PROVO, Utah – The Arizona State volleyball was eliminated by Oklahoma in the first round of the NCAA tournament Friday night. The Sun Devils fell in five sets by scores of 25-20, 19-25, 17-25, 25-19, 13-15.
Four Sun Devils (20-14) finished the match with double-digit kills, with Erica Wilson and Macey Gardner leading the way with 15. Gardner also recorded a personal-best of five block assists. Whitney Follette posted 14 kills and Alexis Pinson had 10 of her own and a team-best eight blocks. Setter Allison Palmer posted her 10th double-double with 52 assists and 12 digs.
ASU came out strong after taking a 9-4 lead to force Oklahoma (22-10) into its first timeout. A seven-point run, making it 11-4, built momentum as the Sun Devils stretched their lead to 17-10 after an Erica Wilson kill. The Sooners called their second timeout after an ace by Macey Gardner that made it 22-15. Alexis Pinson and Wilson closed out the frame on a pair of kills to take the set 25-20.
In the second set, Oklahoma held the advantage from the start with ASU coming close at 5-8. Arizona State continued to trail at 7-13 but with a 7-3 run the Sun Devils shook up the OU offense to come within three, 13-16. OU held its cushion the remainder of the set, tying it 1-1 after taking the frame 19-25.
ASU started the third frame hitting just .065 but stayed within reach of the Sooners, who led 5-12 before a 7-2 scoring run helped the Devils get back to within 12-14. Keeping it close but still working from behind at the 17-20 mark, ASU could not move past OU in the frame, falling 17-25.
Freshman Whitney Follette got things started in the fourth with the team's first kill to tie it at 3-3. Behind consecutive block assists by Nora Tuioti-Mariner and Pinson, ASU grabbed a three-point lead, 9-6, and send OU into a timeout. The Sun Devils had another short run spurred by a block solo by Allison Palmer, making it 14-12, that jumpstarted a lead that grew to 19-15. Palmer, a freshman setter, would finish the night with 52 assists, giving her the title of ASU’s single-season assists leader and freshman assists record holder with 1,482.
Follette continued to pace the offense late in the frame, boosting ASU to 21-17 and then 23-18 before back-to-back OU miscues led to a fifth and final set, 25-19.
The Sun Devils started the deciding set tied 1-1 and 2-2 but then fell behind 2-5. The teams would go on to tie at 6, 7, 8 and 9-all. Gardner went off for three straight kills to give the advantage to ASU at 11-9, but the Sooners responded to tie it at 11-11 and then took a lead 11-12 to force Arizona State into its second timeout. ASU fought to the end but eventually fell 13-15.
ASU now has made 16 appearances in the NCAA tournament and has an 8-16 record after the loss to Oklahoma. ASU has reached the postseason with five coaches since the NCAA’s inception, current coach Jason Watson being the fifth. Watson is 4-4 in his career in the tournament.
ASU’s last win in the NCAA tournament was a 3-1 victory over College of Charleston on Nov. 30, 2006.
ASU finished with 20 wins, the most under Watson and the most for the program since it went 20-8 in 1993 under Patti Snyder-Park. That team went to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
