ASU Volleyball: Comeback win against Oregon State keeps tournament hopes alive for the Sun Devils

Arizona State volleyball snapped their four game losing streak after a five-set win (21-25, 25-22, 22-25, 25-18, 15-10) at Oregon State on Friday night, the Devils were down 2-1 after the third set.

“A win is a win,” said head coach Sanja Tomasevic. “We will take this win on the road. It was their senior night, we were down 2-1; that’s a tough position to be in. It was a good comeback. I love the way we played in the fourth and fifth sets.”

Arizona State (14-12, 6-9 Pac-12) completed the season sweep over Oregon State (9-17, 3-12) in the win, the first time since 2013 the Sun Devils have done that.

The Sun Devil offense played well against the Beavers, led by Claire Kovensky and her 15 kills. The offense as a whole hit for a .288 hitting percentage. The senior outside hitter has shown potential to be the number one option on offense multiple times this year. Kovensky earned a double-double for the first time this season with 15 kills and a season-high 13 digs.

Senior setters Callie Jones and Nicole Peterson shared the load at setter tonight. Peterson was coming off of an injury. The seniors lead the offense with 23 and 21 assists, respectively. Jones had a double-double with 10 digs, her fifth double-double of the year.

The Sun Devils defense shined in the win, as ASU out-blocked the Beavers 12.0 to 4.0 in the win. Freshman Kennedi Boyd had a career-high seven blocks. Her seven kills also tied her career high in that category. Senior libero Courtney Leffel had 23 digs in her 13th match this season with 20 or more digs.

Boyd wasn’t the only freshman to produce. Freshman outside hitter Iman Isanovic finished the match with 10 kills. Ivana Jeremic and Andrea Mitrovic also reached double figures in kills with 14 an 11, respectively. Jeremic had a double-double with 11 digs as well. The senior pin hitter extended her career kill total to 999, just one away from 1,000 in her collegiate career.

The Sun Devils find themselves battling for a tournament spot in mid-November for the first time in many years. Arizona State will take on Oregon (7-17, 3-12 Pac-12) in Eugene on Sunday at 2 p.m. MST.