(Photo: Blake Benard/WCSN)
The Arizona State Sun Devils will travel to Tucson, Arizona to take on the rival No. 23 Arizona Wildcats in the regular season finale.
This will be the Sun Devils last chance to impress the selection committee before Selection Sunday this weekend. The Sun Devils are still looking to grab their 20th win of the season,
For ASU, this game has more importance than half a Territorial Cup point, and it will take a heavy effort defensively to take down the Wildcats in Tucson.
In three of the last four matches, ASU has notched over 10 blocks. The first was a monster game against Colorado in which the Sun Devils accumulated 19.5 blocks. Next up was against No. 11 UCLA when ASU bested the other game and accumulated 21 blocks. Finally, the last victim in a string of blocks was No. 1 USC, when the Sun Devils totaled 12 blocks. However, the Sun Devils dropped every single one of those games.
Currently, ASU sits at No. 7 in the country for blocks per set, averaging 2.99. Leading the way in blocking for the Sun Devils is senior middle blocker Whitney Follette who is averaging 1.25 blocks per set.
ASU will sure have its hands full as the offense of the Wildcats boasts some strong hitting options.
The Sun Devils will have to pay extra attention to junior outside hitter Kalei Mau, the Wildcats leading hitter. On the season, Mau has 471 kills and is averaging 4.32 kills per set. If the Sun Devils apply pressure to Mau, she is prone to make some errors as well. Her hitting percentage sits at .166 and she has made 233 hitting errors this season.
If Mau is not on her game, Arizona has some other solid options on offense as well. Freshman outside hitter Tyler Spriggs is averaging 2.61 kills per set, and senior opposite Nikki Attea is averaging 2.56.
ASU will have to rely heavily on someone who has stepped up big time since the absence of senior outside hitter Macey Gardner this season. Junior opposite BreElle Bailey has become the focal point of this Sun Devils offense and posted 18 kills against No. 1 USC. Bailey has stepped up big time so look for her to get her fair share of attempts in this match as well.
The game will be at 3:00 p.m. in Tucson, Arizona. It will be broadcasted on the Pac-12 live stream through Arizona.
If you have any questions or comments, you can contact Jacob Franklin via twitter @Jacob_Franklin4 or via email at jacobfranklin093@gmail.com
