ASU volleyball played in its second tournament of the season this past weekend; The Hawkeye Classic, hosted in Iowa City, Iowa. This featured three close matches for the Sun Devils, who managed to come away with two wins.
ASU vs Butler (3-2)
The Sun Devils' first match of the tournament came against Butler on Friday. This match was a long, hard fought victory for ASU and allowed several Sun Devils to set career highs.
Junior libero Halle Harker made history as the 19th player in program history to record 1,000 digs in their career. She had a total of 17 in the match.
Sophomore middle blocker Jasmine Koonts reached two career highs with 10 kills and six block assists in the match. Along with Koonts, junior middle blocker Oluoma Okaro set a career high in block assists with six as well.
Sophomore setter Caroline Pearson had quite the match in her own right. During the five games against Butler, she reached a career highs in digs (12) and assists (42). She also obtained her first career double-double.
The scores of each game were: 25-16, 19-25, 25-20, 22-25, and 15-8.
ASU vs Iowa (0-3)
The second match on Friday featured a matchup with tournament host Iowa, and was the only defeat for ASU this past weekend.
The Sun Devils they were swept in three close games against the undefeated Hawkeyes. It marked the first time ASU has been swept so far this season.
Despite the loss, Cassidy Pickrell recorded her 1,000th career kill. She finished the match with eight kills, giving her a total of 1,003.
The scores of each game were: 25-27, 20-25, and 18-25.
ASU vs Oakland (3-2)
The Sun Devils managed to squeak out a second victory in their final match of the tournament, outlasting Oakland University for a 3-2 win.
In this match, the standout player was sophomore outside hitter Lexi MacLean. She set a new career high with 23 kills on a .375 attacking percentage.
Pearson, who had already had a career game against Butler earlier in the weekend, continued her hot play with a second double-double of the tournament. She finished the match with 46 assists and 13 digs.
Setting a career high in service aces with four, was freshman defensive specialist Courtney Leffel.
After two wins on the weekend, ASU finishes its second tournament of the year with a record 4-2 overall. The Sun Devils are now just three wins away from the 700th in program history.
The scores for each game were: 25-21, 20-25, 25-21, 17-25, 15-8
Stars of the Weekend
The three stars of the tournament are:
- Caroline Pearson set three careers highs and recorded her first two career double-doubles.
- Lexi MacLean was key in the teams second win of the weekend with a new career high in kills.
- Halle Harker made a mark for herself in program history with her 1000th dig as a Sun Devil.
Reach the reporter at tclark5@asu.edu and follow @taylorsedona on Twitter.
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