(Photo via Marina Williams/WCSN)
Friday the 13th, considered an unlucky day in western superstition, was perhaps the wrong day for No. 19 Arizona State volleyball (17-2, 5-2 Pac-12) to travel to Gill Coliseum to take on Oregon State (6-11, 1-6 Pac-12).
On paper, it seemed to be a favorable matchup for ASU. The Sun Devils came into Friday night with their highest ranking in the AVCA Coaches Poll since 2015 and had already surpassed last season’s win total of 13. As for the Beavers, they entered the match with 11 losses and just five wins, with six of the 11 defeats coming against Pac-12 Conference opponents.
However, it appears the Sun Devils were affected by the ominous Friday the 13th misfortune. Despite a late comeback attempt, ASU was upset in five sets against Oregon State, who won its first Pac-12 match of the season (20-25, 25-22, 25-18, 13-25, 15-11).
A key factor in the result for ASU was its inconsistency on offense and defense from set-to-set. The Sun Devils won sets one and four with a team hitting percentage of .375 and .462 respectively, while limiting Oregon State to a .143 clip in the first set and .083 in the fourth.
But the results would flip in the sets the Sun Devils lost, as they held a team hitting percentage of .195, .049 and .154 in the second, third and fifth sets. On defense, ASU allowed a hitting percentage of .222, .324 and .227 in the same sets.
Even with the overall inconsistency, the Sun Devils still recorded some bright spots. Senior outside hitter Marta Levinska notched a match-high 22 kills, her fourth match this season with 20 or more kills. The Latvian moved up to 11th place in school history for career kills with 13,000 and is now just 12 away from moving into the top-10. Two other Sun Devils also tallied career highs, as graduate middle blocker Maddie McLaughlin set a career-high eight blocks and graduate libero Mary Shroll tied her career high in aces with four.
Oregon State featured a three-headed offensive monster that proved too lethal, featuring senior outside hitter Mychael Vernon, graduate opposite hitter Megan Sheridan and graduate outside hitter Peyton Suess all having double-digit kills. Vernon, who led the way with 19 kills on the night, also logged 13 digs for a double-double performance.
ASU’s two-match win streak against the Beavers came to an end on Friday. It also marked the fifth match in the last seven contests between the two squads that went to five sets.
The Sun Devils’ road trip in Oregon will now only get tougher, as they look to regroup Sunday for a tough matchup against No. 5 Oregon (16-2, 6-1 Pac-12).
