The ASU volleyball team got a post-Halloween scare on Thursday night at Wells Fargo Arena.
Slow starts plagued the Sun Devils (14-11, 6-6 Pac-10) in their four-game win over WSU (9-16, 0-11), but 40 errors committed by the Cougars aided ASU's cause.
The Sun Devils won 30-22, 28-30, 30-22 and 31-29.
ASU will take the court tonight against No. 4 Washington in hopes of getting an upset win to strengthen its chances of getting a spot in the 2007 NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament.
"We weren't at our best tonight," ASU coach Brad Saindon said. "We were looking a bit more at (Washington) than (Washington State). We try not to do that, but it's hard not to."
ASU outside hitters junior Margie Giordano and freshman Sarah Reaves had 16 and 15 kills respectively, while freshman middle blocker Sara Todorovich scored 11 1/2 points with six total blocks and six kills.
"That's a good night for (Todorovich), she's a freshman that's getting better and developing," Saindon said.
The Cougars' Jackie Albright, a sophomore outside hitter, led the game in scoring with 19 kills, while also collecting 15 digs.
ASU and WSU came out to a sluggish start in game one after both teams started with a few errors.
The Cougars grabbed a 9-5 lead when the Sun Devils failed to stop Faleti and Albright attacks. However, ASU climbed back into the game behind kills from Giordano and Reaves.
A block at the net by Smith and Reaves gave ASU an 18-16 lead as the Sun Devils ran away with the game without looking back.
The Cougars took control of game two early, going up 8-4 as ASU struggled to make defensive stops.
Things continued to go south for ASU until a 12-3 scoring run gave them a 19-16 lead midway through the game.
WSU sophomore outside hitter Tara West, who finished the game with four of her 13 match kills, helped the Cougars rally back to tie the game at 26, evening the match 1-1.
Saindon said the slow starts to games one and two could be attributed to his players underestimating the struggling Cougars.
"I really think the hardest thing to do is to play at your level when the team you are playing is perceived to be at a level lower than you," Saindon said.
After an impressive win in game three behind Giordano's nine kills, the Sun Devils struggled to another bad start in game four, going down 7-3 early.
The Sun Devils had to rally three times to stay in the game, and tied it at 29 before two straight attack errors by the Cougars gave them the match.
"There was a lack of energy, but looking to (tonight) we are going to forget about (the WSU) game and play hard because that's all we can do," Todorovich said.
