(Photo: Zac Pacleb/WCSN)
For the No. 24 Arizona State Sun Devils this Friday night is senior night, and it could be the most important night of the year. The Sun Devils will take on No. 11 UCLA in Wells Fargo Arena and will hope to pick up their 20th win of the season.
Even though the emotions may be running high ASU will need to focus on playing within its comfort zone. This is a Bruin offense that has so many different attacking options with five players with over 100 kills on the season.
Leading the way for the Bruins offensively is junior outside hitter Jordan Anderson. Anderson is one of the best hitters in the Pac-12, totaling of 415 kills on the season and is averaging a whopping 4.72 kills per set.
Also the Bruins offense has two viable options for setter. Both freshman Zana Muno and redshirt sophomore Ryann Chandler are having good seasons. Muno is the better of the two, though, as she has accumulated 646 assists on the season and is averaging 10.09 assists per set.
It will be up to the more than capable ASU defense to contain this high octane UCLA offense. Leading the way defensively for the Sun Devils is senior opposite Whitney Follette, who is averaging 1.32 blocks per set. The Sun Devils, as a team, are averaging 2.95 blocks per set on the season which is good for 10th in the country.
With all of the swings being taken by UCLA the Sun Devils will also have to rely on their back row defense to stand tall as well. The defense will mainly look to sophomore libero Halle Harker who averages 3.58 digs per set, which leads the team.
Last time these two teams met the Sun Devils could not handle the Bruins and lost in straight sets. In that match, ASU had trouble containing the Bruins middle blockers junior Claire Felix and junior Jennie Frager, who accumulated over double-digit kills in that match with 11 and 12, respectively.
This Friday the Sun Devils will hope to use their emotion to put themselves in a good position to win. The night is meant to honor a senior class that has helped the Sun Devils volleyball program tremendously. Follette is accompanied by senior setter Bianca Arellano, senior middle blocker Mercedes Binns, senior outside hitter Andi Lowrance, and the injured but key senior outside hitter Macey Gardner.
ASU will look to improve its record to 20-8 on the season. If you want to watch the match it will be at 7pm in Tempe, Arizona at Wells Fargo Arena.
If you have any questions or comments, you can contact Jacob Franklin via twitter @Jacob_Franklin4 or via email at jacobfranklin093@gmail.com.
