(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)
The Arizona State Sun Devils begin Pac-12 conference play this week after an up-and-down non-conference slate. The non-conference slate saw the Sun Devils go 5-1 at home, and take tough losses to a strong Missouri squad as well as a road contest against Wyoming.
Through their first 12 games, ASU sits at 9-3, slightly worse than last season’s 10-2 record in non-conference play. Still, head coach Sanja Tomasevic said after Friday’s win against Gonzaga this Sun Devil squad has a different feel than last year’s team.
“I love coaching this team this year,” Tomasevic said. “This is a completely different vibe this year.”
Now, the Sun Devils will head on the road for the first weekend of conference play with a rivalry game against the Arizona Wildcats Thursday night at 7 p.m. After that, they will travel to the Bay Area to take on the California Golden Bears Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. Both matches can be seen on Pac-12 Network. Here’s what you should know about the Sun Devils first two conference opponents.
Arizona Wildcats: 11-1
Led by head coach Dave Rubio in his 27th season, the Wildcats are coming off a 5-15 record in Pac-12 play during the 2017 season. Prior to the 2018 season, Arizona was picked to finish ninth in the Preseason Pac-12 Volleyball Coaches Poll. During non-conference play, the Wildcats went undefeated at home.
Offensively, the Wildcats are led by senior outside hitter Kendra Dahlke and junior setter Julia Patterson. Dahlke has 216 kills so far this season, which is twice as many as the next closest Wildcat, sophomore Paige Whipple, who has 105 kills of her own. Patterson’s 493 assists have helped Arizona to win seven of their 11 matches in three sets.
The Wildcats and Sun Devils share two common opponents. Arizona swept Pacific, while Arizona State needed four sets to defeat the Tigers. The Sun Devils swept New Mexico State during the opening weekend of the season. Arizona split their two matchups with the Aggies, falling in five sets on a trip to Las Cruces, New Mexico and defeating NMSU 3-0 in Tucson.
Last season, the Sun Devils lost their conference-opener at home to the Wildcats 0-3 (24-26, 18-25, 22-25). In their 2017 conference finale, ASU fell in four sets to Arizona, 1-3 (17-25, 17-25, 25-23, 17-25.)
California Golden Bears: 8-3
California enters their first year under head coach Jennifer Dorr following a 4-16 showing in Pac-12 play last season. The Golden Bears were picked to finish dead-last in the conference’s preseason coaches poll.
With three different players above the century mark for kills this season, the California offensive attack can come from Mima Mirkovic, Bailee Huizenga or Carmen Annevelink. Mirkovic also has a team-leading 158 digs in addition to leading the Golden Bears in kills.
ASU and California also share two common opponents so far this season. The Golden Bears suffered one of their three losses in non-conferece play at the hands of the Gonzaga Bulldogs, who defeated them in five sets on a neutral floor. The Sun Devils defeated the Bulldogs in four sets last Friday. Both the Sun Devils and Golden Bears defeated Pacific with ASU doing it in four sets, and Cal doing it in five.
Last year, the Sun Devils lost both matchups with the Golden Bears. In Berkeley, California defeated Arizona State 0-3 (19-25, 20-25, 19-25). In Tempe, the Sun Devils dropped a four-setter (14-25, 25-22, 22-25, 11-25).
