The ASU volleyball team went into their weekend matches against USC and UCLA with optimism and hope.
The Sun Devils (8-21, 4-16) were on a three-game winning streak and were playing the best volleyball of the year. But No. 1 USC (24-4, 19-2 in Pac-12) and No. 2 UCLA (24-5, 17,4) were just too much for the Sun Devils.
The Sun Devils first traveled to USC to take on the best team in the country. USC took the first set by jumping out to a quick lead. Then ASU made it a game by tying it up at 1-1.
After the break, the Trojans came out and won a close third set 25-20. ASU was looking to rally back and tie up the score but USC ran away with the fourth set 25- 12. USC took the match 3-1.
USC’s defense made it tough for ASU to connect on most attacks. USC sophomore libero Natalie Hagglund had an impressive 24 digs to defend the Trojans court.
ASU senior middle blocker Sonja Markanovich led the Sun Devils with 13 kills and an incredible .867 hitting percentage. The senior is making the most of the last few games she has at ASU.
ASU freshman setter Shannan McCready showed how much her skills have improved this year against USC. The freshman posted 48 assists in the loss — one of her highest totals of the season.
UCLA sweeps ASU
After the loss to USC, ASU moved on to face the Bruins on Sunday. Things did not get easier for the Sun Devils when they faced the second best team in the country.
ASU came out to better start against UCLA than they did against USC.
The first set was a back and forth set that came down to the final points. The Sun Devils were only down 24-23, but then the Bruins finished it off with a kill by freshman outside hitter Karsta Lowe.
Late in the second set, the Bruins increased their lead to 19-16. After that the Bruins never looked back and took the set 25-19.
ASU was down to their last set and put up a resilient effort to push the match to the brink. With UCLA one point away, redshirt sophomore Ashley Kastl and Markanovich closed a block to bring the match to extra points.
But as the game wore on the Bruins ended up taking the set 29-27 and winning the match 3-0.
Yet again, the Sun Devils looked to their upperclassmen to lead the team. Junior middle blocker Erica Wilson had an impressive night with 10 kills and a .714 hitting percentage.
Devils face Cats
The Sun Devils were hoping to end their season on a high note by defeating one of the top ranked teams this past weekend.
They now set their sets on a new goal to end the season: to sweep their rival UA (18-11, 10-10).
Sophomore libero Stephanie Preach said the rivalry is pretty intense on the volleyball court.
“Oh, we want to kill them, just like everyone else does,” Preach said.
The Sun Devils have quick turn around when they head out on the road to face the Wildcats in Tucson on Tuesday. The Wildcats then come to Tempe to face the Sun Devils in their last game of the season.
UA has a five hundred record in the Pac-12 and their next two games against ASU have huge implications on their season. Coach Jason Watson said they need these two wins to hopefully get into the NCAA tournament.
The Sun Devils would like nothing better than to end the Wildcats’ tournament hopes.
Wilson said that the team’s main goal now is to get the Kachina Doll. The doll is awarded to any ASU athletic team that defeats their UA opponent.
Watson said that the teams have a great rivalry and his team is up to the challenge to prove which school has the better athletic program.
Also he hopes two wins against UA can create some momentum heading into the next season.
“It would just be nice to end the season with a couple of W’s, so we can build on it heading into the spring season,” Watson said.
Wilson said that sweeping the Wildcats would the best way to end their season.
“I just shows how much we have in us and how much we can compete,” Wilson said. “Just because we didn’t start the season off as good as we wanted to, finishing off great will make the season even better.”
Reach the reporter at ehubbard@asu.edu Click here to subscribe to the daily State Press newsletter.
