Devils in Detail
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ASU Volleyball: Digging and blocking lead Sun Devils to second Pac-12 win

By Nicholas Zeller-Singh

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 11: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky the Sun Devil stands on the court during a first-round game of the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament against the USC Trojans at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on March 11, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. USC won 67-64. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 11: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky the Sun Devil stands on the court during a first-round game of the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament against the USC Trojans at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on March 11, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. USC won 67-64. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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ASU volleyball‘s 68 digs and kills from the middle blockers helped the Sun Devils sweep the Beavers in Corvallis (25-22, 25-16, 25-19).

Before the game started, Oregon State came in with the second most digs in the Pac-12. The only team they trailed to were the Sun Devils. ASU leads the Pac-12 with 864 digs through 15 games.

ASU had 68 digs in this game compared to Oregon State’s 51 digs. The dig difference played a key role as the defense kept rallies going and let outside hitters, Ivana Jeremic, Claire Kovensky, and Alyse Ford, have several opportunities to get kills.

The three outside hitters had 29 of the 46 kills against Oregon State. The digs also caused the Beavers to become fatigued as some rallies lasted for a while and the Sun Devils’ outside hitters were firing many times. The digs also allowed ASU to set the tempo and play on the offensive, which was a struggle earlier this year.

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Not only were the digs a key factor to the win, but the middle blockers played a huge role in this game as well. Oregon State came into this game with the lowest hitting percentage in the Pac-12 at .184. The combined eight blocks from Carmen Unzue and Megan Beedie caused Oregon State to finish the game with a .149 hitting percentage.

Unzue and Beedie had several kills in the middle of the court, which Oregon State was not prepared for at all. This caused Unzue to finish with a .600 hitting percentage and Beedie with a .231 percentage. Due to the middle blockers causing havoc, Jeremic got another double-double with 11 kills and 14 digs.

With the middle blockers supporting the offense tonight with some of their own kills, Jeremic, Peterson, Ford, and Unzue all went above their averages on their hitting percentages. The team started off slow as the first set’s hitting percentage was only .200, but by the third set, the momentum was flowing and their hitting percentage jumped up to .349.

Although Callie Jones had no kills or blocks when she came into the game, she was a big factor as well, being tied for the second most digs on the team with 13.

Next. ASU Volleyball: Oregon Weekend Preview. dark

Arizona State (11-4) will now travel to Eugene and take on No. 12 Oregon (9-3) on Sunday at 1 p.m.