(Photo: Jacob Franklin/WCSN)
The Arizona State Sun Devils face the No. 12 Stanford Cardinal on the road to round out their weekend in California.
The Sun Devils faced the California Golden Bears on the road Friday night, and after winning in four sets, made the short trip from Berkeley, CA to Stanford, CA to get ready to face the Cardinal.
Arizona State got the win it needed with its victory over Cal, stopping an eight game losing streak. Now, the Sun Devils look to carry that momentum into a tough matchup against the Cardinal.
Stanford is having a great season to date, posting a record of 10-4, including a 5-2 record against ranked opponents. Three of those five wins against ranked opponents came against top ten teams in No. 3 Minnesota, No. 7 Washington and No. 10 Penn State.
One big advantage the Cardinal hold over the Sun Devils is in the blocking category. Stanford ranks first in the conference and first nationally in blocks per set with 3.53, while ASU ranks 10th in the Pac-12 with just 2.23 blocks per set.
Senior middle blocker Inky Ajanaku is a big reason for the Cardinal’s advantage, as she ranks first in the Pac-12 and sixth nationally in blocks per set with 1.59.
Despite the Cardinal’s high rank and dominance in the blocking category, one of their weaknesses is their inability to dominate at home. Stanford has a .500 record at home this season, winning three and losing three on their home court.
Two of the three home losses came to teams who were unranked at the time of their game, including just last week when Stanford was upset at home by Utah in four sets.
Seventeen of the 19 games for the Sun Devils this season have been away from home. This experience on the road, coupled with Stanford’s mediocre performance at home, could be an advantage that helps the Sun Devils win their matchup.
Senior outside hitter Cassidy Pickrell, who leads the team with 203 kills, and junior middle blocker Oluoma Okaro, who leads the team with 90 blocks on the season, look to carry the Sun Devils to an upset victory over the Stanford Cardinal tomorrow night, and continue the momentum from their win over Cal.
The game between Arizona State and Stanford will start at 7:00 P.M. on Saturday, October 15
