ASU Volleyball: Sun Devils look to duplicate gutsy performance against #17 Utah
By Trevor Booth
After a controversial finish in their first match-up, ASU volleyball looks to execute another strong performance as they take on Adora Anae and the Utah Utes in Salt Lake City.
For the entirety of the 2017 season, nothing has come easy for Sun Devil Volleyball. They’ve had to claw, scrap and fight for every point just to keep themselves on pace with some lethal opponents in the Pac-12 Conference. Unfortunately, that hard work hasn’t yet put together a tally in the win column.
But boy, have they come close.
As the Sun Devils get ready to face the 17th-ranked Utah Utes for the second time this season, it’d be an understatement to say that revenge is on their minds.
In their first meeting in Tempe, the Sun Devils put together an extraordinary effort against the second-best team in the conference at the time. Griere Hughes had her breakout match of the year with 18 kills, and Nicole Peterson established herself as the team’s primary setter with an astounding 53 assists to go along with 14 digs.
For head coach Sanja Tomasevic, however, things could have easily went much better.
“Oly and Halle didn’t have the best match,” Tomasevic said. “For Halle Harker to pass 32% and Oly to be ‘tip-queen,’ it’s at the point where the two of them are carrying us, or where the other people are playing well and they’re not there.”
Despite lacking the typical contributions of their two star players, the Sun Devils executed well on the part of shutting down Utah’s main offensive weapon in Adora Anae. Anae, who had been leading the conference in kills per set, was a focal point of the Sun Devil blocking all afternoon, being limited to 12 kills on a .143 hitting percentage.
“We got them in a place where we wanted them,” Tomasevic stated. “They took their best player out and we got them in a 5-1; we just didn’t know how to capitalize off of that.”
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After the Utes brought Anae to the bench in the second set, they found reliability from two heavy hitters in Berkeley Oblad and Carly Truman. Oblad occupied a stout presence at the middle blocker position, using her towering 6’4″ frame to tally 11 kills while Truman recorded 20 more kills on the outside.
Even with the presence of those two hitters, the Sun Devils still found themselves in a position to win down the stretch. Griere Hughes and Ivana Jeremic had key kills in a third set that went into an overtime where the Sun Devils held game point on three separate occasions. Unfortunately, the Utes finished off a heartbreaking third game at 31-29.
The Sun Devils showed no quit in the fourth set, however, as the match once again went into a crucial overtime. In this sequence of points, controversy ensued, as Utah setter Bailey Choy seemed to mishandle balls on three straight points that would’ve resulted in a game victory for the Sun Devils. Coach Tomasevic, along with coach Carlos Moreno and several players on the court, immediately rose in argument about the missed calls.
Despite a good case that the team was presenting, the officials didn’t rule Choy for any double hits, as the Utes closed the fourth set 28-26.
Although the match ended in disappointment, a clear notion can be taken from that match heading into Friday night: the Sun Devils can hang with the Utes once again.
It hasn’t shown up in the win column yet, but the Sun Devils have grown much more from that match in October. In last weekend’s match against Oregon State, ASU fought when they were challenged in deep sets, and for one of the first times this season, they were able to close a tight game that went into an overtime period.
Going into tomorrow’s match, the Sun Devils will once again have to focus in on how they can neutralize the threat of Anae on the outside. Carmen Unzue and Peyton Grahovac combined for seven blocks on the middle in the first meeting, an effort they’ll have to duplicate to keep Utah’s offense from running in sync.
If Harker and Okaro can lead their team with their strong contributions, it’s not unreasonable at all that the Sun Devils would find themselves in position to knock off the Utes once again.
Next: ASU Volleyball: Sun Devils suffer agonizing defeat on Senior Night
The first serve between ASU and Utah will be at 7 p.m. MST, and the match can be viewed on Pac-12 Mountain.