ASU Volleyball: Sun Devils on the road to face Washington schools

(Photo via Xavier Litman/WCSN)

Arizona State women’s volleyball will take a trip this weekend through the trees of the Evergreen State and face the tall task of No. 15 Washington and Washington State.

ASU is coming off an improved weekend of play but finished with a sour taste in its mouth. After taking the first set from No. 7 Stanford last Sunday, it proceeded to lose the next three sets.

“I loved how we showed up, I loved how we fought,” head coach Sanja Tomasevic said after the loss. “I thought (freshman outside) Leah (Miller) and (junior outside hitter) Roberta (Rabelo) had a pretty good match tonight.”

With junior outside hitter Marta Levinska out with an illness for the past two matches, Rabelo and Miller have stepped up to the challenge.

Rabelo totaled 23 kills combined last weekend while Miller had 11 of her own. The attacking duo may have more opportunities to prove themselves in Washington, as Levinska’s status for both matches is unknown.

Another Sun Devil answering the call has been senior setter Shannon Shields, who has kicked off the last five matches after starting the season on the bench behind junior setter Ella Snyder. Shields has found a groove as the starter, averaging 33.6 assists per match in the stretch.

On Friday, ASU will meet Washington, the school where Tomasevic spent four years as a player. The Huskies have dazzled this season with a 14-4 record and a 6-2 slate in Pac-12 Conference play.

Washington’s star player on offense is senior outside hitter Claire Hoffman, a 2021 AVCA All-American who leads the team with 277 kills and a smoking 4.20 kills per set, good for 27th in the country. Hoffman is assisted by senior setter Ella May Powell, another All-American who is 10th in the nation in assists per set at 11.08.

The Huskies’ defense has its own All-American in senior middle blocker Marin Grote. With her imposing 6’4 frame, Grote is averaging a team-leading 0.86 blocks per set.

At the helm of head coach Keegan Cook since 2015, Washington has earned four Pac-12 championships and four Elite Eight trips in that span and is coming off a Final Four run last spring.

It won’t get much easier for the Sun Devils on Sunday when they will meet Washington State (13-6, 5-3 Pac-12).

The Cougars’ stand-out is fifth-year outside hitter Laura Jansen, whose 227 kills rank ninth in the Pac-12. The Dutch attacker is coming off an impressive weekend in Colorado where she had 4.14 kills per set and 2.43 digs per set.

Sophomore opposite hitter Katy Ryan is another dynamic weapon for the Cougars, averaging 2.35 kills per set along with 0.78 blocks per set.

Jen Greeney is in her 11th season as head coach of WSU, which has improved steadily during her tenure. The Cougars have made the NCAA tournament for six consecutive years, a record for any WSU program.

The Sun Devils, at 9-11 overall, come in as underdogs in both matches, but they have shown the ability to compete with the top dogs in the Pac-12 in recent play. As Tomasevic has continuously alluded, the question will be whether or not they can have a match-long focus and consistency to win.