The ASU volleyball team ended one losing streak Thursday against Oregon State but let another one continue.
The Sun Devils snapped their 14-set losing streak with a third-set victory over the Beavers, but the team fell in four games, 30-27, 30-27, 28-30 and 30-26 to OSU to drop its fifth straight match of the season. The loss drops ASU into eighth place in the Pac-10 standings.
"We're doing a lot of stuff right," freshman setter Rachel Mittelstaedt said. "We're practicing hard, we're playing with a lot of intensity. We just need to put the little stuff together."
The four matches were close throughout, as there were 30 tie scores in the match and 18 lead changes.
Oregon State's most notable advantage was the ability of its setter Desma Stovall to dump the ball over the net for points, as well as set up her teammates for assists. Stovall had eight kills and 63 assists in the match.
"It's something we have a solution to, we just aren't there yet," ASU head coach Brad Saindon said. "We'll start working on it in the spring, but we're just not ready for it yet."
ASU started off the match slowly by falling behind in the first two games. The Sun Devils were able to rally in each to get close but couldn't quite overtake the Beavers.
Game 3 started out much the same: ASU again fell behind as the game drew to an end. However, a five-point burst capped by a kill from sophomore middle blocker Tierra Burnley gave ASU the third set.
The two teams stayed close throughout Game 4, but OSU took advantage of opportunities late to seal the match.
ASU performed well statistically in the match, as four players scored in double digits in kills, led by junior outside hitter Sarah Watkins' 20. Mittelstaedt added 65 assists, and libero Sydney Donahue had 30 digs to better her previous freshman school-record of 27.
"Sydney Donahue is a great volleyball player, and I'm glad she's playing on my team and I'm not playing against her," Saindon said. "She was flying all over the court tonight making digs."
The record was bittersweet for Donahue, as she would have liked to see a win.
"I should be excited about [the record], but I'm more disappointed about the [loss]," Donahue said.
The loss drops ASU to 8-13 overall, 3-9 in the Pac-10. It also moves the Sun Devils one game behind Oregon State for seventh place in the conference.
The Sun Devils will have a good chance at reclaiming a tie with the Beavers tonight when they host Oregon, and OSU travels to face UA.
The Ducks have just one conference win on the year, and the Wildcats are ranked No. 21 in the nation. An ASU win would equal the amount of Pac-10 wins it had last season at four.
"I think we'll bounce back," Donahue said. "I thought we played awesome tonight, it just didn't go our way."
Reach the reporter at kyle.odegard@asu.edu.
