(Photo: Haley Spracale/WCSN)
The Arizona State Sun Devils (10-5, 2-2 Pac-12) travel to the Bay Area this weekend to compete against two ranked teams: the California Golden Bears on Friday at 7 p.m. and the Stanford Cardinal on Sunday at 2 p.m. Both matches can be seen on Pac-12 Networks. Arizona State has struggled to find offensive momentum in conference play, hitting as low as 0.082 against UCLA and only improving to 0.162 in the last match against Utah (11-4, 3-1 Pac-12).
No. 16 California (13-1, 3-1 Pac-12)
The Golden Bears are coming off two three-set sweeps against both Oregon teams. Last season, the Sun Devils defeated Cal in five sets in Berkeley.
Following Arizona State’s three-set loss against Utah, head coach Sanja Tomasevic said she needed to see more from the Sun Devils.
“I’m going to ask my team to step it up and invest themselves hundred percent,” Tomasevic told the media.
ASU will have to regain control of its defense in order to compete against California’s junior outside hitter, Mima Mirkovic, who leads the Golden Bears in kills with 164 this season.
Due to power outages in the area, Arizona State and California’s matchup will be played at Maples Pavilion on the campus of Stanford.
No. 2 Stanford (9-3, 3-1 Pac-12)
The Cardinals are also coming into this match with two wins against the Oregon teams, and will play Arizona (11-5, 1-3 Pac-12) Friday night before taking on the Sun Devils Sunday afternoon. In ASU’s lone match with Stanford last year, the Sun Devils were swept at home.
Senior outside hitter Kathryn Plummer leads the Cardinals in points (213.5) and kills (197) this season.
Stanford’s middle blockers — sophomore Holly Campbell and senior Madeleine Gates — will pose a serious threat to Arizona State’s hitters on Sunday. Gates leads the team with 65 blocks, and Campbell has 52 blocks this season.
The match will be Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Maples Pavilion.
Outlook
The last time the Sun Devils went on the road to play a ranked team, the Bruins won in a swift three-set match (25-13, 25-14, 25-20) and out hit the Devils 0.311 to 0.082.
“What you do in practice is what you’re going to do in the game,” senior setter Callie Jones said following ASU’s ugly win over Colorado. “So if we’re inconsistent in practice we’re going to be inconsistent in games.”
The Sun Devils are currently 0-2 against ranked teams this season, so this weekend’s matchups will most definitely be a challenge for this inconsistent team.
