(Photo: Haley Spracale/WCSN)
After snapping a four-game losing skid in thrilling fashion in a 0-2 comeback win over Washington State on the road, the Arizona State volleyball team continued their momentum by beating both Oregon schools in Tempe.
The Devils took down Oregon State in a three-set sweep on Sunday. However, arguably the more intense of the two matches was on Friday, when the Devils gutted out five sets (21-25, 17-25, 25-14, 25-19, 15-12) against the Oregon Ducks in front of a roaring home crowd.
The Sun Devils would face the same do-or-die situation against Oregon that they faced against Washington State in Pullman. After going two sets down in both matches, this time at the newly-renamed Desert Financial Arena, the Devils came back each time and emerged as victors.
“I’m really happy been pleased how we came back and fought. I think that’s something that is becoming the identity of this team, that we don’t quit,” head coach Sanja Tomasevic said after Friday’s win. “We keep fighting, especially the last two matches being down to zero to two pretty good teams, and coming back and winning.”
Resiliency hasn’t always been the Sun Devils’ strong suit in 2019. Earlier in the season, ASU struggled to rally against Pac-12 opponents. They have failed to win a single set against four teams they faced previously in conference play (UCLA, Utah, California, and Stanford). Now, they have two big comebacks under their belts, in addition to a commanding sweep of Oregon State on Sunday.
After the second set against Oregon, Tomasevic had seen enough and took her team into the tunnel for a quick discussion. This decision proved to be a defining moment, as the Sun Devils opened the third set with increased energy, focus, and, most importantly, fewer mistakes.
“I left those girls in the tunnel and came back with a new team,” said Tomasevic.
At no point on Friday did the Sun Devils look like the most dominant team on the court. However, they did have the tenacity to grit their teeth and keep competing. The perseverance was encouraging to see from a team that had previously been unable to overcome those types of odds.
Another impressive trait that the team demonstrated was their improved ability to adapt on the fly. After only recording an average of eight kills per set across the first two sets, the Sun Devils managed to finish with 45. Tomasevic credited a switch in the team’s gameplan that allowed her team to exploit Oregon’s tendencies on the attack.
“They’re a good team, but they have characteristics,” Tomasevic said. “They have players they want to go to, so they look balanced because we served them into trouble. They had to give a lot more balls to players they would normally not set to.”
Friday was also ASU’s “pink game,” where all the players wore special uniforms that showed support for Breast Cancer Awareness. During the press conference, Tomasevic revealed that outside hitter Claire Kovensky’s sister was recently diagnosed and elaborated on the importance of the event.
“We’re blessed that we get to play the game and have fun, but there are a lot of people out there that are not. So, anytime we can bring the awareness to it, we do our best to do it,” said Tomasevic.
“Yeah, it’s cool,” said setter Nicole Peterson. “I think tonight was a perfect example of fighting for something bigger than us.”
