Arizona State 3, College of Charleston 1

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Tiffany Blum and Deanna Patrick led College of Charleston's attack with 15 kills, followed by a 14-kill effort from Emily Sawin, as the Cougars fell to Arizona State 3-1 (26-30, 23-30, 31-29, 30-20) in the first round of the NCAA women's volleyball championship at the O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla.

Arizona State will play the winner of the Florida-Florida A&M match at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.

With 13 ties and four lead changes, the College of Charleston and Arizona State battled through Game 1, but the Sun Devils' Tierra Burnley was nearly perfect with five kills on seven tries as Arizona State won the first frame, 30-26.

The second set was an encore performance for Burnley (5-for-6) as Arizona State (16-14) took the 2-0 lead for the match.  The Sun Devils hit a .312 clip, while Charleston hit .094 in Game 2. 30-23

Charleston (27-8) rallied back in Game 3 on the heels of  Blum's six kills to get the 31-29 win, and the momentum carried over briefly in Game 4, but the Sun Devils had an answer for the Cougars' attack.

For the match, Arizona State hit a .292 clip, while Charleston hit .139.

Marie Dobrenz anchored the Cougar defense with 29 digs, followed by three others with double-digit digs - Alexis Lowes (13), Megan Parkerson (12), and Lindsey Kane (11).  Kane notched her 14th double-double of the season with 48 assists.

Staci Smith led the Sun Devil offense with 18 kills, followed by Tierra Burnley with 16 and Nina Reeves with 13.  Sydney Donahue anchored Arizona State's defense with 24 digs, and Marina Mercer had 56 assists.

The trip to the NCAA Tournament marked the third consecutive appearance for the Cougars.  They end their season with a 27-8 record.