Sun Devils open at home against Cal Poly

(Photo: Trey Lanthier/WCSN)

The No. 18 Arizona State Sun Devils (8-1) take on the Cal Poly Mustangs (4-6) in the ASU Marriott Invitational on Friday.

It will be ASU’s first game at home since November of last year, as the Sun Devils have started their 2013 campaign with nine consecutive road games.

The Sun Devils have ascended their way into the national rankings for the first time since November of 2002, after last week’s victory over then-No. 2 Texas. ASU’s only loss on the year came in the game prior, a five-set loss against No. 14 Illinois.

Cal Poly has been reeling since starting the season with a 4-2 record, as they’ve dropped four straight games. Of those losses, however, three came against teams receiving votes for national ranking, including their most recent loss to No. 8 Stanford.

The Mustangs are looking to turn around the recent slump and find some momentum against the Sun Devils.

The match-up to watch in this game will be that of outside hitter Macey Gardner, who has heated up recently, versus the blocking specialists of Cal Poly. Middle blockers Marianne Gera and Taylor Gruenewald highlight the defensive net play for the Mustangs, with 19 and 24 blocks respectively.

ASU setter Bianca Arellano has also picked up steam lately, as she won one of the Pac-12 Player of the Week awards for her performance in last weekend’s visit to Illinois.

The game will start at 7:00 p.m. You can watch the broadcast live at http://pac-12.com/videos/arizona-state-university.

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