(Photo: Susan Wong/WCSN)
The Sun Devils won the first set of their match against the Golden Bears on Friday afternoon — something they haven’t done in exactly a month. The last time Arizona State (3-10) took the first set of a match this season was in its five-set loss to Oregon State (5-7) in Corvallis.
After breaking its 10-match losing streak against rival Arizona last week, Arizona State defeated Cal Berkeley (1-14) at home in three sets (25-21, 25-14, 25-22).
Despite missing the first serve of the match, freshman setter Shannon Shields led the Sun Devil offense to its second sweep of the season and handed the Bears their eighth straight loss.
“We talk about not letting what happens early on define how we move forward,” head coach Sanja Tomasevic said. “We talk about short memory loss, just forgetting the last point whether it’s good or bad, and focusing on now. Volleyball is a game of now and we have to play it as such.”
With Shields at the helm of their offense the Sun Devils dominated the second set, maintaining a lead for the entirety of the set while going on multiple scoring runs.
Sophomore libero Annika Larson led both teams in digs with 15.
Shields led both teams in assists with 27. Pin hitters Marta Levinska and Iman Isanovic were Shields’ main targets, collecting 15 and eight kills, respectively. Isanovic also had a career-high five service aces. Levinska led both teams in kills and points (16.5).
“One thing that we’ve been working on is ownership,” said Larson following the Sun Devils’ third victory of 2021. “But (Marta) has come in and definitely taken her spot. She owns it.”
With Arizona State up 13-4 in the second set, Shields hammered down a kill that had the handful of fans in the arena erupt with cheers. Shields’ teammates surrounded her, hugging her with looks of appreciation and some shock on their faces.
“I think everyone felt it,” Larson said. “It was an indescribable feeling because it was just picture perfect. It was like slow motion almost, when it happened it was so cool.”
The Sun Devils powered through a tight first and third set to secure the match.
“That first set we came out pretty flat,” Tomasevic said. “We should set our game, not let the other team dictate the tempo of the game, however good or bad that team is on the other side.”
Ten of Arizona State’s 25 points in the first set were attributed to Cal’s errors. The Sun Devils gave up six points to errors in that set as well.
The third set was similar, with the Sun Devils only having the lead twice late in the set. At one point, Arizona State trailed 12-6 before going on a six-point scoring run to tie the set up.
“Even though that was the score, at no point did I feel like we thought we were going to lose,” Tomasevic said. “At no point did I feel like there was a panic on our side of the net. I always felt like we were in charge and in control.”
After tying up the third set, an across-the-court kill by Isanovic allowed the Sun Devils to retake the lead 23-22, and win the match in the next two plays.
“Just the way (the team) walks and talks is different,” Tomasevic said. “And you just want to see that in your young team because they need that confidence.”
Arizona State will host Cal for the second match of the two-match series on Sunday at 12 p.m. The match can be seen on the ASU Live Stream.
