ASU volleyball rang the victory bell after ending its 11-game losing streak with a win against No. 14 USC, 3-1.
The match marked the first time the Sun Devils have taken down USC since 2012.
"Awesome match by our girls. They did more then I expected," coach Sanja Tomasevic said. "They fought really hard. They went after every ball, hit some really smart shots, made some really good plays. I am super pumped... I hope we play like this for the rest of the season."
ASU is now 14-16 during the overall season and 5-13 in Pac-12 play.
"It was awesome, we were all super focused honestly the the word I can use to describe it is together," junior setter Nicole Peterson said. "When we are together we are pumped and no one can touch our energy when we are together and that’s what we did tonight."
The win came after a loss to No. 25 UCLA, 3-1 on Friday night. ASU took the first set against UCLA, 25-18 and then lost the next three sets, 25-22, 25-18 and 25-23, respectively, giving UCLA the win.
"Honestly we approach every match the same way," Tomasevic said. "Its really just lets play our game and lets do what we know we can do. Its been awhile since we've stayed like that. We show it (in) one set and then we don’t finish it."
The Sun Devils started the match against the Trojans on a high note. ASU had a high hitting percentage of .375 during the first set and took the set with an 11-point win, 25-14. The last time ASU had that large of a win was Oct. 12, 1990.
Senior outside hitter, Alyse Ford, a transfer from USC, had another impressive night and led both teams in number of kills with 25.
"I focused on having smarter shots versus being super aggressive which is usually what I try and do," Ford said. "I really listened to my teammates tonight when they were telling me what was open on the out of system (balls) even the in system balls."
The Sun Devils and the Trojans battled it out during the second set but the Sun Devils took the set, 25-19, and ASU's defense kept the Trojans' hitting percentage in the second set to a low .098.
However, the Sun Devils dropped the third set to USC, 25-19 but came back to the fourth one fighting.
ASU took the fourth set, 25-18 after senior opposite hitter Peyton Grahovac made the final kill of the night and ASU claimed the match.
The Sun Devils have two more regular season matches for the season. They take on Stanford at home on Nov. 21 5:00 p.m. MST and UA at home on Nov. 24 7:00 p.m. MST.
Reach the reporter at skbrisen@asu.edu or follow @sophiabriseno on Twitter.
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