A battle of ASUs: Arizona State looks to stay strong against Alabama State

(Photo: Trey Lanthier/WCSN)

The No. 18 Arizona State Sun Devils may not still be undefeated, but they are now undefeated at home after a win over Cal Poly last night. They look to continue their winning ways against Alabama State.

The Hornets (5-9) are trying to win just their second road game of the season when they take the floor at noon against Arizona State (9-1).

After their most balanced game of the season last night, all of the Sun Devils will be a threat today. Outside hitter Macey Gardner and setter Bianca Arellano are the two reigning Pac 12 Player of the Week winners.

To go along with opposite hitter BreElle Bailey’s nine kills, outside hitter McKenzie Willey had nine of her own. Middle blockers Whitney Follette and Mercedes Binns combined for 11 kills against the Mustangs as well.

In recent games, it had been Gardner carrying the load and leading the Sun Devils to victory, and while she’s a top player in the conference, this balanced attack makes the Sun Devils much more difficult to defend.

Alabama State lost their first game at Wells Fargo Arena in five sets to Louisiana-Monroe. Their go-to hitters were Tiara Kelley and Rachel Smith, who combined for 30 kills. However, those two hitters also combined for 15 hitting errors and the team as a whole had 32 errors in the match to go along with just 52 kills.

They’ll have to convert a few more of their opportunities to have a chance against the Sun Devils.

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