(Photo: Tyler Rittenhouse/WCSN)
The Arizona State Sun Devils (10-4, 0-2 in Pac-12) faced a tough opponent on Sunday against the No. 7 Washington Huskies (12-1, 2-0 in Pac-12), and despite taking a two-game lead gave up the comeback and lost 3-2 in Tempe.
Coming into the match, the Huskies were riding a wave of momentum on a nine-game win streak. After winning the Pac-12 last year—only to witness their national championship aspirations squandered in the Elite-8 after a sweep by Nebraska—the Huskies come into this season with seven seniors who all have playoff experience.
The Devils’ roster on the other hand is relatively new as they had player and staff turnover in the offseason. The inclusion of youth in this year’s Sun Devil roster also plays on the inexperience that the team has—their performance this season will not be based on a lack of talent, but rather a mismatch in overall experience level.
“We are a young team,” head coach Sanja Tomasevic said. “We have to grow with the team, and we are improving. That’s all I can ask from them.”
The first set was a strong one for the Devils, coming out of the gates with a desire and fury that was evident in the cohesiveness and passion with which they played. The Huskies were flustered, and did not play the type of volleyball that they are accustomed to. The Sun Devils’ would take a set-best three-point lead late at 19-16, and would not look back. Thanks in no small part to five kills from both Oluoma Okaro and freshman outside hitter Griere Hughes, the Devils wound up taking the first set by a score of 25-22. For the Huskies, senior outside hitter Carly Dehoog racked up four kills to lead the offensive effort. Defensively, both the Devils’ sophomore libero Courtney Leffel, and the Huskies’ senior outside hitter Crissy Jones contributed five digs of their own.
Unlike in their match against the Wildcats, ASU came out strong to start to start the second set, not relieving any of the firepower that they began the contest with. The set would end on yet another kill for Okaro, who, at the end of set two, had racked up 13 total kills on a .478 hit percentage. The final score of the set ended in a 25-17 win for the Devils, putting them up 2-0 in the match. The Huskies were hindered by poor communication and attack errors that gave the Devils’ easy points on serves and missed kill opportunities.
The start of the third set was a slow one for the Devils falling behind 14-7 midway through. Serving errors in the third set combined with an inefficient offense, coupled with the defensive prowess of the Washington squad culminated into an ineffective set for the Devils, losing 25-17. Hughes got into the double digits mark in kills at 10, while Okaro secured a double-double at 20 kills and 11 digs.
“We didn’t execute properly, we weren’t staying together,” senior libero Halle Harker said. “It starts with the passing and the setters running the offense, the result had everything to do with our side.”
Coming into the fourth set, ASU knew that they needed to close the deal, Washington needed the win to stay alive and force a fifth set. It remained point-for-point, with an assortment of rallies, blocks, dives, and strong kills. Midway through, the Huskies began to pull away, the pressure seemingly adding to their momentum, garnering a 17-12 lead. This deficit would be too much to overcome, as the Huskies took set four by a score of 25-17.
The fifth set began with the two teams deadlocked, The Devils’ wanting to establish a presence in the Pac-12, and the Huskies’ seeking to prove why they are a force to be reckoned with this year. The set started out tough with ASU and Washington feverishly trying to establish a lead. Errors on the Devils’ side allowed the Huskies to pull away to a three-point lead. That lead would not be squandered, and the Huskies wound up taking the set, and the match, by a score of 15-10.
“Ollie was steady throughout the whole match,” Tomasevic said. “We probably could have set her even more, Washington had a hard time stopping her.”
Okaro’s 30 kills surpassed her previous career high of 21, combined with her 17 digs, four blocks, and .414 hitting percentage. The 30 kills Okaro hit ties Macy Gardner’s 2014 single match record for individual kills.
“I was connecting with the setter a lot better,” Okaro said. “We had a really good chemistry today.”
Overall, the Sun Devils’ looked composed and ready for action throughout the entire match, but the defensive prowess of the Huskies squad proved too much, even when the Devils maintained a two-set lead. Washington as a whole had 15 team blocks compared to ASU’s five, another example that defense wins championships, as the saying goes.
The Devils put up a good fight against a better squad, especially considering the Huskies had only dropped two sets on the season prior to today. The Sun Devils will look to take the positives and build upon the negatives in their next match against the Stanford Cardinal on Wednesday, Sept. 27.
