ASU Volleyball: Sun Devils pick up first win over ranked opponent in 2019

(Photo: Haley M Sparacle/WCSN)

The Arizona State Sun Devils finished up consecutive weekends on the road with a trip to Washington to take on the Huskies and Cougars. On Friday night, the Devils lost in four sets to the Huskies. Sunday afternoon, ASU got its first win over a ranked opponent in 2019. Here’s how it happened.

No. 10 Washington

Although Arizona State began the match with a fiery first set, they were unable to execute the rest of the game and fell in four close sets (25-20, 20-25, 21-25, 22-25) to No. 10 Washington at Alaska Airlines Arena Friday night.

Junior outside hitter Claire Kovensky and freshman outside hitter Iman Isanovic carried the Sun Devil offense producing a total of 27 kills. It was clear throughout that Washington’s offense was much more prevalent, as the Huskies top hitters of the night racked up a significantly higher number of kills — senior outside hitter, Kara Bajema, had 21 kills and junior outside hitter, Samantha Drechsel, with 19.

The Huskies had a solid combination of kills (63), aces (5), blocks (12), and digs (84) allowing the team to finish the match strong. Although they lost, the Sun Devils kept the match competitive as they remained close behind in kills (53) and digs (76).

Arizona State uncharacteristically had a significant blocking presence ending the match with a total of five blocks. Junior middle blocker Megan Beedie had three blocks, while Isanovic and Kovensky each had a block of their own. The Sun Devils’ blocking presence was most likely in response to the dominating blocks from Washington from Huskies like Lauren Sanders who had a whopping total of 7 blocks. Also contributing to Washington’s unstoppable blocking were players Ella May Powell (6) and Avie Niece (5).

Sophomore setter Noa Miller led the team in assists with a total of 22 as she made her mark for the Sun Devils. Senior setter Callie Jones also totaled 20 assists.

Friday night’s loss extended the Sun Devils losing streak to four matches.

No. 21 Washington State

The Sun Devils ended a four-game losing streak with a nail-biting five-set victory over No. 21 Washington State (19-25, 17-25, 25-20, 25-22,15-12) at Bohler Gym Sunday afternoon.

Fifth sets are known for their volatility because anything can happen in a short, fifteen-point set. It was a high-stakes match for the Cougars, as one of the top three teams in the Pac-12. The match against Arizona State seemed like a no-brainer on who would come out victorious, yet the Sun Devils ability to prolong the match allowed them to win their first match in Pullman since 2014.

Following a successful Friday night, Isanovic earned a career-high in kills on Sunday, finishing with a total of 20 while hitting at a strong .356 clip. Senior outside hitter Jada Burse was not far behind her teammate with 16 kills hitting at a solid .333 clip. For the inconsistent senior, the match against the Huskies was a phenomenal one. Isanovic and Burse led the Sun Devils offense consistently throughout all five sets. Additionally, junior outside hitter Andrea Mitrovic also contributed to Arizona State’s powerful offense with 12 kills.

“I felt freaking amazing,” Isanovic said. “Being down two sets against the 21st team in the country and after having a few losses in a row, to come back like this was amazing.”

Both senior liberos had outstanding games, as Courtney Leffel ended with a total of 23 digs and the Cougars’ Alexis Dirige produced a total of 22.

Arizona State was able to stay right behind Washington State score-wise for most of the match but once the Cougars reached 20 points, the Sun Devils were never able to catch up. Burse was the only Sun Devil on the leaderboard, ending the first set with four kills. Washington State began the match with a widespread offense sharing the kill total amongst four top hitters: freshman outside hitter, Pia Timmer (4), junior outside hitter, Penny Tusa (4), redshirt senior, Jocelyn Urias (3), and freshman outside hitter, Alexcis Lusby (3).

The Sun Devils faced difficulty with putting up a strong block and also had trouble executing their serves with a total of three service errors all coming from different players.

The Cougars were always quick to answer back to any scoring play the Sun Devils had. And even if Arizona State failed to score, the Cougars continued to have a solid offense combined with a strong defense from senior libero, Alexis Dirige, as well as their tough blocks in the second set. Burse continued to lead the Sun Devil offense doubling her kill total, ending the second set with eight kills. While Mitrovic didn’t play until the second set, the junior was able to contribute to Arizona State’s offense with a total of six kills.

The Sun Devils were able to take the lead at different moments in the third set and it was Arizona State who was able to clinch the third set taking the Cougars by surprise. Arizona State only had 15 kills off of 43 attacks yet they were able to prevent Washington State from sweeping them. Beedie displayed an offensive threat in the third set as a kill from her sealed the win for the Sun Devils.

Continuing with their comeback mobility, Arizona State continued to shock the No. 21 Cougars as they pushed the match to a fifth set. The fourth set at Bohler Gym for the Sun Devils was by far their best set of the match. They totaled 20 kills off of 42 attacks hitting at an impressive .349 clip.

The sophomore setter for the Sun Devils, Noa Miller, started the match over her two experienced senior teammates Callie Jones and Nicole Peterson. Peterson was unable to play in the past few matches but highlighted her seniority on Sunday with a total of 28 assists leading the Sun Devil setters. Miller ended the set with 7 assists and Jones also saw substantial time on the court totaling 25 assists as Arizona State ran their modified 6-2.

Washington State has 11 freshmen on their roster yet that hasn’t stopped them from being a nationally ranked team. Notably, starting freshman setter Hannah Pukis finished with a total of six kills and 50 assists, yet her dominant offensive figures was not enough for Washington State.

“I am super proud of the way we came back and played the last three sets,” head coach Sanja Tomasevic said following the win. “In the first two sets we had glimpses of good stuff, but there was some panic and we played timid and nervous.”

Coming into the match against Arizona State, the Cougars were on a four-game winning streak. The Sun Devils came into the match on a four-game losing streak. With the win, Arizona State improves to 11-8 (3-5 Pac-12) in 2019. The Sun Devils return to Tempe next weekend to take on Oregon and Oregon State.