ASU Volleyball: Sun Devils’ conference climb turns north

(Photo: Paige Cook/WCSN)

In the preseason prefacing their fall 2021 campaign, Arizona State was voted to finish eighth by Pac-12 coaches. Undergoing its fair share of growing pains, the young squad headed by Sanja Tomasevic currently find themselves ranked 10th and at the back of the PAC-12. At a record of 2-6 in conference play, the Sun Devils measure above just two other Pac-12 teams: the one-win Oregon State Beavers (3-15, 1-7 Pac-12) and winless California Bears (7-12, 0-8 Pac-12).

With that said, the young team from Tempe has more to show than just their win-to-loss ratio. At a conference-leading 81 sets behind 10 five-set matches, the Sun Devils have drawn numerous opportunities to learn how to play under high-leverage situations, something Tomasevic highlighted as a deficiency following their loss to No. 2 Louisville back in August.

“We just don’t have experience we need to get at this level,” Tomasevic reasoned. “It’s going to continue building and growing from this.”

Thus, despite the frustration of frequently landing on the losing end of many five frame nights this season, such struggles have proven productive in maturing the psyche of Tomasevic’s young roster. In an upset over the No. 17 UCLA Bruins this past Sunday, the Sun Devils’ extensive experience in the fifth set finally paid off, treating fans to a promising number of key contributions from fresh faces like freshman outside hitter Geli Cyr and sophomore middle blocker Claudia Stahlke. Such breakout performances could provide newfound support for Iman Isanovic, Marta Levinska and Claire Jeter, each of whom have been consistent forces on ASU’s frontline.

In essence, the Devils’ first conference victory in five now teases a whole new world of expectations, starting with those for this weekend’s road matchups against the Utah Utes and the Colorado Buffaloes.

Utah (12-5, 5-3 Pac-12):

The updated NCAA rankings have Utah a click behind the aforementioned Bruins as they currently sit at No. 18 in the nation’s top-25 ensemble. Led by head coach Beth Launiere in her 32^nd season at the helm, the Utes have witnessed a mixed bag of ranked wins and losses. In all, Launiere’s squad has competed against a total of eight top-25 teams, splitting victory and defeat down the middle at four apiece.

As is the case for virtually all the conference’s top teams, Utah has a star-studded outside hitter. Fifth-year senior Dani Drews brings an element to the team’s offense that is utterly irreplaceable. Earning All-Pac-12 honors in each of the past three seasons, Drews has been lighting up the kills category for the Utes once again, tallying 20-plus a whopping five times and reaching double-digits in all but two matches so far this season.

In their two matchups against the Utah outside this past spring season, Arizona State surrendered 31 and 20 kills, respectively. If the Sun Devils wish to string together a second consecutive upset victory, there’s no question neutralizing Drews will be an emphasis. In the two instances where Drews was held to single-digit kills, the Utes suffered sweeps both times. As she goes, this Utah team goes. Her productivity will likely determine the outcome of Friday evening’s match.

The good news for ASU: the Sun Devils have faced off against elite-level attackers like Drews a number of times this fall. The bad news: they have struggled in every one of those matches to contain the go-to hitter in question. Brooke Nuneviller of Oregon, 22 kills. Stanford’s Caitie Bard, 22 kills. Claire Hoffman of Washington, 25 kills. UCLA’s Mac May, 20 kills. As the numbers suggest, Arizona State has yet to show the capacity to stop the top talent of opposing offenses.

Playing into the Sun Devils’ favor, however, is their newfound confidence. After wallowing performances in the fifth set across weeks of conference play, finally getting over the hump against an elite UCLA squad does so much for the psychological morale of ASU’s battle-tested group. Heading into tonight’s matchup against Utah, Tomasevic believes they now possess the blueprint to finishing matches strong against superstar-led clubs.

“One thing we can take away from this match is we beat UCLA with Mac May, so we can do the same thing with Utah and Dani Drews,” Tomasevic told reporters Sunday.

As simple a statement as this is, it highlights a promising insight for Tomasevic’s club as they push to even out their conference record moving forward. Even while letting up a game-high 20 kills to May, Arizona State found its way to victory. In breaking down the box score from Sunday’s contest, the depth of the Sun Devils’ offensive attack pops out as an obvious factor in what overcame May’s individual excellence. Marking the first match in which four players turned in double-digit kills, the Devils’ Geli Cyr established herself as a strong fourth option within the team’s system.

Tomasevic has been on the record designating three double-digit hitters as the standard from match-to-match, but if Sunday’s performance was any indication, the new mark may now need to include four attackers if they wish to offset Drews’ anticipated impact in the coming hours.

Based on the nature of Utah’s recent matches, the Sun Devils may find an additional edge if the match goes the distance. In this scenario, Arizona State would be functioning under an extremely familiar situation; it would make for their fourth straight five-set match. By contrast, a fifth set Friday would mark the Utes’ first such match in exactly one month; they lost to the Washington Huskies in five back on September 22^nd.

With that said, whether the match ends in three, four or five, the Sun Devils’ battle up in Utah is bound to keep fans on their toes considering the Devils’ unpredictable play as of late.

Colorado (12-5, 3-5 Pac-12):

In comparison to Friday’s foe, the second of the Sun Devils’ weekend challengers is not nationally ranked and enters with a sub-.500 record in conference play.

As remains the reality for almost every team in the bottom-half of the stacked Pac-12, conference records don’t do justice to the true quality of the team’s players and overall competitiveness. After going undefeated in each of their 10 non-conference matches, the Buffaloes just made the national cut, starting conference play ranked 24^th in the nation.

Led by fifth-year head coach Jesse Mahoney, Colorado’s navigation of conference play has been a mixed bag so far. A massive reason for this interplay between success and struggle is linked entirely to the play and eventual suspension of fifth-year senior outside hitter Leah Clayton. In every match she competed in this season, Clayton produced double-digit kills for the Buffaloes offense. Boasting a season-best 22 kills alongside an overall excellent .303 hitting percentage, the Colorado “super-senior” was ready to be a major force for Colorado’s promising aspirations in the Pac-12 and beyond.

With Clayton in the lineup early on for conference play, the Buffaloes split their first two matchups, getting swept by Washington State and exercising a dominant performance of their own in an upset sweep over Utah. Then came the news. Clayton would be suspended indefinitely for a violation of team rules. Clayton has not touched the court for the Buffaloes since Sept. 24, severely impacting the club’s ability to compete among the top of the Pac.

With just three wins through eight matches, two of their wins came against the Beavers and the Golden Bears, two teams that nearly every other Pac-12 squad has defeated. And unlike the Sun Devils, the Buffaloes did not push any of their conference losses to a fifth set, dropping most in four and a few in three.

A Clayton-less Colorado team is still very solid indeed, picking up 8 votes in the latest NCAA rankings. However, with the level at which Arizona State has been competing against some of the top dogs in the conference and the strides Tomasevic’s squad continues to make week-to-week, the Sunday matchup is looking to be a very winnable one for the young team from Tempe.

Tune into the Pac-12 Arizona live stream to catch Arizona State’s matchup against the No. 18 Utah Utes at 5:00 p.m. (MT) Friday. Sunday’s contest against the Buffaloes can be watched on Colorado’s live stream at 11:00 a.m. (MT).