(Photo: Brendan Maloney)
The 2-seed Texas Longhorns proved to be too much for the Arizona State Sun Devils, as ASU was swept in three sets in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, (25-19, 25-20, 25-22).
The Longhorns rode a great performance from sophomore middle blocker Chiaka Ogbogu, who led the team with 10 kills and a phenomenal hit percentage of .714 while tacking on a total of four blocks.
Texas was able to set its blocks early and often. The first set alone featured five blocks for the Longhorns, who finished the match with 10 blocks as a team, with junior middle blocker Molly McCage leading in that category with six.
The struggles started right away for ASU, as junior outside hitter Macey Gardner could not find a groove all night. Her 10 total kills was one of her worst outputs of the season, and nine attacking errors gave her a poor .032 hit percentage. After posting 24 kills against Texas A&M, Gardner struggled mightily in the first set, finishing it with a -.400 hit percentage, five attacking errors and just one kill.
It wasn’t just Gardner that had trouble against the Texas defense, though.
Sophomore outside hitters BreElle Bailey and Kizzy Willey were also held in check all night, finishing with a combined 10 errors of their own. Defensively, the team’s leader in digs was Gardner, with seven. That being said, on a night that didn’t see the best from Gardner, Bailey was one of ASU’s more productive hitters, racking up eight kills on 19 swings.
ASU did play much better in the third set, jumping out to a 5-1 lead early. However, Texas would respond, surging to a 16-12 lead and then to a 23-19 advantage. The Sun Devils would do their best to extend their season, and they cut the deficit to 23-22 before consecutive kills from senior outside hitter Haley Eckerman ended ASU’s season.
Texas will next play in the third round against the winner of Colorado and Colorado State’s second round game.
For Arizona State, the year comes to a close after reaching the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year and getting to the second round for the first time under head coach Jason Watson. The season also marked the second 20-win season with Watson at the helm. The Sun Devils also return all but one player, setter/defensive specialist Shannan McCready. With the main core now with multiple post-season stints, expectations will rise to even higher level in 2015.
