ASU Volleyball: Oregon schools to visit Tempe this weekend

After racing out to a 4-2 start in Pac-12 play, the Arizona State volleyball team has now lost four straight heading into the weekend. The Sun Devils (13-9, 4-6 Pac-12) will start the second half of Pac-12 play by hosting No. 16 Oregon and Oregon State on Friday and Sunday.

The Devils have struggled as of late. They have lost four in a row and five of their last six. Senior Alyse Ford is coming off of a strong weekend individually, collecting 43 kills over the two matches, including a career-high of 29 against Colorado.

Here’s a quick look at ASU’s upcoming opponents.

No. 16 Oregon (13-7, 6-4 Pac-12)

Earlier this season, the Sun Devils swept Oregon on the road, who were ranked No. 12 at the time. It was ASU’s’ first win over a ranked team since 2016. Ivana Jeremic and Callie Jones both had double-doubles in the victory.

Oregon, now ranked 16th in the country, have won four out of their last six games. The Ducks were in Northern California last weekend, where they swept Cal last Friday and then took the first set from No. 2 Stanford before the Cardinal stormed back to win the match in four.

Senior setter August Raskie has been very productive for the Ducks. With her 12.06 assists per set, she is second in the Pac-12 and fourth in the nation. Raskie is one of just 24 players in the nation this season to have a triple-double.

The Devils will look to end their losing streak and sweep the season series against the Ducks Friday night at 7 p.m.

Oregon State (10-12, 0-10 Pac-12)

After a Friday night match, the Devils will get to play again on Sunday at noon.

The Sun Devils swept the Oregon State Beavers on the road in Corvallis earlier this season. Ivana Jeremic and Nicole Peterson both had double-doubles in the dominant win over Oregon State. At 0-10 in Pac-12, the Beavers are the only Pac-12 team without a conference win.

The Beavers were also in Northern California last weekend. The winless Beavers stole the opening set against No. 2 Stanford, 26-24. The Cardinal took the next two sets to take the lead and the Beavers were on the verge of forcing a fifth set before Stanford secured the set 25-23. Oregon State then got swept by California.

The strong point for the Beavers is their blockers. The Beavers rank second in the Pac-12 and 28th in the nation with 2.58 blocks per set in 2018. Middle blocker Lindsey Schell ranks ninth in the conference with 1.15 blocks per set and Maddy Gravley (1.10) is 12th. Libero Grace Massey ranks fourth in the Pac-12 with 4.59 digs per set.

Outlook

The team has struggled in Tempe during conference play this year, with only one win in four games. Head coach Sanja Tomasevic is baffled by the performances at home.

“When the 942 Crew shows up we love it, but we choke whenever they’re here,” Tomasevic said. “There’s no home court advantage for us honestly.”

The Sun Devils are looking to get back in the win column this weekend. Junior outside hitter Ivana Jeremic has been in a slump recently, only having 10 kills in one of the last six matches. She will look to bounce back this weekend, when the Devils play two teams she stacked double-doubles up against earlier in the year.

The Sun Devils can get back to the .500 mark with two wins this weekend. The weekend starts Friday night at 7pm, where Arizona State plays the Oregon Ducks. The weekend will then continue Sunday at noon, against the Oregon State Beavers.