Sophomore outside hitter Macey Gardner and freshman outside hitter McKenzie Willey prepare for the ball during a match. The Sun Devils play Colorado on Thursday and Utah on Sunday in their last two home games. (Photo by Arianna Grainey)
Corrections added.
The ASU volleyball team (16-10, 5-9 Pac-12) knows the importance of this upcoming pair of matches.
Coach Jason Watson said the weekend certainly has NCAA tournament implications.
“They’re all must wins from here on out, because you don’t want to be on the bubble,” Watson said. “Being on the bubble sucks.”
The Sun Devils square off against both Colorado and Utah in their final full home weekend before playing three of their last four matches on the road.
ASU dropped both matches on the road against the mountain schools, though Watson thought they were winnable games.
“I felt like that weekend we played well enough to at least get one of the two,” Watson said. “Against Colorado, statistically, we were good enough to win that match. I think it comes down to one or two points here or there.”
So the game plan remains essentially the same, but with an added emphasis on executing the little things.
The weekend begins Thursday against Colorado (15-9, 7-7 Pac-12), a team that has lost three straight matches, including both last weekend at home against Stanford and California.
Junior outside hitter Taylor Simpson paves the trail for the Buffaloes' offense. Simpson has averaged 3.50 kills per set, good for eighth in the Pac-12.
On Sunday, ASU hosts Utah, which is also in the midst of a losing streak. The Utes have lost four straight in conference play, falling to 17-9 and 6-8 in the Pac-12.
Led by senior middle blocker Erin Redd-Brandon, the Utes post the second-best block in the conference, averaging 2.93 blocks per set. Redd-Brandon and company showcased their net presence in the first matchup against ASU, blocking the Sun Devils 17.5 times.
Regardless, ASU sophomore outside hitter Macey Gardner totaled 29 kills against Utah the first time the teams went head-to-head. Gardner said the key to overcoming Utah’s block is being prepared.
“I think it’s just a matter of being on point with the scouting report and noticing where their block is going to be,” Gardner said. “If we can just use their hands, like their fingertips, and tooling the block or trying to focus on hitting to their outside hitter in the front row, then that will definitely help us.”
Watson said figuring out the Utah block will be imperative if the Sun Devils hope to sweep in their final full weekend in Tempe.
“We’ve got to get that figured out this week,” Watson said. “We got to go hit high, we got to go hit tall and we got to play the full court.”
Thursday’s match against Colorado begins at 7:00 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena. ASU plays the Utes on Sunday at noon.
Additional Weekend Notes
– Watson said sophomore setter Bianca Arellano should be ready to go for Thursday’s match.
“Everything’s trending in the right direction,” Watson said. “We’ve got to throw her in some live stuff and see what happens this week.”
Reach the reporter at bmargiot@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @BenMargiott
Correction: Because of a reporting error, a previous version of this article contained the incorrect number of consecutive matches lost for Colorado. The story has been updated with the correct statistics.
