(Photo: Zac Pacleb/WCSN)
The Arizona State Sun Devils saw their season come to an end in Gainesville, as they were swept by the Florida State Seminoles 25-13, 25-17 25-21.
The first set saw ASU struggle mightily in serve receive which affected other aspects of its game.
The offense seemed out of rhythm as they ultimately complied a mere eight kills in the set against eight errors. Multiple Sun Devils hit in the negatives in the first set, and they lacked any flow.
Defensively, the Seminoles outplayed the Sun Devils, doubling up their blocking total recording six to ASU’s three.
In the second set, the Seminoles quickly jumped out to a 7-0 lead. While the Sun Devils showed brief bursts of energy, it seemed as though FSU always had an answer for any shift in momentum.
Old problems for the Sun Devils showed up again in this set. Defensively, they broke down and some miscommunications resulted in points for FSU.
FSU senior Nicole Walch exploded in the second set for the Seminoles. After just two kills in the first set, she tallied eight in the second bringing her game-high total to 10.
The lone bright spot for the Sun Devils offensively was freshman outside hitter Lexi MacLean, who lead the Sun Devils with six kills and just one error through two sets.
After hitting well under .100 through the first two sets, the Sun Devils offense began to flow as they jumped out to an early lead.
As they had done throughout the match, the Seminoles kept any potential Sun Devil run under control. Defensively, the Seminoles continued to shine. They tallied 55 total digs in just three sets compared to ASU’s 37.
After the Sun Devils took the lead late in set number three, the Seminoles climbed back into the match and won the set finishing on a 7-2 run.
For the Sun Devils, MacLean led the team offensively with eight kills.
The Sun Devils were sloppy overall and committed 35 total errors. They hit a mere .044 and were out-hit 40-28.
Walch finished with a match high 16 kills and hit .400. Two other Seminole hitters hit over .400 as they had good offensive distribution.
The match ends the season for the Sun Devils. They finished the season at 19-13.
