ASU Volleyball: Sun Devils open Pac-12 play against Arizona

(Photo via Reece Andrews/WCSN)

Last year, Arizona State women’s volleyball bookended Pac-12 Conference play with losses to Arizona, including a three-set sweep in the last match of the season. After a wild non-conference schedule to start 2022, it is safe to say the Sun Devils (6-6) would like to start this conference season with a better outing against their bitter rivals.

ASU comes into Wednesday’s match with the Wildcats (10-1) having spent the last four weeks on the road. The trip continues to drain into the beginning of conference play, as the Sun Devils open up the Pac-12 schedule with four straight games away from Tempe.

The Sun Devils wrapped up non-conference play by going 1-2 in the Red Raider Classic. ASU suffered losses to SMU and Texas Tech and earned a four-set win over Oral Roberts to finish the season opening stretch at .500. Senior outside hitter Iman Isanovic was named to the Red Raider Classic All-Tournament team, achieving a double-double in every tournament match. Junior outside hitter Marta Levinska also had a productive tournament, recording double-digit kills in all three games.

With the two aforementioned star outside hitters, the Sun Devils are looking to get off to a fast start in the Pac-12. Despite a solid midseason, ASU started last year’s conference schedule 1-6 and could not quite recover. This year, head coach Sanja Tomasevic will look for an improved start following the inconsistent road play.

In 2021, the Wildcats went 17-16 overall with an 8-12 record in Pac-12 play. Arizona is off to a blazing start this season, going 10-1 in their first 11 games – its best start since 2018.

The trip to Tucson will clearly be challenging for the Sun Devils, as Arizona is undefeated at home this year with impressive wins over San Diego State and Maryland. The Wildcats’ lone overall loss came in five sets against North Carolina in the UNC Tournament.

Head coach Dave Rubio is entering his 31st season with the Wildcats and leads a squad that is currently first in the Pac-12 and second in the country in opponent hitting percentage, holding opponents to a measly .119. The Wildcats are led in the middle by senior Zyonna Fellows and sophomore Alayna Johnson. With Fellows and Johnson at the forefront, Arizona has out-blocked its opponents 106-70.

Offensively, Arizona is led by junior outside hitter Jaelyn Hodge, who leads the team with 122 kills on a .231 hitting percentage. Junior outside hitter Sofia Maldonado Diaz is also having an impressive start to her season, as she sits second on the team in kills with 109 on a respectable .257 clip.

With the Wildcats’ towering size, the Sun Devils’ attack – led by Isanovic and Levinska – will have its hands full, while the defense is also tasked with slowing down Hodge and Maldonado Diaz.

Wednesday’s game against the Wildcats can be viewed on the Arizona live stream at 7 pm MST.