ASU volleyball suffered a series sweep against No. 15 UCLA in Tempe, losing Friday's match 3-1 and Sunday's match in straight sets. The Sun Devils were swept for the fourth consecutive series.
Friday (22-25, 17-25, 25-22, 22-25)
Freshmen Claudia Stahlke and Alasia Ureña started game one of the series in place of senior middle blocker Megan Beedie and junior libero Paige Denton, respectively.
Ureña and Stahlke both played in all four sets. Ureña notched 11 digs and Stahlke recorded three kills in her collegiate debut. Sophomore outside hitter Iman Isanovic led the way for the Sun Devils' offense with 14 kills.
Neither team managed to sustain a run in the first set until the Sun Devils' 3-0 run decreased UCLA’s lead 22-21. ASU failed to finish the comeback as UCLA won the first set 25-22.
After both teams tied the score at 16 points apiece in the second set, UCLA produced an 8-0 run to reach set point, eventually winning the set 25-17.
Down by one point in the third set, ASU produced a 4-0 run to take a 22-19 lead, a run that helped the team win the set 25-22.
UCLA used a 5-0 run midway through the fourth set to build an 18-11 lead. The Sun Devils pulled the set back to within two points, but UCLA closed the fourth and final set 25-22 to win the match.
After seeing strong performances from Ureña and Stahlke, head coach Sanja Tomasevic said she is "excited about the future."
Sunday (25-27, 15-25, 21-25)
Freshman outside hitter Marta Levinska led the Sun Devils offensively in Sunday's match with 13 kills and seven digs.
ASU held a lead as large as five points in the first set, but UCLA worked its way back to take the lead and hold set point on four separate occasions. UCLA scored the final two points of the set to win it 27-25.
UCLA used runs of 3-0, 4-0 and 5-0 to build a 10-point lead in the second set and win it 25-15. ASU never led in the second set.
The Sun Devils took an 11-10 lead in the third set, but the Bruins answered with a 5-0 run to take a 15-11 lead, one it never relinquished. UCLA won the set 25-21 to complete the sweep.
ASU's next series will be at USC on Feb. 26 and 28.
Reach the reporter at njpietrz@asu.edu and follow @NPietrzycki on Twitter.
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