The last time the ASU volleyball team played the Oregon schools, missed chances doomed the Sun Devils to a pair of losses.
But ASU has an opportunity to redeem itself this weekend.
The No. 20 Ducks (15-7, 8-6 in Pac-12) and Oregon State (14-10, 6-8) come to Wells Fargo Arena to take on the Sun Devils (5-18, 1-11) for the last time this year.
The last time the Sun Devils and Beavers faced off, ASU pushed the match to a fifth set. The Sun Devils lost a heartbreaker in last points of the final set.
Coach Jason Watson said the team had a good chance to beat the Beavers but they did not capitalize in the end.
“We were up 9-4 in game five and we couldn’t close it out,” Watson said. “I remember that, a pretty painful memory actually.”
ASU has not won a match that has gone five sets this season. If their match against OSU goes that far again, they will be looking to break that streak.
The Sun Devils also played well against Oregon earlier in the year. ASU almost pushed the Ducks to a fifth set, but lost late in the fourth set.
Sophomore outside hitter Bethany Jorgensen said the Sun Devils played well against Oregon, but missed some chances.
“We had a lot of opportunities near the end we missed some of those,” Jorgensen said. “This time I think we can definitely take advantage when we have opportunities.”
ASU will be looking to slow down UO junior outside hitter Katherine Fischer this weekend. Fischer totaled 12 kills in their last matchup.
ASU only has five more games scheduled at Wells Fargo Arena this season.
Senior middle blocker Sonja Markanovich said ASU is looking to take advantage of playing at home.
“Whenever we are at home we want to capitalize on those chances because we build momentum off of our crowd,” Markanovich said.
Jorgensen said that the team has such great fans and they want to earn a win in front of the home crowd.
The Sun Devils have been looking to their upperclassmen for offensive power and leadership late in this season. Junior middle blocker Erica Wilson and redshirt sophomore outside hitter Ashley Kastl have been stepping up offensively the past four matches.
Kastl and Wilson have accounted for 88 kills for the Sun Devils in the past four matches.
Watson said he is proud of the way both players have been playing expects them to continue to compete at a high level.
“I think they are competing at a better level than they have before,” Watson said. “I don’t see it changing. They are both deeply committed towards playing well this weekend.”
Watson said that ASU have improved a great since they played the Oregon school last. After coming so close the last time they played, the Sun Devils are confident in their chances this weekend.
“We definitely have good matchups against them,” Jorgensen said. “So we have a good chance.”
Reach the reporter at ehubbard@asu.edu
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