(Photo: Tyer Rittenhouse/WCSN)
The elusive path to the first conference victory for Arizona State will continue Saturday night as the Sun Devils will be on the road against No. 18 UCLA to face the Bruins for the second time on the year.
In the first meeting between the two teams, it was UCLA who came out on top in a 3-1 victory at Wells Fargo Arena. The Bruins were led by middle blocker Madeleine Gates, who netted 15 kills in the convincing victory over the Devils.
Since the victory over ASU in early October UCLA has struggled, going 3-4 in their following seven matches. Despite the struggles, the team is still regarded as one of the best in not only the Pac-12 but in the nation, as they are currently ranked 18th in the AVCA Coaches poll.
Arizona State, on the other hand, has continued to struggle throughout the conference season as they remain winless with only seven matches remaining on the year. The team has shown glimpses of potential and improvement throughout the season but has yet to put it all together in order to win a match in Pac-12 play.
The Sun Devils closest attempt at victory came in the second game of the year in late September, when ASU lost a five-set match in which they won the first two sets in, to current No. 11 Washington. Since the match the team has struggled with consistency as it has yet to provide a full match of play where they played to the team’s potential in every set.
In order for Arizona State to pull off the upset in this match, they will have to neutralize a very potent UCLA Bruin attack that averages 13.5 kills/set and can easily take a set behind long offensive runs that proved too much to handle in the first meeting between the teams. The Sun Devils will look to shut down the leader in kills for the Bruins in Reily Buechler who averages 3.25 kills/set.
Another crucial piece to the UCLA offense is the offensive distribution of setter Sara Sponcil who had a 48-assist match in only four sets against Arizona State and will look to be the leader for the offensive attack that the team leans so heavily on.
The keys for Arizona State to come out on top in this match will be to neutralize the offensive threats of the Bruins and be able to effectively set up blocks against key players. Throughout the year the team has game planned to stop key players on opposing teams with little success. If the maroon and gold want to pull off the upset, they will have to bring a more effective approach to block some of the best players in the Pac-12 and have a chance at victory against a top team in the nation.
