As the conference season moves into its fourth week of play, the Pac-10 has certainly lived up to its reputation as an epicenter of elite volleyball.
The ASU volleyball team faces yet another challenging weekend of Pac-10 play against a pair of top ten teams.
The Sun Devils (6-11, 1-4 Pac-10) host No. 5 Southern California on Friday and No. 10 UCLA on Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena.
ASU is fresh off its thrilling 3-2 victory over Oregon State for its first conference win of the season. The Sun Devils saw firsthand what a difference a balanced offense can make on the court.
State Press Television By Alexandra Clark
While ASU coach Jason Watson was encouraged by his team’s offense, he hopes to see improvements in the passing game.
“We went on the road and we didn’t pass as well,” Watson said. “Clearly that was the big difference at Oregon. I really am concerned that we weren’t able to stay on task and it cost us opportunities against Oregon. Certainly, I think there is some comfort at home with that skill.”
Maximizing those opportunities will be vital for the Sun Devils in both matches this weekend.
Up first for ASU are the Women of Troy (14-2, 3-2) who lead the all-time series against ASU 57-10-1.
The Trojans feature a plethora of talent on offense including junior outside hitter Alex Jupiter and freshman middle blocker Alexis Olgard.
Jupiter earned All-American honors in 2009 and smashed a season high 26 kills in USC’s five-set win over then No. 7 California last weekend.
The addition of Olgard has reaped many benefits so far in 2010, as she added 12 kills of her own against Cal.
“They are really quite a physical team,” Watson said. “You add into the mix [freshman outside hitter] Falyn Fonoimoana, their other outside and you’ve got some challenges at the pin. One of the things for us is we aren’t looking to get some direct points defensively.”
ASU will look to counter the powerful Trojan offense with a diverse attack of its own.
The offense will rely heavily on junior setter Cat Highmark who did her part with 50 assists in ASU’s win over OSU.
Highmark said she hopes to spread the sets to a variety of Sun Devil hitters.
“It’s a huge focus,” Highmark said. “In order to win, we have to distribute the ball. If we make a mistake at least we are going to try and distribute the ball instead of giving it to just one person.”
Following USC, are the Bruins (12-4, 2-3) who will get their shot at ASU on Saturday night.
UCLA strolls into Tempe after shocking the collegiate volleyball world with an upset over previously No. 1 Stanford.
“That’s a team where you’re looking at the serve/serve receive game becoming so critical,” Watson said. “They’re a nice serving team. You have to work incredibly hard and stay patient because there’s going to be multiple opportunities.”
Both teams are sure to bring momentum into Tempe, but ASU is focused on not getting caught up in any hype.
“I think just focusing on our side of the court instead of theirs, and not really caring if they get a huge kill or something,” Highmark said. “You’ve just got to brush it off, and making sure you’re not watching their momentum.”
Reach the reporter at gregory.dillard@asu.edu
