After two disappointing losses to open the Dayton Flyer Classic and 2010 season, the ASU volleyball team persevered and soared from behind in its final match to earn its first victory.
In the first round of the invitational, the Sun Devils (1-2) took on Western Michigan (2-1) in a Friday afternoon matchup. Despite ASU junior setter Cat Highmark’s 42 assists and 10 digs, the Broncos earned the 3-1 victory to hand the Sun Devils a loss in their season opener.“I think it was our first time really playing together us six on the same team,” ASU senior outside hitter Sarah Reaves said. “We went out unsure of how it all was going to work, and timid.”
ASU faced an abundance of attack errors in all three of its matches over the weekend, including nine in the opening set against the Broncos, a 17-25 loss.
“We definitely thought that our errors were unforced errors,” freshman outside hitter Danica Mendivil said. “We need to keep the ball in play, and making less errors will help us improve our game.”
Instead of folding after an early deficit, Reaves led the ASU charge in the second set with seven kills as the Sun Devils fought back to win it 25-17.
After ASU tied the match up at one game each, Western Michigan took the third (25-21) and fourth (25-20) sets to earn the match victory.
The rhythm between Reaves’s hitting and Highmark’s setting came through for ASU.
“Me and Cat have been working on clicking her setting to my hitting, making the other team work, and being patient offensively,” Reaves said.
Saturday afternoon brought the tournament hosts No. 21 Dayton up against the Sun Devils. The Flyers (3-0) dealt the Sun Devils a 3-1 loss in four sets by scores of 11-25, 23-25, 25-13, and 18-25.
“They’re a good team overall,” Mendivil said. “They kept themselves in system a lot, and it’s hard for us to read that.”
ASU got a strong boost from Mendivil. The talented freshman tallied 12 kills and earned seven digs during the match. After falling behind 0-2 at the end of two sets, ASU kept fighting to stay alive.
Reaves and Mendivil each hit six kills in the third set to claim a victory and avoid the sweep.
“She came in and swung hard at every ball and was just excited to be out there,” Reaves said. “She really did not play [like] a freshman at all. I’m really glad she was out there.”
The Flyers responded with a fourth set win to seal the deal and take the match. Dayton had help as ASU committed 11 attack errors.
After two frustrating losses, ASU went into the third and final matchup with a sense of urgency and determination.
“I think because of all our opportunities to win Friday and Saturday, we wanted to go show what we could do and that we could win,” Mendivil said.
The final day of the invitational was a battle for the Sun Devils. In thrilling fashion, ASU came from behind to defeat Virginia Commonwealth 3-2.
ASU struggled early, as the Rams (0-4) won the first two sets 25-21 and 27-25. Despite VCU’s dominating 2-0 lead, the match was far from over.
The odds were certainly against the Sun Devils, down 2-0 and winless on the weekend, but they pushed through the deficit to earn a win.
“In the third game, it was just like ‘this is not going to happen,’” Reaves said. “We are winning.”
In the third set, Reaves’ six kills and Highmark’s 13 assists help put ASU back in the match. Sophomore outside hitter Ashley Kastl contributed nine kills in the fourth set to tie the match at two apiece.
The Sun Devils won the fifth set 15-9 to cap off the come-from-behind victory. Reaves was dominant again, notching five more kills in the fourth set to help propel ASU to victory.
“It helped us leave on a good note and keep continuing to get better for next weekend,” Mendivil said.
The Sun Devils host the first of three straight home tournaments next weekend.
Reach the reporter at gregory.dillard@asu.edu
