An up-and-down season for the ASU volleyball team (13-18, 4-14 Pac-10) ended on a sour note in the Pacific Northwest this weekend, as the squad dropped both of its matches against Washington State and No. 5 Washington.
Under the guidance of first-year coach Jason Watson, ASU got off to its best start in 11 years, winning nine of its initial 11 games.
However, things did not go well for the Sun Devils in Pac-10 Conference play. ASU dropped seven of its final eight matches to fall out of contention for an NCAA Tournament bid.
The offense was clicking Friday night against WSU (10-19, 3-15), but the ASU defense could not stop the Cougars’ attack and the Sun Devils fell in four sets, 20-25, 25-20, 25-21 and 25-20.
ASU outside hitters senior Margie Giordano and sophomore Sarah Reaves carried the offense for the Sun Devils, combining for 32 of the team’s 63 total kills.
ASU countered the Huskies Saturday but suffered similar results.
UW (24-4, 15-3) cruised by the Sun Devils, sweeping them in three sets 25-12, 25-21 and 25-18.
