ASU Volleyball: No. 17 Stanford tops Arizona State 3-1

It feels like Arizona State volleyball (7-7, 0-3 Pac-12) is so close to breaking through. The Sun Devils fell again Friday in another tight contest against a ranked opponent. No. 17 Stanford defended its home court beating Arizona State 3-1 (25-17, 21-25, 25-23, 25-20).

The Sun Devils kept the last three sets all close. Iman Isanovic and Marta Levinska each had double-digit kills, and as a team Arizona State hit at a consistent rate. However, Stanford’s nearly errorless free attack was the difference.

After falling in the first set. Arizona State used a 10-5 start to even the contest at 1-1. The two teams battled back-and-forth in the third set. The Sun Devils had a five-point lead at one point, but saw the set swing back in favor of the Cardinal. Stanford appeared on its way to a win before the Sun Devils brought it back to 23 all. Eventually Stanford took the third set and prevented Arizona State from forcing a fifth set as it has most of the season.

The Sun Devils now head to Cal on a four-game losing streak. The good news is that Cal also enters Sunday’s matchup on a four-game losing streak, so one team will have a get-right game.