Following their win against then No. 21 Washington State (17-4, 6-3 Pac-12) in Pullman, the Arizona State Sun Devils (11-9, 3-6 Pac-12) defeated the Oregon Ducks (6-12, 2-7 Pac-12) in a five set match (21-25, 17-25, 25-14, 25-19, 15-12).
Eerily similar to last week’s match against the Cougars, the Sun Devils flipped the script against their opponent in the third set, coming back from a 2-0 deficit to eventually win the match in a five set thriller.
“Today was different from last week,” Arizona State head coach Sanja Tomasevic admitted following the win. “Today we were just bad. Last week [Washington State] were really good.”
The Sun Devil defense stepped up against the Ducks, making crucial blocks against their opponent’s powerful hitters. Senior outside hitter Ivana Jeremic and junior middle blocker Megan Beedie proved to be a powerful blocking duo in the third set — resulting in a nine point run and set win for the Sun Devils.
Arizona State’s defense kicked off the first set with two explosive back-to-back blocks from middle blockers Andrea Mitrovic and Avital Jaloba against Oregon’s pin hitters. Mitrovic ended the match with four digs and one block, and Jaloba finished with three digs and two blocks.
A five-point run by Arizona State cut Oregon’s 20-12 lead late in the second set, but the Ducks still pulled through with the 25-17 win.
“I think sometimes we come out and there’s just no energy,” senior libero Courtney Leffel said, “that definitely takes a part in starting out slow.”
After the second set Tomasevic met with her team in the arena’s tunnel rather than the courtside benches.
“I left those girls in the tunnel and came back with the new team,” Tomasevic said.
Mitrovic, along with senior outside hitter Jada Burse, carried the Sun Devil offense this match with 13 kills and an impressive .444 hitting percentage. Burse totaled 12 kills but hit a low .143 by the end of the match. Twelve of Arizona State’s points were attributed to Oregon’s struggles with service errors.
The fourth set was characterized by more substantial blocks by the Sun Devil defense, namely Jeremic who led both teams in blocks (6). Multiple fast-paced rallies kept the score close the whole set until Arizona State came through with a 25-19 set win.
After two challenges and a net fault challenge resulting in two points for Arizona State, the Sun Devils won the fifth set (15-12) and the match.
Outside hitter Iman Isanovic, named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week after her outstanding performance against the Cougars, played sparingly and hit a -.333 clip with no kills in tonight’s match against the Ducks.
“Oregon State is a more balanced team than Oregon,” Tomasevic said. “But, I don’t worry about the other side of the net honestly. I think if we play well, we can take care of the game.”
The Sun Devils play the Oregon State Beavers (9-11, 3-6 Pac-12) Sunday at 12 p.m. in Tempe. The match can be seen on Pac-12 Networks.
