ASU Volleyball: Sun Devils suffer reverse sweep to Cougars

(Photo: Brendan Badfield/WCSN)

Sunday was another rainy day in Washington for head coach Sanja Tomasevic and company. The Arizona State Sun Devils (13-12, 6-8 PAC-12) rode into this weekend’s road trip on a winning high but were struck down to Earth following a second straight loss. Coming off a sweeping defeat to the Washington Huskies Friday, ASU suffered an ever more severe fate against the Washington State Cougars (16-8, 10-4 PAC-12). In their sixth five-setter of conference play, the Sun Devils could not counter the Cougar momentum, having to endure their second reverse sweep on the year (25-21, 25-23, 19-25, 17-25, 6-15).

Exactly one month ago, Arizona State hosted Washington State at Desert Financial Arena, where the Cougars exacted a beatdown of the Sun Devils, taking all three sets by notable margins. At the time, it was the Sun Devils’ only three-set loss against a Pac-12 opponent. Looking to put up a better fight the second time around, junior libero Annika Larson spoke to reporters following their fifth straight victory against now no. 19 Stanford, telling of the team’s general mindset heading into their rematch with Washington State.

“I think our team’s really hungry and really wanting some redemption,” said Larson of their previous losses to both Washington schools. “That (Washington State match) was probably not one of our greatest games. So especially with the momentum that we have, I think that we’re going to be a really tough team to beat.”

Despite Larson’s 18 digs and overall excellent play in the Sun Devils’ most recent win against Stanford, she was not particularly effective in their three-set loss to Washington, registering just 8 digs. Tomasevic did not provide postgame commentary, but such context may have played a role in fifth-year libero Jayme Cox receiving the nod over Larson in Sunday’s match. Aside from this change, however, the Sun Devils’ rotations contained the usual suspects, including Iman Isanovic, Marta Levinska, and Claire Jeter, each of whom set an aggressive tone for the Sun Devils’ offense in the first set.

After gathering just 26 kills across their three sets in Seattle Friday, the Sun Devils responded with greater energy and assertiveness out of the gates. Establishing the early lead, the Sun Devils controlled the entire first frame with Isanovic downing seven kills, an offensive output that far outpaced her 11-kill performance on Friday night. Following suit was Levinska and Jeter chipping in three strikes apiece, signaling good things for the Sun Devil faithful after seeing the two combine for just eight kills in their last match against the Huskies. Overall, the Sun Devils finished the set with 14 kills.

The empty aces bracket for ASU in their contest versus UW was another part of their game they looked to rebound up against WSU. In contrast to Friday evening, the Sun Devils found fortune in the service game, registering four aces in the opening set. They’d go on to redeem four more such points in the next four sets. But, even this point of progress for the Sun Devils wasn’t a significant indicator of their early success because the Cougars had equal production in this area, turning in four aces of their own.

The most obvious explanation for the Sun Devils’ first set victory revolved around their timely mid-set run, which saw a mix between service and attacking scores. After jumping on the Cougars 4-0, the host team clawed their way back into the set, knotting the score up 10-10. From here, however, each of the next eight points would fall in ASU’s favor. The play underlying these eight points showed Arizona State earned four and Washington gave four. Two aces from Jeter and a kill apiece for sophomore middle blocker Claudia Stahlke and Isanovic encompassed the Sun Devils’ contributions. On the Cougars’ end, a service blunder followed by three errors propped up Tomasevic’s squad into prime position to take the early lead.

Thus, even with the Cougars fending off set point three times, the deficit was far too large to overcome. Isanovic finally put the set away with a powerful swing at her left-front position, which ricocheted the ball off the Cougars’ block and beyond the left boundary on the Sun Devil side. This marked the first time head coach Jen Greeny and her No. 21 Washington State Cougars dropped an opening frame since Oct. 1; up until today, the Cougars secured 10 straight first-set wins.

