ASU sophomore Bianca Arellano sets the ball for Mercedes Binns. The Women of Troy defeated the Sun Devils this weekend at the Galen Center in Los Angeles. (Photo by Andrew Ybanez)
If the ASU volleyball team (18-12, 7-11 Pac-12) could afford to lose one game in its final push for the NCAA tournament, it was the game against No. 8 USC.
The Women of Troy (24-5, 14-4 Pac-12) took care of business Sunday afternoon, sweeping the Sun Devils 25-15, 25-15, 25-21 at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.
Sophomore middle blocker Whitney Follette led ASU with six kills, just the second time this season where a Sun Devil failed to record double-digit kills, the last coming onOct. 20 at home against UCLA.
Senior libero Stephanie Preach said Friday’s exhausting and emotional five-set win over UCLA may have factored into the slow start Sunday.
“We just kind of lacked the energy and momentum and intensity,” Preach said. “It was a long and very emotional win most definitely (at UCLA). We were a little tired from that but that should be no excuse.”
Collectively, the Sun Devils hit .100, their lowest hitting percentage since Oct. 6 against Oregon, when they hit .066.
Sunday’s match continued the trend of playing strong on the first game of the weekend, but lackadaisical the second game. ASU has now won three straight opening weekend games and lost three straight closing weekend games.
“We always play really well on the first night and then the second night we kind of come out flat, lacking all that energy that we had that first night,” Preach said.
In the first set, USC started hot and never looked back, despite ASU’s ability to break sophomore outside hitter Samantha Bricio’s serve. The Sun Devils hit just .029 in the first frame, falling 15-25.
The Trojans again started set two with a sizeable lead. ASU simply could not keep pace with USC’s offense and dropped the frame again 15-25.
The Sun Devils showed signs of life in set three. The frame was tied at 12, 13, 18 and 19, but ASU couldn’t hold on, falling 21-25 for the straight sets sweep.
USC excelled at nearly every facet of the game. Youth led the team, as freshmen outside hitters Ebony Nwanebu and Elise Ruddins combined for half of USC’s 50 kills. The Women of Troy also pushed the middle blockers, who combined for nine kills.
The No. 23 Berkeley Bears make the trip to Tempe for aWednesday afternoon match at Wells Fargo Arena. ASU will then close out the regular season with a Friday game in Tucson against the Wildcats.
Additional Game Notes
– Freshman opposite hitter Kizzy Willey did not play in the match. She has been battling a knee injury for several weeks.
Reach the reporter at bmargiot@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @BenMargiott
