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ASU women's volleyball completes double header sweep

The Sun Devils have won six straight games entering conference play

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The ASU women's volleyball team practices at the Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, Arizona on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017.


Game 1

The Arizona State women’s volleyball team played their first match of Saturday against the Houston Baptist University Huskies.

The match was closely contested with only one set being decided by more than six points. The Devils got the better of the Huskies, winning the match in four sets, ending the game 3-1.

The match was highlighted by senior libero Halle Harker moving up to number three on the ASU career digs leaderboard in the second set.

Harker surpassed ASU alumnus Christy Nore with 1,598 digs. Nore is a member of the ASU hall of fame and played for the Sun Devils from 1985-88.

The senior collected 21 digs on the match, which placed her firmly in third place on the all-time list with 1,611.

However, Harker still trails Stephanie Preach by 399 digs. Preach has 2,010 digs on her career, which stretched from 2010 to 2013.

"Halle operates as the back bone and standard bearer of this program," head coach Sanja Tomasevic said. "I am elated to see her move into such distinguished company." 

ASU did not miss a beat after Harker’s historic dig, winning a back-and-forth set two by a score of 25-23 to follow up a 25-20 set-one victory.

However, the Huskies did not go down without a fight, using a 7-1 run in set three to springboard them to a 25-17 victory.

ASU was able to rebound in set four using 9-3 and 5-3  runs to defeat the Huskies 25-19. The Huskies were able to keep the set close, but only had the lead at one point during set four.

This match victory gave the Sun Devils their fifth straight win, dating back to the NAU tournament from last week.

The Sun Devils were led in kills by sophomore outside hitter Ivana Jeremic, who picked up 17 on the match. She was joined by fellow sophomore setter Nicole Peterson, who picked up 48 assists.

GAME 2

The second match of the day for the Sun Devils went even better than the first one, as they swept University of Texas at Arlington three sets to zero.

This marks the sixth straight win for the Sun Devils who are two wins away from matching their win total from all of last year.

 "We are fortunate to be 10-2 heading into conference play," Tomasevic said. "I am pleased with how we competed this evening, following consecutive stagnant outings here in Arlington."   

ASU was led in the match by Peterson, who picked up a double-double with 38 assists and 10 digs.

Harker finished one assist short of a double-double as she collected 20 digs and nine assists on a historic day for her and ASU.

Senior middle blocker Oluoma Okaro led the Sun Devils in kills, picking up 17 in the second match of the day. 

ASU jumped out to an early lead and never looked back as it won the first set of the match 25-14. The Sun Devils had scored 21 points before the Mavericks even hit double digits.

The second set was a different beast as the Mavericks were determined to put up a fight.

Neither team was able to take more than a one-point lead until the Sun Devils went on a 9-2 run to take a 17-10 lead.

From there, ASU was able to coast to another easy set win, outscoring the Mavericks by nine for a final score of 25-16.

The Mavericks came out in the third set determined not to lose three straight on their home court, challenging the Sun Devils early and often.

Despite going on a 4-0 run early in the game, ASU was unable to create more than a three- or four-point gap. 

However, as the two teams approached 25, the Sun Devils ripped off their final run of the day, outscoring the Mavericks 6-3 to claim the set (25-21) and the match.

Tomasevic said that the Sun Devils are excited to meet the challenges that Pac-12 play will provide them.

"We are now focused on and looking forward to the gauntlet that is the Pac-12 conference," Tomasevic said. 

The Sun Devils will be back in action this Thursday at 8 p.m. MST as they take on rival University of Arizona at the Wells Fargo Center in Tempe.


Reach the reporter at jzaklis@gmail.com and follow @JoshZaklis on Twitter.

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