(Photo: Elaine Wilson/WCSN)
The No. 10 Arizona State Sun Devils remain undefeated beating the Gonzaga Bulldogs Sunday at Wells Fargo Arena in four sets 25-23, 20-25, 25-14, 25,17.
The game was scrappy from the start as both teams showcased a lot of heart and fight via long rallies and emotionally charged sets.
The third set had no shortage of emotion. With the Sun Devils up 6-4 in the third set, a questionable call was made by a linesman resulting in a point for the Bulldogs. Shortly thereafter, ASU head coach Jason Watson was issued a yellow card by head referee Ron Stahl. The Sun Devils were able to channel the visible frustration to go on an 11-5 run. ASU continued to build a lead going up double-digits and ultimately won the set by a convincing scoreline of 25-14.
Watson credited his team’s ability to remain level headed in both highs and lows.
“It seems like they’re enormously more mature than I am,” Watson said. “I don’t think it phases them. The highs aren’t really high, and the lows aren’t really low.”
That ability to remain neutral was paramount to the Sun Devils’ success in the match.
The Sun Devils took the first set by a final score of 25-23, sealing the victory on a kill by junior outside hitter Kizzy Ricedorff. The team was powered by performances from seniors Bianca Arellano, who tallied 11 assists, and Macey Gardner who recorded seven kills in the first frame.
The second set continued the back and forth nature the end of the first set had, and neither team held a lead of more than three. The teams continued to battle it out, but ultimately, Gonzaga would take the second set by a score of 25-20, and senior opposite Savannah Blinn pacing the Bulldogs with eight kills. She would finish with 19 kills.
“We had to lock in on our scouting report,” Arellano said. “We needed to respond to them. We were saying, we know we had to defend 7 and I think we did that”
In the fourth set, ASU managed the lead throughout, stifling any comeback attempt Gonzaga threw at it. Senior middle blocker Whitney Follete recorded her third block assist to give the Devils an emotional 20-13 lead. Gonzaga stuck to its scrappy nature and hung around trimming the lead to five, but the Sun Devils kept their foot on the gas and took the set by a score of 25-17 to seal the victory
One of the usual strengths of the ASU is blocking as the team leads the nation at over three per set. Uncharacteristically, the Sun Devils only recorded two blocks through the first two sets.
ASU had four hitters with double-digit kills in addition to recording multiple statistical season-highs across the board in this game. Gardner recorded a double-double with 16 kills and 15 digs. Arellano recorded a season-high in assists with 30 to go along with 15 digs. Ricedorff and junior opposite BreElle Bailey each had season highs in kills with 11 and 13 respectively.
The Sun Devils continue their home stretch as they will host the Red Lion Invitational over the weekend with their next game being against UNLV on Friday, September 18th, at noon.
