Sun Devils dig graves for UCF on Halloween Eve

TEMPE – On a spooky Friday night at Desert Financial Arena, fans filled the stands in creative costumes for the holiday. While the costumes were killer, the connection and execution on both the offensive and defensive sides were even deadlier. With a thrilling, season-high hitting percentage of .433, No. 10 Arizona State turned the arena into a house of horrors for UCF

After dropping a ranked matchup to BYU, the Sun Devils (17-4, 8-1 Big 12) bounced back with one of their strongest offensive efforts this season, sweeping the Knights (11-9, 3-7) in straight sets.

Entering the match, fourth-year Noemie Glover has racked up 14 consecutive games with double-digit kills. This game would be no different, as she tallied 12 kills through three sets. In addition to the dominant offense, the serve receive swallowed almost every ball that came their way, leading to a quick sweep on Halloween Eve. 

Entering the arena, the Sun Devils consistently struggled with the commencement of a rally during serve receive. ASU had ranked third in the Big 12 in opponent serving aces, while UCF had ranked 12th. 

However, the Sun Devils cast a spell that broke what seemed to be a curse.

“Our pressure in serve receive was really good since the beginning of the game,” Maéva Schalk said. “It’s helped us build our rhythm.”

Facing UCF also included facing their Natasha Casey, an opposite hitter who leads the nation with .81 aces per set. The Sun Devils fell victim to Casey’s stout, jump-spinning serve only once, which was the Knights’ only ace of the match.

Furthermore, ASU flipped the script, or the spell book, on UCF. Third-year Una Vajagic opened with four aces in the first set, setting a powerful rhythm for the Sun Devils to continue with.

“Serving is an area that she’s pretty proud of,” Head Coach JJ Van Niel said, who found his look-alike in a crowd of costumed fans. “She’s done a nice job, and she’s put a lot of work in from the service line.”

Vayagic not only performed well at the service line, but was one of three Sun Devils who tallied double-digit kills. 

ASU entered the arena ranked ninth in the Big 12 in hitting percentage but posted a season-high .433%. 

“We just have great hitters,” Isabella Constantini said. “And when we’re in system, it’s a very easy situation to be in.”

While the offense may have seemed to deliver the final attack, the defense was assigned to dig graves for UCF kills. The Sun Devils collected 42 digs on 89 total attempts.

During a rally, the Knights sent over a soft attack, aimed to drop at the ten-foot line. When the ball flew mere inches over Vayagic’s block, she turned around and saw third-year Faith Frame. Frame slid across the floor and hurled her arm right below where the ball was set to land. The successful “pancake” sent the ball on a perfect trajectory back to Vayagic, who tipped it back over the net to keep the play alive.

UCF’s third-year Sasha Cohen has led the Knights with an average hitting percentage of .402, but was held to only .100. Containing Cohen helped ASU hold the Big 12’s second- best team in hitting percentage to just .034%.

“We were able to slow down some pretty big hitters there, and I thought we did a nice job.” Van Niel stated.

ASU’s nine “monster blocks,” combined with the extensive effort of its offense and defense, played an obvious crucial role, but so did its communication.

In many instances, UCF would dig a kill, sending it flying into the air, seemingly setting up another attack attempt. Instead, the ball would plummet to the ground, surrounded by the Knights, who looked as if they had seen ghosts. 

This issue was non-existent for the Sun Devils, who prioritized communication and chemistry within their team.

“I think we’re doing a really good job with that, and it shows in the court,” Constantini said. “We’re all trusting each other too, so that helps those miscommunications not happen.”

Constantini led the game with 10 digs while she amassed 39 assists. After first-year Elle Mottola’s injury, the Sun Devils switched from a 6-2 rotation to a 5-1 rotation, tasking Constantini with pacing the offense individually.

“Isa works really hard, she’s a really great competitor,” Van Niel said. “She’s been working a lot on her defense, so it’s nice to see her get the double-double. She’s doing a really nice job for us.”

The Sun Devils may have spent Halloween Eve haunting UCF, but their own season has come with a few scares. After bouncing back from a ranked loss to BYU, ASU will look to carry its momentum into Sunday’s matchup against Houston. 

As the season progresses, Van Niel has noticed a change in his team’s ability to handle adversity.

“This team has been getting more and more resilient.” Van Niel said.

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