ASU Volleyball: Sun Devils fall to #13 UCLA in four sets

ASU volleyball fought hard but couldn’t string together enough consistent plays as they dropped to 0-5 in conference play against UCLA on Friday night.

After returning from their bay-area road trip, the Sun Devils dropped the opener of their four-game homestand on Friday night against the UCLA Bruins in four sets (14-25, 25-20, 20-25, 19-25)

Coming into the match, the Bruins were second in conference play in hitting percentage at .274, and they were able to execute their offense at will in the opening set. Madeleine Gates recorded four of her 15 kills on the night in set one, and the Bruins hit at a stunning .588 clip.

On the Sun Devils’ side of the net, many of the reoccurring problems from their Bay Area trip found a way to creep back into their play. The Sun Devils were unable to pick up on several UCLA tip-kills, as the back row let several balls drop right at the 10-foot line.

Freshman Shelbie Dobmeier started the match at setter for the Sun Devils, along with Megan Beedie in the middle and Peyton Grahovac and Oluoma Okaro on the opposite end to complement the power of Ivana Jeremic on the outside. Unfortunately, the passing and service game offset the potentially potent lineup of the Sun Devils, as Dobmeier was only able to record six assists in the set.

In the second set, the Sun Devils opened up with a burst of newfound energy. After being a non-factor in the first set, Okaro exploded with line-drive kills that the Bruins couldn’t find an answer to.

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Halle Harker revitalized the defense with 10 digs in the second set, including two diving balls on a point that gave the Sun Devils an early boost in momentum. The game proceeded to become that much easier for Shelbie Dobmeier, as she recorded 18 assists to boost the Sun Devil hitting percentage back above .300.

After the second set intermission, the Sun Devils and Bruins began set three with a back-and-forth battle for advantage. Service errors were shared by both teams, and neither team could hold control through the first ten nine of the match. Unfortunately, it often came at inopportune times for the Sun Devils.

“Missing a serve after a timeout or an ace is pretty bad, and it’s even worse when it’s pretty tight,” Ivana Jeremic noted. “It’s a huge momentum killer.”

After ASU tied the set at nine, the Bruins opened up a 4-0 scoring run led by the blocking and hitting of Mac May. The Bruins looked like they were going to run away, much like the first set.

However, the Sun Devils didn’t show any quit. Out of a timeout, Hughes and Okaro shot two kills on an angle, and Courtney Leffel added a service ace to bring the Sun Devils within two points at 15-13.

Unfortunately, the Sun Devils couldn’t pull within any closer. The Bruins used kills from their star trio of Mac May, Madeleine Gates and Reily Buechler to use give them just enough of an edge to take set three 25-20.

In set four, the Sun Devils regained their favored side of the court, and it seemed like they were going to be off on another hot run. A kill from Okaro and a block from Jeremic gave the Sun Devils a huge boost of energy, as fist pumps and smiles were all around the recent surge of momentum.

Right on cue, however, the Bruins roared right back, as Madeleine Gates recorded two kills on a 6-0 run to put them ahead 7-3. The Sun Devils responded with a 3-0 run of their own, as a block from Okaro seemingly gave ASU another jolt to go on a major tear.

UCLA kept the balance, however, using a 4-1 advantage to go up 11-7. Luckily, Courtney Leffel was up to serve again, and notched another ace and held serve to tie the match at 11.

After the tie, Sun Devil service errors and attacking errors halted a majority of their runs, and UCLA was able to take a tight set at 21-19 and close the match with four straight points to win set four 25-19.

Oluoma Okaro led the Sun Devils with 14 kills on the night, Shelbie Dobmeier contributed 41 assists and Halle Harker added 24 digs in the losing effort.

The Sun Devils will take on the Trojans of USC Saturday night, who also lost Friday night in a straight set sweep against the University of Arizona.

“They’re going to come to play angry,” head coach Sanja Tomasevic noted. “They don’t want to leave Arizona with two losses, so they’re going to come here tomorrow looking for revenge.”

Next: ASU Volleyball: Sun Devils fall to Cal in straight sets

You can catch the Sun Devils take on the Trojans Saturday night at 6 p.m. PST on the ASU Live Stream.