(Photo via Xavier Litman/WCSN)
Arizona State women’s volleyball returns to Desert Financial Arena this weekend to face the daunting duo of both ranked Washington schools after yet another disheartening stand in Los Angeles.
In the Sun Devils’ first meetings with the LA schools this season, they were swept by UCLA and lost in four sets to USC. Had ASU hoped to see different results last weekend, it was not evident in its play. Both matches saw ASU lose in the exact same fashion, once again dropping in four sets to USC and getting swept by UCLA.
The Sun Devils don’t return from the City of Angels with just bad news though. With a total of 23 kills in both games, senior outside hitter Iman Isanovic reached the top-10 mark on the all-time kill list at ASU. With her career total at 1,306 now, she has the potential to move up even further, only trailing ninth place by six kills.
If the Sun Devils continue on their pattern of mirroring past matchups, they might be partially content with the results of this coming weekend. Earlier in the year, ASU upset No. 20 Washington in a thrilling five sets but were swept by No. 25 Washington State in the following match.
Against her alma mater, head coach Sanja Tomasevic led ASU to its first ranked win of the season.
Tomasevic was backed by a strong offensive showing from her pin hitters, as Isanovic’s 17 kills led the way among three double-digit kill performances. The offense was accompanied by a career-high 10 blocks from junior middle blocker Claudia Stahlke and a season-high 27 digs from senior libero Annika Larson-Nummer.
In the Sun Devils’ last matchup with Washington State, they were dominated offensively, hitting a mere .185 compared to the Cougars’ .379 clip. Washington State fifth-year outside hitter Laura Jansen has spearheaded the Cougars’ offense this season, leading her team with 318 kills on a .286 hitting percentage. Jansen was no different against ASU, putting up 14 kills to make quick work of the Sun Devils.
Now back at home, ASU will start the weekend with a 7 p.m. tilt against the Cougars on Friday, looking to snap a three-game losing skid and a five-game losing streak to Washington State.
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