Offense from middle blockers may be key as Arizona volleyball tries to sweep ASU
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Courtesy of Arizona Athletics
Arizona and Arizona State got off to very different starts this season. As the Wildcats were being swept away easily by Utah, the Sun Devils were opening their season with a shocking win over Washington in three sets. My, how things have changed.
After their three-set victory over ASU on Friday, Arizona is now 5-8 on the year and has already played most of the top teams in the Pac-12. Their rivals from Tempe are 1-10 and still have to play two of the teams in the top half of the standings.
Notable Stats
The Arizona State (1-9) block continues to be a bright spot. ASU out-blocked UCLA (7-3) 11 to 3. This is the fourth-straight match that the Sun Devils have had 11 blocks, the first time reaching double figures in a three-set match since September 2018.
Freshman opposite Marta Levinska reached double figures in kills for the seventh time this season, notching a team-high 13 on a .364 clip. She also had seven digs and four blocks.
Freshman middle blocker Claudia Stahlke started for the second match in a row and an impact again. She had a team-best six blocks and collected four kills, hitting .500.
Freshman setter Ella Snyder had 24 assists and two aces. It is her third match in a row with at least two aces.
Notable Stats
Arizona State (1-6) played in its third five-set match of the season, falling to Oregon State (2-5). The Sun Devils struggled on serve receive, allowing 12 aces. However, ASU also tallied eight aces of its own.
Freshman Marta Levinska set a new career high in kills with 20, beating her previous high by two. Her total was the highest by any player in the match and was her fifth time reaching double figures in kills. She had a .224 hitting percentage.
Sophomore libero Annika Larson led the defensive with 26 digs, a new career best for her. She also had three aces and five assists.
Arizona State (0-0)
Arizona State has just four upperclassmen on the roster and four returning starters (Megan Beedie, Kennedi Boyd, Iman Isanovic and Noa Miller). Rounding out the team, there are eight freshmen and six sophomores.
Senior Megan Beedie, the lone senior, will continue to be a vital player. She has the highest career numbers in multiple categories with 375 kills, 149 blocks and 23 aces.
Sophomore Iman Isanovic is the lone returning outside hitter for Arizona State. She was one of five pin hitters with over 200 kills in 2019 with 216 in an impressive freshman season. She was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week partway through the year after notching 22 kills in the comeback win at WSU.