(Photo: Tyer Rittenhouse/WCSN)
It only took one weekend of conference play for the Arizona State Sun Devils to surpass their win total from conference play in 2017. The Sun Devils picked up their first win of the 2018 conference season Sunday afternoon with a five-set win over the California Golden Bears, 3-2 (25-20, 25-27, 25-22, 21-25, 18-16).
The victory in Berkeley over the Golden Bears was head coach Sanja Tomasevic’s first conference victory during her two-year tenure at the helm for ASU. It was the first win in Pac-12 play for the Sun Devils since November 26, 2016, when ASU defeated Arizona in five sets.
In a back-and-forth affair, the Sun Devils held leads after the first and third sets. After Arizona State dropped the fourth set, 21-25, the Sun Devils fell into a hole in the fifth set. ASU was able to avoid defeat, defending three straight match points before USC transfer Alyse Ford finished off her 16th kill of the afternoon to secure the Sun Devils victory.
Sophomore Megan Beedie had another double-digit kill match, as she added 10 kills to boost her Pac-12 leading .390 hitting percentage for the season.
Thursday night, Arizona State opened conference play with a trip to Tucson to take on Arizona. The Wildcats held the Sun Devils in check, sweeping ASU in three sets, (18-25, 21-25, 18-25). Led by Pac-12 kill leader Kendra Dahlke’s 14 kills, the Wildcats controlled the match throughout the night and opened up conference play with a quick three-set win.
Following a disappointing match against Arizona which saw her notch 7 kills and 2 digs, Ivana Jeremic bounced back with a 17-kill, 19-dig performance against the Golden Bears on Sunday afternoon. The double-double for the Sun Devil junior was her seventh of the season, good for second in the Pac-12.
Heading into the second week of conference play, the Sun Devils sit in a tie for fifth place in the conference.
This week, Arizona State (10-4, 1-1) travels up north to take on Oregon State (10-4, 0-2) and Oregon (9-3, 2-0). The Sun Devils take on the Beavers Friday Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. First serve on Sunday between the Sun Devils and Ducks is at 1 p.m. Friday’s match will be broadcast on Pac-12 Networks.
