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ASU Volleyball: Sun Devils defeat Utah State to sweep NAU Tournament

By Trevor Booth

TEMPE, AZ - OCTOBER 10: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky performs on the field during the fourth quarter of the college football game against the Colorado Buffaloes at Sun Devil Stadium on October 10, 2015 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
TEMPE, AZ - OCTOBER 10: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky performs on the field during the fourth quarter of the college football game against the Colorado Buffaloes at Sun Devil Stadium on October 10, 2015 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) /
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ASU volleyball completed their weekend at NAU with a 3-0 match victory (28-26, 25-20, 25-15) against Utah State improving their record to 7-2.

After a tournament where head coach Sanja Tomasevic cited the necessity for her team to grow and close out games, the  Sun Devils were able to shake off their woes from Spokane to finish off an undefeated weekend at the Northern Arizona Tournament.

Last weekend at the Gonzaga Invitational, the Sun Devils struggled to put the nail in the coffin when they had their opponents in check, losing a 2-1 set advantage in a match against Gonzaga and fading in tight sets against Portland State.

This time, they turned the tables.

After starting out even against the Aggies in set one, Ivana Jermic kickstarted a 5-0 run for ASU, recording three straight kills to help the Sun Devils jump out to an early 12-7 lead.

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However, Utah State came roaring back, capitalizing off of Sun Devil hitting errors to pull ahead 15-13 midway through the first set.

After trading blows throughout the next few points, the Sun Devils used a Griere Hughes kill and an Oluoma Okaro ace to spike a 4-0 run to put the Devils ahead 23-18 and push the Aggies back on their heels.

Despite losing hold of a 24-20 advantage, the Devils held on to win set one, using a pair of kills from Okaro to win a tight 28-26 affair.

In set two, ASU quickly jumped on the Aggies with an early 9-2 scoring run, utilizing the big swing of Okaro to put them up by 6 points.

The Sun Devils and the Aggies continued to trade points for the remainder of the set, and the wall that ASU established in that early run could never be breached. The Devils ended up taking set two 25-20.

In set three, the Devils once again asserted their dominance early, jumping out to a 3-0 advantage and releasing the three-headed monster of Hughes, Grahovac, and Okaro to balloon a 7-0 run into a 13-5 stranglehold over the Aggies.

Utah State could never find their footing, as another late 4-0 edge powered the Sun Devils to a 25-15 set and match victory.

In her return to the lineup, freshman setter Shelbie Dobmeier tallied 34 assists on 44 Sun Devil Kills. 34 of those kills came from the attacking core of Jermic, Hughes, and Okaro.

At the conclusion of the tournament, libero Halle Harker received recognition as MVP of the tournament, while both Oluoma Okaro and Peyton Grahovac also received all-tournament honors.

With their sweep at NAU, the Sun Devils move to 7-2 overall on the season with 3 games remaining in non-conference play.

Next: ASU Volleyball: Sun Devils Take Match One at NAU Tournament

Next weekend, the Sun Devils travel to Arlington, Texas as they kick off the UT Arlington Maverick Classic against Lamar at 5 p.m. PST Friday night.