ASU Volleyball: Sun Devils stumble against No. 7 Stanford

(Photo via Brendan O’Keeffe/WCSN)

TEMPE – After a rainy weekend in Tempe, the sun returned on Sunday afternoon at Desert Financial Arena, bringing with it one of the more dazzling first halves of Arizona State women’s volleyball’s season so far against No. 7 Stanford.

A scrappy minute-long rally at the beginning of the first set – which the Sun Devils would eventually claim – would set the stage for the match. Defensively, ASU was everywhere on the floor, recovering multiple stray digs and staying composed on out-of-system plays. The Sun Devil bench and present fans went wild for the relentless effort.

Head coach Sanja Tomasevic recognized the energy as well.

“I think they learned that if they fight for each and every point, they’re going to like the outcome,” Tomasevic said. “That’s pretty much what I told them before the match. I said let’s put up our best fight out there.”

While the Sun Devils brought the fight in the first two sets, they couldn’t maintain it against the offensive Cardinal powerhouse, falling in four (25-22, 23-25, 16-25, 16-25).

For junior outside hitter Roberta Robelo though, the loss wasn’t all sour. With junior outside hitter Marta Levinska missing her second straight game with an illness, Robelo took advantage of her opportunity and recorded 13 kills on a .345 hitting percentage, the highest of any Sun Devil attacker in the match.

“I think I’ve been working really hard in the weight room and on the court, off the court,” Robelo said. “But the main thing is my team. We always support each other, we’re always there.”

The minute-long rally was punctuated by a kill from freshman outside hitter Leah Miller, which put ASU up 6-5 and acted as the turning point in the set. While the score stayed close in numbers from then on, the Sun Devils’ energy was unmatched and they were clearly in command. A timeout from Stanford head coach Kevin Hambly at match point wasn’t enough to bring the Cardinal back, as ASU took the first set 25-22.

The second set was a similar story, with both squads staying within three points of each other throughout. Freshman outside hitter Elia Rubin had five of her game high 15 kills to lead the way for the Cardinal. A kill from senior outside hitter Iman Isanovic put the Sun Devils up 23-22, but two consecutive aces from Rubin would give Stanford the second set.

The Cardinal’s commanding service (nine aces) was a struggle for the Sun Devils, and the two aces at the end of the second seemed to be the momentum shift that let Stanford take back control of the game.

“That second set, if we finished a little different, I think we have a whole different ball game,” Tomasevic said. “We didn’t execute there at the end of the second set … and we made a big deal about it, like in their heads they were holding on to it for too long. We have to be able to let go faster when things don’t go our way.”

The third and fourth set were not pretty for ASU. Stanford jumped out to a 10-4 lead in the third, shredding the Sun Devils’ defense and shutting down their offense with five blocks. In the fourth, ASU kept it close at first, but its service spoiled any chance of a comeback.

Although both teams had 12 service errors, the Sun Devils’ mistakes came at more pivotal moments. In both of the latter sets, ASU stumbled with service errors when its momentum was starting to build. The Cardinal then went on multiple scoring runs with no resistance.

With the Cardinal’s overwhelming attack, Tomasevic emphasized that the Sun Devils can’t allow their mistakes to define the rest of their game.

“One thing I would like for us to do a little bit better, is just when things don’t go our way, when we miss the assignment, just move on and think about the next play,” Tomasevic said. “We hold on to mistakes for too long, and we make it easier for the opponent.”