Saxton’s Career Night Falls Short of Win over Arizona State

osubeavers.com

(Tempe, Ariz) - Sophomore Camille Saxton (Balzac, Alberta) hit a career-high .444 with a best 15 kills, but the Oregon State volleyball team (8-18, 1-11) fell in three to Arizona State (28-30, 19-25, 16-25) on Friday evening in Wells Fargo Arena.

“The first set was the killer – we came back from 18-23, and we had swings at set point that we didn’t put away,” head coach Taras Liskevych said. “Our passing didn’t allow our middles to get many balls, and our outside hitters didn’t do their job other than Camille Saxton, who hit .444. We lost the serving battle, and it’s tough when you’re losing to get out of the funk and orchestrate a way to win.”

Senior Jill Sawatzky (St. Andrews, Manitoba) added nine kills and a pair of blocks, while junior Dre Shaw (Wailuku, Hawai’i) had seven kills.

The two teams exchanged mainly sideout points unable to string more than a couple of points together at a time. But after eight unforced errors by the Beavers, Oregon State called its first timeout at the 13-16 mark. Still trailing as Arizona State (11-13, 5-6) reached 20 first, the Sun Devils looked to take set one as it reached 23-18. But the Beavers capitalized on Sun Devil mental and hitting errors, tallying big kills behind Saxton to reach set point first at 24-23. But after a marathon opening set, an Oregon State hitting error gave the Sun Devils an early 1-0 advantage.

Arizona State built on its lead in the second set despite 10 tie scores and three lead changes. The Beavers opened the set, scoring first but falling behind. But with the serving of Sawatzky, Oregon State battled back to take the lead at 7-6 to hold on before the 15-point mark. The Sun Devils hit .314 with 15 kills to the Beavers’ .265 with 13 kills to take a 2-0 lead.

The Sun Devils’ momentum continued coming out of the long break, putting together runs to take the third set and the match.

Freshman Becky Defoe (Bend, Ore.) tallied a team-high 12 digs, while freshman Mona Kressl (Langenzenn, Germany) had a team-high four blocks.

Arizona State’s Sarah Reaves had a match-high 18 kills, while libero Sarah Johnson dug up 13 balls.

Oregon State completes its trip to the desert against No. 23 Arizona on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.

Oregon State Notes – Sophomore Camille Saxton set a career best for kills with 15; .444 hitting percentage.

Source: Oregon State Athletics