanova kept a close score in the start of the second, 5-5, but the Wildcats saw the same fate as Arizona State pushed the pedal to the metal in another 25-9 set win. Wilson and Pinson together notched eleven of ASU's 16 kills in the set, compared to three kills from Villanova.

The Sun Devils kept up their momentum through the final set, maintaining a lead even though Villanova came to life late in the set to finish the match 25-22. ASU grabbed another 16 kills while the Wildcats took 11 of their own, and Nora Tuioti-Mariner saw two-consecutive service aces.

Wilson, a senior, recorded 17 kills in the match, a best for both teams, while Pinson led the Devils defensively with four block assists to contribute to ASU's seven total blocks. The first two sets marked the second and third this season where the Devils held their opponent to ten or fewer points.

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL | RADIO FOR ASU MATCHES |
GAMETRACKER VS FAU | GAMETRACKER VS GONZAGA
UP NEXT: Arizona State continues action on Saturday with matches against Florida Atlantic (2:30 p.m.) and Gonzaga (8 p.m.).