No.14 Sun Devils stay hot, sweep fourth consecutive match

(Photo: Grace Johnson/WCSN)

TEMPE — For the first time in 35 years, Arizona State volleyball defeated the Montana State Bobcats on Saturday for the final match of the Webb-Burbridge Classic. Su

A high-powered Sun Devil squad swept Montana State 3-0, extending their streak of consecutive sweeps to four. Arizona State improves to 11-1 on the season, while the Bobcats fall to 2-9.

ASU opened the match with a blistering 8-3 lead in the first set, setting the tone for the day. 15 kills at an efficient .433 hitting percentage propelled the Sun Devils to a 25-13 set victory. Four players, including senior outside hitter Geli Cyr and graduate middle blocker Claire Jeter had hitting percentages over .500 in the first set.

Montana State responded with stifling defense at the net in the second set to counter the surging Sun Devils. The Bobcats collected six blocks and prevented ASU from scoring at close range. Tough defense and eight attack errors resulted in a .178 hitting percentage for Arizona State in set two.

The Sun Devils were forced to rely on tip plays and kills to the back corners of the court in order to rally a 25-23 comeback and take the second set. After the game, Arizona State head coach JJ Van Niel said his team’s struggles serving and passing contributed to the success of Montana State’s defensive effort.

“In that second set our passing was a little bit shakier than the first and third, which means you’re off the net more so you can’t run quite as quick…when we’re passing well we can be really in rhythm,” Van Niel said.

True to Van Neil’s sentiment, the third set saw a more refined offensive performance thanks to better passing. This adjustment allowed graduate middle blocker Savannah Kjolhede to collect two early-set kills and a crucial block to set the tone for the 25-12 set victory.

Kjolhede finished the match with three blocks and 10 kills on a .474 hitting percentage, her best performance with the Sun Devils yet. Following this performance, Kjolhede said her mindset was crucial to her success.

“I really feel like going into the game, I was really excited about conference (play) next week and I was like ‘alright, I want to get a good start to conference, and I think…its been a really great weekend,” Kjolhede said.

Montana State also had 11 errors in the final set, something the Sun Devils capitalized on en-route to their victory. The Bobcats weren’t alone in their struggles with errors, one of Van Niel’s takeaways from Saturday’s match was his team’s inconsistency in serving.

Arizona State had 10 service errors on the day compared to five service aces. Van Niel said he would like to see the ratio of aces to errors closer to 0.8, something he intends to work with the Sun Devils on in preparation for their upcoming games.

ASU begins Big-12 conference matches with a Texas road trip to face No. 23 TCU on Wednesday and No. 20 Baylor on Friday, its first ranked opponents since being swept by then No. 5 Nebraska. Since that loss, the Sun Devils have won 12 straight sets.

“We’re playing two really, really strong teams in the Big-12 so we open up into the fire on the road, which is a good little test,” Van Niel said. “We played at Nebraska so hopefully that gives us a little confidence going in there, playing in front of a big crowd and a big match. We’ll be ready to go; it’ll be fun.”