University of Washington
Arizona State
Muñoz Not Enough As Huskies Fall To Sun Devils
November 21, 2012 | Volleyball
Nov. 21, 2012
SEATTLE - A hungry Arizona State team came into Alaska Airlines Arena and spoiled the regular season home finale for the fifth-ranked Huskies, as ASU used late runs in the third and fourth sets to earn a 3-1 win. Washington (22-6, 13-6 Pac-12) will close out the regular season in just two days at Washington State, and look to go into the NCAA tourney back on a winning note.
With the win, Arizona State (19-13, 8-11 Pac-12) snapped a 19-match losing streak against the Huskies. It's also the first Husky loss to any team not ranked in the top-10. After a shaky first set, the Huskies rolled in set two, but the match turned in the third set, when UW led 23-20 but lost the final five points. A similar five-point run to end the fourth set clinched it, as ASU earned the upset, 25-19, 16-25, 25-23, 25-20 in front of 1,987 fans.
"We did not deserve to win," Head Coach Jim McLaughlin summarized. "We did not play well in any way, shape, or form. I'm disappointed in our preparation, which can go back to me, for sure. We were still in the (match), but I have a list of little things that we didn't do; it was like it was early in the season. If we lose focus like this, this can happen, and we'd better learn that real quick."
Washington was outplayed all night at the service line, as the Sun Devils had five aces and just four service errors, compared to three aces and 13 service errors for the Dawgs. The Huskies were playing without standout sophomore Krista Vansant, out with an ankle sprain suffered last week.
Senior Kylin Muñoz stepped up in a big way in Vansant's absence and led the Dawgs with 15 kills and a .324 attack percentage. As a team, the Huskies outhit ASU, .178 to .160, and had eight more kills (56-48) and more blocks (14.0-10.0), but the serving issues proved too tough to overcome.
Gabbi Parker and Kaleigh Nelson each had 12 kills, and freshman Melanie Wade had a nice night with four kills, a .500 attack percentage, and six blocks. Freshman Katy Beals had 30 assists and junior Jenna Orlandini had a number of terrific digs, posting 19 overall. Macey Gardner led all players with 19 kills, and Stephanie Preach had 29 digs as ASU won the digs battle, 89-75.
The Dawgs will have Thanksgiving as a team tomorrow afternoon before setting off for Pullman. The Huskies and Cougars will then meet in Bohler Gym on Friday night at 8 p.m. in a Pac-12 Network live telecast.
