(Photo: Hannah Franklin/WCSN)
The Arizona State Sun Devils, now with their highest ranking in program history at No. 6 in the country, gear up to take on the No. 8 Stanford Cardinal Friday evening at Wells Fargo Arena.
The Sun Devils have opened Pac-12 play 2-0 for the first time since 1999. After wins against Arizona and Oregon State, they look to continue the momentum into this weekend.
The Cardinal come in with a record of 8-3; however, two of those losses have come against the current No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the nation (Penn State and USC) and are coming off a grueling 5 set victory against Arizona in Tucson.
The first matchup to watch in this match will be the battle of size. Stanford has Merete Lutz, who stands at 6-foot-8, Ivana Vanjak, who is 6-foot-4, and Haley Hodson and Brittany Howard who both stand at 6-foot-3. On the other hand, ASU junior opposite BreElle Bailey is the tallest Sun Devil at 6-foot-4.
However, what ASU gives up in size, it makes up for in athleticism. Look for the Sun Devils to take advantage of their athleticism across the board to try and create some points.
ASU is now a little over one match into running the 5-1 system. Freshman setter Kylie Pickrell, who has been out with a knee injury for about a week, has practiced this week, and ASU head coach Jason Watson is optimistic that she’ll play.
“She practiced really well, better than I thought,” Watson said “I’m optimistic. She’s a tough kid. I know she wants to be out there.”
Watson also added that he feels the team is better when they run the 6-2 system they can only happen if Pickrell is healthy.
Lutz will the player defensively that ASU will have to focus on. In the match against Arizona, she lead everyone in hitting percentage. She had 20 kills on 40 swings with only 2 errors, good for a .425 clip.
Stanford is a team that is vulnerable defensively. They actually give up slightly more kills per set than the record themselves. That is something ASU can look to capitalize on.
The Sun Devils are coming off of one of their more awkward victories against Oregon State. The team is looking to sharpen its play. They’ve played well this season, especially against ranked teams this season. The match is set for Friday at 6 p.m. and will be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Networks.
