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ASU volleyball to host No. 6 USC, No. 5 UCLA

Junior libero Stephanie Preach celebrates with her team after a point during the Sun Devils’ 3-2 loss at Colorado on Oct. 12. (Photo by Kyle Newman)
Junior libero Stephanie Preach celebrates with her team after a point during the Sun Devils’ 3-2 loss at Colorado on Oct. 12. (Photo by Kyle Newman)

Junior libero Stephanie Preach celebrates with her team after a point during the Sun Devils’ 3-2 loss at Colorado on Oct. 12. (Photo by Kyle Newman)

After capturing its first road win of the season, the ASU volleyball team looks to keep the momentum going this weekend at home.

The Sun Devils play host to No. 6 USC and No. 5 UCLA this weekend, as ASU looks to scrap for wins to boost its NCAA tournament chances. With only eight games left on the schedule, the Sun Devils are running out of time for a signature win.

“I’m going in this like we’re going to beat SC,” junior libero Stephanie Preach said. “We have this mindset that we’re going to go and were going to beat them. We’re going to win Friday, then we’re going to focus on winning on Saturday.”

The weekend begins with the Sun Devils squaring off against USC (21-3, 9-3 Pac-12) in a Friday night contest. The Trojans, who enter the game with a five-game winning streak, begin a four-game road trip when they take on ASU. When the two schools played last time in Los Angeles, the Trojans took the match 3-1 from the Sun Devils.

USC’s ranking in the top-10 comes as no surprise, as it ranks in the top of most statistical team categories in the Pac-12.

On the offensive side, the Trojans are No. 3 in the conference in both assists and kills, averaging 13.69 assists per set and 14.68 kills per set.

Defensively, they cause a lot of trouble at the net for opposing hitters, forcing them to hit a low percentage of .173 (second) and average 15.76 digs per set (second).

“I think a lot of the time when we lose games, it’s because of our errors, and not what the other team is necessarily doing,” senior outside hitter Erica Wilson said. “So I think if we step it up on our side, we’ll have a lot better chance (of beating USC).”

The Sun Devils will have to quickly recover from their Friday night contest, as they play UCLA (17-4, 9-3 Pac-12) on Saturday night. Much like their California counterpart, the Bruins enter the game riding a five-game winning streak and begin a four-game road trip that concludes in Utah next weekend. The last time UCLA and ASU played each other, the Bruins swept the Sun Devils in California.

Offensively, the Bruins are a powerful team. Ranked No. 2 in both assists and kills in the Pac-12, UCLA averaged 13.91 assists and 14.89 kills per set. The team also ranks No. 1 in hitting percentage, converting at a clip of .302.

UCLA senior outside hitter Tabi Love leads the Bruins with her offensive play, averaging 4.55 kills per set, good for No. 3 in the conference. UCLA also has two different players ranked in the top 10 for assists per set, with sophomore setter Megan Moenoa averaging 10.55 per set (No. 4) and freshman setter Becca Strehlow averaging 10.13 per set (No. 6).

“There’s eight opportunities left, and every win is precious and every match is a great opportunity,” coach Jason Watson said.

 

Reach the reporter at talopez3@asu.edu


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