ASU Volleyball: Sun Devils tasked with tough foe in No. 16 Oregon

(Photo via Reece Andrews/WCSN)

Coming off a disappointing sweep to Colorado last Sunday, Arizona State women’s volleyball (7-7) looks to gain some momentum back against No. 16 Oregon (8-2) on Friday to close out its five-week road trip.

In its loss on Sunday, ASU’s offense was completely shut down, with the Buffaloes’ 49 kills almost doubling the Sun Devils’ 25. Senior outside hitter Iman Isanovic continued to lead the team with eight kills. ASU also stayed consistent defensively at the net, with junior middle blocker Claudia Stahlke and junior outside hitter Marta Levinska each earning their season high of five blocks.

A common trend so far this season has been ASU’s revolving door at the libero position, as senior Annika Larson-Nummer and sophomore Jaden Ravnsborg joust for the starting backcourt spot. Although Ravnsborg has been the starter for the majority of the season, the sophomore transfer barely saw any minutes in the Sun Devils’ loss to Colorado, while Larson recorded her third straight game with double-digit digs (10).

The Sun Devils will now face an even tougher obstacle in Oregon, who is currently ranked 13th nationwide at 14.03 kills per set. The offensive powerhouse currently stands at 2-0 in Pac-12 Conference play with wins against Oregon State and an impressive sweep of No. 5 Stanford.

A major storyline will be the matchup of opposing star senior outsides – Brooke Nuneviller and Isanovic – as both lead their respective school in kills. Isanovic is also first in service aces (18) and digs (110) for ASU, while Nuneviller is second on her team in both categories.

Nuneviller is paired with freshman outside hitter Mimi Colyer, a recipient of four Pac-12 freshman of the week honors this season. Colyer has quickly found her groove with the Ducks, already notching 134 kills in her first 10 games.

Oregon’s backcourt is headed by junior libero Georgia Murphy, who made the All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention team in 2021 and currently stands at 143 digs on the season. The Ducks are lead by sixth-year head coach Matt Ulmer, who has led the team to the NCAA tournament three times in the past four seasons. Ulmer is 87-57 overall (0.604) in five seasons with Oregon.

The Sun Devils lost their only matchup to the Ducks last season in five nail-biting sets in which Isanovic and Levinska each had 14 kills.

The match on Friday can be viewed on Oregon Live Stream at 6 p.m. MST.