ASU Volleyball: Sun Devils snap ten-match losing streak, down Arizona in five sets

(Photo: Marlee Smith/WCSN)

After four losses in five-set matches this season for the Arizona State volleyball team (2-10), a kill from freshman outside hitter Roberta Rabelo sealed the Sun Devils’ first five-set victory (26-28, 12-25, 25-16, 25-22, 15-10)  in the 2021 season. Rabelo’s kill also snapped a ten-match losing streak in a victory over Arizona (5-9) Sunday night in Tempe.

After getting swept by the Wildcats on Friday in Tucson, the mentality for the Sun Devils was not to dwell on previous games or plays, head coach Sanja Tomasevic said.

“I talked to them before the game about having short term memory loss, forgetting about what happened earlier and moving onto the next play,” Tomasevic said. “I really want us to treat every play that way, because if you hold onto anything during the game you are going to get slapped and you don’t want that.”

Neither team led by more than three in the opening set as back-to-back aces by sophomore outside hitter Iman Isanovic gave the Sun Devils a lead in the middle of the first set. After a timeout by ASU when down by three, kills by Isanovic and Rabelo pulled the Sun Devils back into the set. 

A kill by freshman outside hitter Marta Levinska late in the first set knotted up the score at 23-23, but a service error by ASU coupled with a kill by UArizona would lead to the Wildcats taking the first set in extra points, 26-28.

Levinska, who finished with a team-high 16 kills and five blocks in the afternoon said that after Friday’s loss her team adjusted their whole plan on playing the Wildcats.

“We adjusted to them, we watched film, we changed a few things up and we just put pressure on them in serving and we passed a lot better,” Levinska said. “I think that was the key.”

A pair of aces by Arizona dug ASU into a 4-0 hole in a second set riddled by errors for both teams — with 14 errors from both squads in just the second set. Though both teams struggled with errors in the set, UA would be able to pull through with a 12-25 advantage after the Wildcats found their stride on offense. Four Wildcats were able to have multiple kills to give them a 2-0 lead over the Sun Devils.

In the second set, the Sun Devils saw a setter change from freshman Ella Snyder to sophomore Shannon Shields. Shields had 33 assists, the most in her Sun Devil career, along with two kills and seven digs.

“I wanted to go in there and change it up,” Shields said of coming into the match. “I wanted to win and I wanted to be really loud, that was one of my goals coming in, being really good at communicating with the team.”

The third set started off with a kill from Isanovic and an early 4-2 lead for the Sun Devils. A 3-0 run by UA gave them the lead but a service error gave the serve right back to ASU. With a 3-0 run of its own and a .444 hitting percentage in the set, the Sun Devils shifted the momentum.

Two aces in a row by junior Paige Denton along with a high clip percentage helped the Sun Devils win the set, 25-16. Tomasevic said the team’s serving was not at its best in the first two sets but was improved upon much more in the final three sets. ASU finished with nine aces in the win.

“Paige did a great job serving and so did Megan [Beedie],” Tomasevic said. “Alasia [Ureña] also did a great job coming off the bench and hitting her serve. I was really proud of the pressure that we put on them with our serve.”

Entering the fourth set no Wildcat had double digits in kills. A block by Levinska and senior middle blocker Megan Beedie opened the set for the Sun Devils. However, UA would take a 1-4 lead after a failed challenge for ASU. The Sun Devils would go on a 4-0 run to take the lead. 

ASU would lead the majority of the set and pushed its lead to six late in the fourth set. Arizona would make an attempt to come back with a 3-0 run to be within two but a kill by Levinska won the set for ASU, 22-25.

With four five-set losses on its resumé, Arizona State was able to take advantage of Arizona’s errors — as the Wildcats tallied five errors in the 15-point tiebreaker set. Isanovic and Levinska continued upon their double digit kill performances, but Rabelo, the other Sun Devil in double digits for kills, sealed the fifth set and won for the Sun Devils on a kill, 15-10.

“For her to score 10 points and take that big swing to end the fifth set, it was a really good job by her,” Tomasevic said of Rabelo’s performance. “She’s a freshman that is doing something she’s never done before and that’s super important for us to acknowledge.”

The win results in a split in the Territorial Cup for ASU and UA, and the head-to-head record between the in-state rivals’ programs are 53-53. 

The Sun Devils next see action on Friday and next Sunday against California at home looking to build upon today’s win. Friday’s match can be viewed on the Pac-12 Network and Sunday’s match can be viewed on the ASU live stream.

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