In the frame to follow, Washington State elicited a new feel in the match, foreshadowing the level of dominance they’d show themselves to be capable of in the back half of the contest. Junior middle blocker Magda Jehlarova and freshman opposite hitter Katy Ryan made their presence known early and often in the second set, contributing three kills each and collaborating for a block assist to race the Cougars out to a 10-6 lead.

From this point, Washington State continued to exercise a tight grip over the set, benefitting from four more service aces and a continuation of stellar offensive attacking from Jehlarova to extend their lead to seven.

The success of Washington State’s service play was spearheaded by fifth-year outside hitter Penny Tusa, boasting a total of four aces. Of a rather small stature at a height of 5-foot-8, Tusa’s elite verticality allows her to excel at the service line. Validated by her second all-time ranking in aces for the Cougars, her ability to serve with power and precision is undeniable and was certainly on display against the Sun Devils.

At a deficit of 19-13, Arizona State pressed forward to secure seven of the set’s next 11 points, cutting Washington State’s lead to three. With the score sitting at 23-20 and the Cougars just two points out from evening up the match, the Sun Devils delivered in the clutch, scoring five unanswered points to steal a set controlled by their opposition for the better part of the frame.

With the 2-0 match lead and consistently strong performances from Isanovic, Levinska, Jeter and Stahlke, the Sun Devils were in commanding position to redeem their prior sweep at the hands of the Cougars. Unfortunately for Tomasevic, Isanovic would be the only true source of consistent offense for the remainder of the match, which left ASU defenseless to WSU’s overall dominance for the next three sets.

At the conclusion of the second frame, Arizona State found themselves ahead in total kills and hitting percentage. By the end of the fifth frame, Arizona State would finish at a deficit in these categories including that of ace and block totals.

The third set really mirrored the second set. The only difference was the Cougars never gave up control, finishing strong in the frame’s latter stages.

Jehlarova was excellent in all five sets, but she was in peak form through the third. Carrying her team away from a three-and-out, the veteran middle levied impact both offensively and defensively, powering down seven kills and walling up for three blocks. Neither able to contain the power of her swings nor the vertical coverage of her jumps, the Sun Devils suffered an overwhelmingly productive and efficient performance from Jehlarova, grabbing 21 kills at an .840 clip along with nine accompanying blocks.

For ASU, freshman outside hitter Geli Cyr gathered her first kills of the match in the third frame. Against Washington, she saw limited touches, getting off just nine hits with only two of such attempts resulting in points. Today, her load increased some but was rather ineffective for the majority of the match. Outside of her three kills in the middle set, Cyr tallied just one additional kill and finished with a negative hitting percentage. The extent to which Cyr’s deficient play impacted the outcome of the match is unclear, especially considering Isanovic hit .426 for a career-high 28 kills with Levinska and Jeter chiming in double-digit kill performances of their own. 

In the final two sets, the Cougars were clicking on all cylinders, outscoring the Sun Devils 40-23 and outhitting them 24-14.

The battle to 25 in the fourth was headlined by respective six and seven point runs by WSU, which ultimately overpowered any recovery efforts by ASU. With another four service aces to their name, the Cougars also saw the most success setting up junior outside hitter Pia Timmer. By match’s end, Timmer, who’s fourth in both kills per set and total kills in the PAC-12, would finish with 18 for the afternoon along with a match-high five aces.

At the onset of the rubber frame, the Sun Devils shined a glimmer of hope over their chances, busting out to a 3-1 lead off three straight kills by Isanovic. But such hope would be fleeting. The Cougars would go on to build a notable lead by way of distinct 3-0 and 4-0 scoring runs before nailing the final set and subsequent victory in the coffin. Finishing with five unanswered scores, Washington State secured the victory, 15-6.

The loss keeps Arizona State at a three-way tie with in-state rival Arizona and USC near the bottom of the Pac-12 standings.

Next weekend, Tomasevic and company clash with Colorado and Utah for the second time, both of whom fell to ASU in their first matchups.

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