The ASU volleyball team is playing like a brand new team in the second half of Pac-12 conference play.
With sophomore setter Bianca Arellano back from injury and leading the offense, the Sun Devils swept Colorado (15-10, 7-8 Pac-12) Thursday night 25-23, 28-26, 25-14.
The Sun Devils (17-10, 6-9 Pac-12) have now won four of their last five matches.
Arellano said the team reset after the first ten games in conference.
“(Coach Jason Watson) keeps emphasizing this whole reset and redeem aspect,” Arellano said. “Maybe we didn’t do so well in the first half but right now we’re 4-1 in the second half.”
Although she didn’t use her jump serve, Arellano meshed effectively with the hitters despite not playing live action in two weeks.
“It took her a little while to get into some offensive distribution,” Watson said. “I thought as the match went on, the distribution got better.”
Colorado trailed for much of the first set but fought back, tying it at 21. For ASU’s 22nd point, two Colorado players collided and the ball fell to the ground. The Sun Devils caught another break when the officials called a lift on the Buffaloes, a poor call that caused the Colorado bench to erupt in anger. ASU went on to steal set one 25-23 behind eight kills and zero hitting errors from sophomore outside hitter Macey Gardner.
“When we were rolling pretty good in August and September, this is how (Gardner) was playing,” Watson said. “She was playing with a lot of range, she was mixing up her shots, challenging the block. It’s nice to see that back.”
The drama continued in set two: ASU averted three set points late in the frame thanks to clutch kills from Gardner, then took the one-point lead on a block by freshman opposite hitter Kizzy Willey and sophomore middle blocker Whitney Follette. An attack error by Colorado’s star, junior outside hitter Taylor Simpson, ended the set in ASU’s favor.
Arellano said Gardner is the obvious choice in late-game situations.
“(Gardner) is the player to have in those clutch points,” Arellano said. “Everyone in the gym probably knows I’m going to go to her but she can handle the pressure.”
Despite the pressure, Gardner said she feels comfortable in the clutch moments.
“It’s really nice to be able to get set and put away points for your team, especially in tight situations,” Gardner said. “It’s really fun to be a hitter that (Arellano) relies upon at the end.”
Taking an emotional and lengthy game two helped swing the momentum in ASU’s favor.
“Winning game two was huge,” Watson said. “I think you get into those extra points and you expend an enormous amount of emotion trying to stay in it.”
Purely by chance, the rotation ended up working in ASU’s favor late in the set, helping Gardner rotate to the front row.
“In game two, (Gardner) spun into the front row late and Simpson for them spun into the back row,” Watson said. “I thought if we could rotate so that (Gardner) came back into the front row I liked our chances of scoring some points because of the way she was playing.”
ASU stepped on the gas pedal in set three, taking the game 25-14.
In her first game back, Arellano totaled 40 assists and seven digs.
“Defensively I think she’s not quite where she was but I think that’s to be expected,” Watson said. “What’s nice is we don’t play again until Sunday so she gets some time to kind of get some rest and get recovered a little bit.”
The Sun Devils host Utah Sunday at noon.
Additional Notes
-Arellano did not use the jump serve, something Watson said was by design. “She’s a ton more accurate with her jump float and that’s what we need right now,” Watson said. “In time, we’ll probably see it back, probably not this season but probably down the road.”
-Gardner recorded just two errors, her lowest number in conference play.
Reach the reporter at bmargiot@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @BenMargiott.
