ASU Volleyball: Serving, passing struggles cost Sun Devils in loss to Arizona

(Photo: Emmie Keenan/WCSN)

Coming into the conference season 10-2, Arizona State volleyball had high expectations for Thursday’s match against Arizona, but were unable to meet those hopes, falling 3-0 to the Wildcats in Tempe.

Serving on both ends proved to be the biggest issue for the Sun Devils. The Wildcats averaged less than one service ace per set going into the match, but totaled seven in three sets against the Devils. On the flip side, ASU committed five service errors in the match without scoring an ace.

“I’m really surprised,” ASU head coach Sonya Tomasevic said of the result. “We had a good practice yesterday, we had a good serve-serve receive this morning. I thought we were ready. We spend tons of time every day serving, every practice. That’s the last thing I thought we were going to collapse on.”

The Sun Devils started off the match decently, holding a two-point lead in the beginning of the first game. Twice in the set, the Devils surrendered a lead by giving up four consecutive points. The second time, it brought the score to 24-22. ASU battled back to tie it at 24, but a kill by Elizabeth Shelton and an attack error by freshman Griere Hughes sealed the win for Arizona.

Among the complications for Arizona State was the uncharacteristically poor performance of Oluoma Okaro. The senior middle blocker averages 4.56 kills per set, far and away the best on the team, on a .269 attacking percentage. In Thursday’s game, she finished with seven kills and seven errors on 23 attempts, putting her at .000 for the game.

“That’s what our game is going to look like if Oli is not having a great match,” Tomasevic said. “We have to find someone else who is going to step up and wear big girl pants when she can’t, because she’s not always going to have a great match.”

By the middle of the second set, the situation began to unravel for ASU. The Wildcats controlled the game, peaking their lead at 15-8. The Devils took some swings at a comeback, but lost 25-18. In the middle of the second set, Tomasevic swapped out freshman setter Nicole Peterson for fellow newcomer Shelbie Dobmeier.

Dobmeier and Peterson have split time starting in ASU’s 5-1 system, part of what has been a fluid starting lineup. Tomasevic said she made the switch in-game hoping to get more consistency and frontline blocking from Dobmeier. However, she focused on the passing as the key factor in ASU’s offensive struggles rather than just the young setters.

“Tonight our passing broke down,” Tomasevic said. “We didn’t have good passing. Then our setters have to make something out of nothing, and that’s when they were not good. It’s the first time they didn’t have this perfect little life.”

The pair of young setters play a major role on an ASU team that has 10 new players. Tomasevic called it their “quarterback position,” and said they’ll need to grow fast as the season goes on.

The struggles with passing and setting made ASU’s offense more predictable and less organized, a bad sign against an Arizona team that ranked third in the Pac-12 in opponent hitting percentage going into the contest. The Wildcats’ were frequently able to put two blockers at the net, stifling the Devils’ offense with 10 total blocks on the night.

One of the bright spots for ASU was freshman middle blocker Megan Beedie. In her third match of the season, she recorded nine kills on 12 attacks, leading the team with a .750 hitting percentage.

“I was very happy because I had no errors, which is what I was working the most in practice,” Beedie said.

In the third set, the Devils surrendered a sizable lead early, but were not ready to let Arizona win on their home floor without a fight. A five-point run capped off by two kills from junior Peyton Grahovac brought the Devils within one.

Junior outside hitter Kendra Dahlke put a stop to it, recording three straight kills to widen the gap. While the Devils once again came close, they ultimately fell 25-22 to close the match. Dahlke finished with a team-best 12 kills on 40 attempts, by far the most tries of any Arizona player.

While the loss is a painful one, the Devils won’t have much time to hang their heads, and the coaches know it. No.7 Washington, Tomasevic’s alma mater, will be at Wells Fargo on Sunday for ASU’s second conference match. For Arizona State, it’s a chance to try again after a first game that did not go as planned.

“It’s a new match,” Tomasevic said. “We’re going to watch tons of film with them, without them. I really think if we can pass better and if we serve tougher, we’re going to have a good match and anything is possible.”

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