Senior outside hitter Macey Gardner has been looking forward to the chance to play Illinois again for three seasons.
In 2013, then-No. 14 Illinois defeated unranked ASU in five sets. Gardner had eight kills and six errors. It was ASU’s first loss of the season.
“Ever since we lost to them my freshman year, it’s been kind of this thing in the back of my mind,” Gardner said. “It would be nice if we got a chance at them again.”
On Saturday evening, No. 10 ASU got the opportunity to get back at No. 6 Illinois.
The Sun Devils flipped the script and won in five sets.
“There’s some good feelings associated with that,” Gardner said. “I think that’s just a testament to our program.”
In the first set, ASU played well. Illinois simply played better.
Freshman setter junior middle blocker Katie Stadick had a pair of setter attacks that landed for points. Her 6-foot-1 frame and long arms gave her the ability to get off hits close to the net before ASU defenders realized what was about to happen.
ASU had an early lead, but Illinois fought back behind adapting net defense. Gardner started strong, but the net defense altered her shot. She was blocked and a little different for the rest of the set; a rare mishit went straight into the net instead of going to the other side.
The Sun Devils dropped the set 25-23 on the set but recovered in number two. Play was similar, but there was a big difference: ASU did not give up a big scoring run.
Head coach Jason Watson said that serving away from the libero helped ASU win a couple sets; Illinois employed the same tactic, which helped them late.
ASU kept its composure and was better at avoiding the blockers. Additionally, Gardner began containing Stadick’s slide play.
“If the setter’s back is arched, you know it’s probably going to go behind her and if we can see that early, then we are going to get a good touch on it,” Gardner said.
Her five solo blocks were a career-best, and senior middle blocker Whitney Follette had four in the second set alone. ASU ran away with it 25-19.
The Sun Devils dominated the third set, and it came from the back row. It dug almost every hit, and junior outside hitter Cassidy Pickrell was the catalyst, opening up a 4-0 lead from which it never looked back.
Stadick got a pass and pounded it to ASU’s side. Pickrell found position, and close to the ground, somehow got the dig. It flew back to Illinois’ side and went to the back row.
The Illini returned the hit, and Pickrell dove to saved the ball, followed by a Gardner kill to finish the play.
ASU went up 13-2 before winning the set 25-11.
Illinois came back in the fourth. ASU had a 9-6 lead to begin the set, but Illinois went on a 7-1 run behind Stadick.
“In games for and five they started (the setter) at middle-front and that just gave us completely different looks,” Watson said. “It had Cassidy (Stadick) a little more than (Gardner).
ASU lost 25-15.
The fifth set was back-and-forth: the teams were playing almost completely clean. The first poor ASU play came when it led 9-5 — Gardner got blocked.
Illinois went on a 5-1 run.
At 11-11, ASU bounced back and did not lose another point. Pickrell got a pass on the left side and won the match.
“I think in that fifth set we just really settled down,” Pickrell said. “The fourth set I think we might’ve had too much of a high because we played so well in that third set so I think we got complacent.”
The match was one of Pickrell’s best games as a Sun Devil. She had 16 kills, many of which came during big moments for ASU. Some came from the back row, which Watson said were out-of-system plays.
“I’ve never had a game like this in my collegiate career,” Pickrell said.
It was a good time for her to have a career game — Illinois contained the right side well. Junior outside hitters Kizzy Ricedorff and BreElle Bailey combined for seven kills and eleven errors. They hit -.118 percent.
Gardner finished with a season-high 22 kills and Follette had 10 kills on a .625 hitting percentage. She also had seven blocks.
ASU had only one receiving error. Sophomore libero Halle Harker finished with 20 digs, a season-high.
The Sun Devils improved to 11-0, their best record since 1976. They’ll go into Pac-12 play undefeated, and Gardner said they’d come out “feisty.”
Watson said the Pac-12 will be different than inter-conference play.
“As nice as it is to be 11-0, life changes this week,” he said. “It’s the Pac-12, and that’s kind of where the rubber meets the road.”
Reach the reporter at logan.newman@asu.edu or follow @Logan_Newsman on Twitter.
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