Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.

ASU volleyball team looks to rebound from inconsistent start in Pac-12 play

Poor passing and errors need to be sharpened in upcoming homestand

ASU Volleyball vs UofA-3.jpg

ASU sophomore middle blocker Avital Jaloba (4) spikes the ball in their 3-0 victory over University of Arizona Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019, in the Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, Arizona.


ASU volleyball's inconsistent start to Pac-12 play was marked by allowing its first sweep of the season to UCLA following their first opening win in conference play in four years against Arizona.

“I don't understand why and how we go so high and so low," ASU volleyball head coach Sanja Tomasevic said. "If someone could understand that in athletes, they can make billions.”

Tomasevic’s lighthearted musings encapsulate the team’s performance to start conference play: inconsistent.

Related: ASU volleyball plagued by errors, swept by UCLA

ASU committed a startling amount of errors in the loss, including 12 in the second set alone.

“It was just a combo of setting balls that were too inside and not being able to adjust to it,” Tomasevic said. “As a hitter, you’re not always going to be in a perfect situation, so you still going to have to hit the ball in and create a good opportunity for your team.”

The errors led to a hitting percentage of 8.2%, their lowest mark of the season, after posting their highest hitting percentage just a couple of days earlier against Arizona.

A small sample size of losses shows that ASU averages a 12.3 hitting percentage in those four games, a stark contrast to its 20.9 overall average.

Tomasevic explained how excited the team was after showing stats from their sweep against Arizona, where they hit for 33%. She showed them video from the match to remind the team, “That was you. It wasn’t someone else in your jersey, that was you.”

The team was almost perfect against Arizona, assisting on nearly 80 percent of their points while only committing 18 total errors.

Tomasevic believes the team can replicate the same performance from their Pac-12 opener in the future.

“The fact that they saw they could do it was very big,” Tomasevic said. “The numbers that they thought they could achieve, they achieved.”

The players have just as much belief they can bounce back but acknowledge that discipline is required across the team to make it happen.

“I think we're hungry to come back and have some good wins in the Pac,” junior outside hitter Claire Kovensky said. “But it's going to take discipline from everyone.”

The Sun Devils would like to use their first homestand of the year to rejuvenate the team and help regain their focus.

“I think it's super important that we're home," junior outside hitter Andrea Mitrovic said. "When we were playing U of A at home, the energy was incredible. From the crowd and from us in general.”

The team will pick up play against Colorado on Friday in Tempe at 7 p.m. MST.


Reach the reporter at jhorst2@asu.edu and follow @HorseySeven on Twitter.

Like State Press Sports on Facebook and follow @statepresssport on Twitter.


Jeffrey HorstDigital editor-in-chief

Jeffrey Horst is the digital editor-in-chief of The State Press. He previously served as the publication's sports editor and worked at Cronkite News and ArizonaSports.com.


Continue supporting student journalism and donate to The State Press today.

Subscribe to Pressing Matters



×

Notice

This website uses cookies to make your experience better and easier. By using this website you consent to our use of cookies. For more information, please see our Cookie Policy.