(Photo: Travis David V Whittaker/WCSN)
Senior outside hitter Jada Burse, who played her first three seasons at Kansas, was a major factor of the Arizona State Sun Devils (13-8, 5-5 Pac-12) offense this weekend, contributing greatly in wins against both Oregon and Oregon State.
In Friday night’s match against the Ducks (6-13, 2-8 Pac-12), Burse totaled 12 kills and 13.5 points for the match. Her extremely low hitting percentage of .143 can be attributed to the fact that only 12 of her total 42 attack attempts were kills. Burse definitely has the potential and opportunity to become a consistent, serious threat to the Pac-12 throughout the rest of conference play.
“Jada, who was an old Big 12 player comes in, and she has to earn her spot,” said head coach Sanja Tomasevic after Sunday’s win.
Since the Sun Devil offense gradually began setting up its middle blockers Megan Beedie and Avital Jaloba more often, the outside hitters aren’t relied on as heavily as previous matches. With a little relief from that constant pressure, Burse has had time to regain her composure throughout the match and focus her energy on the sets that do come her way.
In Sunday’s sweep against the Beavers (9-12, 3-7 Pac-12), Burse secured only nine kills and nine points. Her hitting percentage improved from Friday’s match, but was still .240.
These numbers are admittedly low for Burse — who was an All-Big 12 First Team selection during her junior season at Kansas — but the majority of Arizona State’s outside hitters had a statistically lower match against Oregon State due to the more constant rotation of middle blockers by the setters.
Arizona State’s setters Noa Miller and Nicole Peterson made consistent use of their middle blockers again, allowing Beedie to lock down nine kills against the Beavers.
“We have so many options for our setters and we can easily adjust to them,” said Burse, following the three-set sweep against Oregon State. “I think they did a really good job at running the offense and keeping us in a rhythm today.”
Burse completed 25 attacks against the Beavers, tying for second between both teams. The season-high .340 team hitting percentage on Sunday proved how effective the outside hitters can be when they aren’t the only option being relied upon.
As the Sun Devils have shifted from strictly using outside hitters to a more steady diet of middle attacks, the Sun Devil offense has improved. The changes on offense have coincided with a three-match winning streak, one shy of their season-long as they prepare for a trip to the mountain schools this coming week.
“I think we’re constantly on an uprise, so I’m excited for the rest of Pac-12,” Burse said.
