(Photo: Courtney Pedroza/WCSN)
The No. 10 Arizona State Sun Devils continue their stretch on the road as they travel to Los Angeles to take on the No. 1 team in the country, the USC Trojans.
The Sun Devils come in after suffering their first losses of the season at the hands of both the Washington school.
The biggest storyline of this match is the loss of Macey Gardner. Gardner suffered a season-ending torn ACL and meniscus in the second set of ASU’s match against Washington last Friday, and ASU has felt the loss ever since.
In the matches that have followed, ASU has looked confused offensively without its star player. Everyone on the team admittedly got outside themselves, and it showed on the court.
Look for junior outside hitter Cassidy Pickrell, who is no stranger to being the focal point of the offense as she was at UC Irvine, to get the majority of the sets outside. On the year, the junior is averaging 2.7 kills per set, and with Gardner being hurt, now leads the team with kills at 146 on the year.
Freshman outside hitter Lexi MacLean saw her first playing time for the Sun Devils Sunday against Washington State. In two sets, she tallied 8 kills and 10 digs and ASU will need her production in the match for them to keep pace.
The Trojans come in at 18-0 on the year and 6-0 in Pac-12 play. The player to look out for on the Trojans is senior outside hitter Samantha Bricio. She is averaging a mind boggling 4.95 kills per set and has over 300 on the year. In addition, she also has 45 service aces on the season and puts great pressure on her opponents from the service line.
Opposite of Bricio, USC also has freshman outside hitter Alyse Ford. Ford is currently second on the team at 2.73 kills per set and has played nearly every set this season.
ASU will have to play extremely well defensively in this game as well. USC as a team is averaging just under 15 kills per set and hits nearly .300.
ASU is a very good blocking team, as it averages three per set, and as a result are holding opponents to a hitting percentage of just .130 on the year.
It’s the latest matchup in the slew of top-10 matchups the Sun Devils have played this season, and it will take ASU’s best effort in this one.
The game can be seen Friday night at 8 p.m. on the Pac-12 Networks.
