ASU Volleyball: Devils return home for showdowns with No. 22 Cougars, No. 15 Huskies

(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)

Following a weekend which saw the Arizona State sweep No. 12 Oregon and Oregon State on the road, the Sun Devils return to Tempe for matchups with two ranked conference opponents. Friday night at 8 p.m., the Sun Devils take on No. 22 Washington State (11-3, 2-2). Then, Sunday at noon, ASU plays host to No. 15 Washington (11-3, 3-1).

“Last week, we actually had a really good week of practice,” head coach Sanja Tomasevic said. “I’m not shocked we played the way we did.”

Arizona State (12-4, 3-1) enters the weekend riding a three-game winning streak. In the most recent release of the AVCA Coaches Poll, the Sun Devils received 10 votes, fourth most among teams not ranked in the Top 25.

Setter Callie Jones replaced the injured Shelbie Dobmeier in the starting lineup last weekend in the Oregon game. Jones tallied 22 assists against the Ducks and will likely reprise that role for the Devils this weekend.

“I can’t really describe how cool it was to be able to be out there and sweep Oregon,” Jones said. “The team… felt something we haven’t before.”

Tomasevic said Dobmeier had an MRI that did not reveal any tears or broken bones, but is still not sure when she will return to the lineup.

With that in mind, here’s what you should know about the ASU’s opponents this weekend.

No. 22 Washington State: (11-3, 2-2)

The Washington State Cougars started strong, tallying four wins against nationally-ranked teams. They picked up two of those last weekend with home wins over No. 25 Utah and No. 23 Colorado. Still, Washington State comes into Tempe losers of three of their last five matches. The Cougars are led offensively by their 6-foot-3-inch senior outside hitter Taylor Mims. Mims leads the Cougars with 223 kills  on the season and is also averaging 3.98 kills per set. In a Sept. 1 win over No. 17 Northern Iowa, Mims registered a season-high 26 kills.

The Cougars have proven to be a tough opponent this season, with all three of their losses coming in five-set matches.

While the Cougars are 4-2 on the road this season, they are 0-2 on the road during Pac-12 play. In the Sun Devils and Cougars only matchup last season, Arizona State fell to Washington State 1-3 (22-25, 15-25, 25-22, 21-25). Taylor Mims had 24 kills in the Cougars win.

No. 15 Washington (11-3, 3-1)           

When the Huskies visited the Sun Devils last season, they got a good scare. ASU came out hot and took the first two sets of the match against the then No. 7 Huskies. However, the Huskies stormed back, winning the match 3-2 (22-25, 17-25, 25-17, 25-17, 15-10) over the Sun Devils. Arizona State will look to duplicate that early success this Sunday when fourth-year head coach Keegan Cook and the Huskies visit Wells Fargo Arena.

The Huskies three losses this season have all come against teams ranked in the Top 25 nationally, including top-10 losses against No. 7 Illinois and No. 8 Pittsburgh. In their only road conference match, Washington defeated Oregon State in five sets.

On the attack the Huskies are led by Samantha Drechsel and Kara Bajema. Each of the two Huskies hitters have more than 160 kills, with Bajema leading Washington with 203. Bajema also has recorded 127 kills in the Huskies 14 matches this season.

Washington ranks 14^th in the nation in aces per set, at 1.76 per set. Arizona State will look to defeat the Huskies for the first time since Nov. 21, 2012, on Sunday afternoon.

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