LONG BEACH, Calif.—The Arizona State volleyball team (6-3) won its final two matches of the LBSU Baden Invitational on Saturday, sweeping Harvard (25-16, 25-17, 28-26) before outlasting a comeback bid from tournament-host Long Beach State in five sets (30-28, 25-20, 14-25, 17-25, 19-17) at the Walter Pyramid.
"Last night, we asked the team what they wanted out of this and they decided that they want to be really good and they're willing to do whatever it takes," head coach Stevie Mussie said. "People realized that their roles need to change, they needed to be become more accountable, and they accepted that challenge with open arms."
Junior Oluoma Okaro and senior Cassidy Pickrell led the way in the win over Harvard, combing for 22 of ASU's 43 kills. Okaro, Pickrell, and sophomore Caroline Pearson each recorded three service aces toward ASU's team total of 12, the most since ASU tallied that many in 2005 at Washington State (Oct. 1).
The Sun Devils won the blocking battle, 8.0 to 5.0, with Okaro and freshmen Mmachi Nwoke and Ivana Jeremic each recording four block assists apiece.
"I think the biggest thing against Long Beach State is that we were very clean offensively," Mussie said. "Mmachi Nwoke had a phenomenal match, with nine kills on no errors, hitting a team-high .750. We couldn't be more thrilled with her performance, and everyone's performance tonight. We did a really good job on siding out on first balls, which we hadn't been great at, but we upgraded that today.
Nwoke led the Sun Devils on the attack against the 49ers, hitting .750 with a career high nine kills on 12 error-free swings. Okaro and Jeremic also recorded career highs in kills with 19 and 18, respectively. Sophomore Jasmine Koonts was also error free with nine kills on 16 swings.
The Sun Devils took the first two sets from LBSU, 30-28 and 25-20, before the 49ers took the third and fourth sets. In the deciding set, ASU hit .379 as a team with 16 kills, and held off Long Beach State's match point at 14-13 to ultimately take the set, 19-17.
Pickrell recorded two double-doubles on the weekend, with 12 kills and 13 digs against Harvard and 11 kills and 11 digs against
Long Beach State had the edge in the blocking battle, 13.5 to 13.0, and capitalized on ASU's 20 service errors. Nele Barber had 21 kills while Hailey Harward added 16. YiZhi Xue led the 49ers with eight block assists on the match.
"As far as addressing the situation at the service line, we'll be serving a lot," Mussie said. "They're afraid to make an error and we just need to make them comfortable in those situations. But they all had each other's back, and when someone did miss, they knew they had to score right away and they did that."
Up next, the Sun Devils close out the non-conference slate in Idaho at the Boise State Classic on Sept. 16-17. ASU opens the weekend against Santa Clara at 11 a.m. PT/Noon MT on Friday, followed by a match against Portland State at 4 p.m. PT/5 p.m. MT. ASU will cap the weekend at 11 a.m. PT/Noon MT against the host Broncos.
ASU vs. Harvard Match Notes
Kills: C. Pickrell (12), Okaro (10)
Attack Pct: Koonts (.571; 5K 1E 7TA), Okaro (.438; 10K 3E, 16TA), C. Pickrell (.357; 12K 2E 28TA)
Assists: Pearson (20), K. Pickrell (15)
Digs: C. Pickrell (13)
Aces: Pearson (3), Okaro (3), C. Pickrell (3)
Blocks: Nwoke (4BA), Okaro (4BA), Jeremic (4BA)
Double-Doubles: C. Pickrell (1st: 12 kills & 13 digs)
ASU at Long Beach State Match Notes
Kills: Okaro (19)*, Jeremic (18)*, C. Pickrell (11), MacLean (10)
*Career high
Attack Pct: Nwoke (.750; 9K 0E 12TA), Koonta (.562; 9K 0E 16TA), Okaro (.389; 19K 5E 36TA), Jeremic (.308; 18K 6E 39TA)
Assists: K. Pickrell (37), Pearson (27)
Digs: Harker (15), Leffel (13)*, C. Pickrell (11)
*Career high
Blocks: Okaro (8TB: 1BS, 7BA*), Jeremic (6BA*), Nwoke (5BA), Koonts (4BA)
*Career high
Double-Doubles: C. Pickrelll (2nd: 11 kills & 11 digs)
Team Notes
Single-Match Aces (Rally Scoring Era)
1. vs. Pacific (9/7/02)—16
2. Oregon State (9/24/05)—14
Arizona (9/26/03)—14
4. Utah (8/29/03)—13
Northern Arizona (10/23/01)—13
6. Harvard (9/10/16)—12
at California (11/1/03)—12
at Washington State (10/1/05)—12
vs. Creighton (9/7/02)—12
Program Note
Following the Long Beach State match, Arizona State is one win away from the 700th program victory
"Last night, we asked the team what they wanted out of this and they decided that they want to be really good and they're willing to do whatever it takes," head coach Stevie Mussie said. "People realized that their roles need to change, they needed to be become more accountable, and they accepted that challenge with open arms."
Junior Oluoma Okaro and senior Cassidy Pickrell led the way in the win over Harvard, combing for 22 of ASU's 43 kills. Okaro, Pickrell, and sophomore Caroline Pearson each recorded three service aces toward ASU's team total of 12, the most since ASU tallied that many in 2005 at Washington State (Oct. 1).
The Sun Devils won the blocking battle, 8.0 to 5.0, with Okaro and freshmen Mmachi Nwoke and Ivana Jeremic each recording four block assists apiece.
"I think the biggest thing against Long Beach State is that we were very clean offensively," Mussie said. "Mmachi Nwoke had a phenomenal match, with nine kills on no errors, hitting a team-high .750. We couldn't be more thrilled with her performance, and everyone's performance tonight. We did a really good job on siding out on first balls, which we hadn't been great at, but we upgraded that today.
Nwoke led the Sun Devils on the attack against the 49ers, hitting .750 with a career high nine kills on 12 error-free swings. Okaro and Jeremic also recorded career highs in kills with 19 and 18, respectively. Sophomore Jasmine Koonts was also error free with nine kills on 16 swings.
The Sun Devils took the first two sets from LBSU, 30-28 and 25-20, before the 49ers took the third and fourth sets. In the deciding set, ASU hit .379 as a team with 16 kills, and held off Long Beach State's match point at 14-13 to ultimately take the set, 19-17.
Pickrell recorded two double-doubles on the weekend, with 12 kills and 13 digs against Harvard and 11 kills and 11 digs against
Long Beach State had the edge in the blocking battle, 13.5 to 13.0, and capitalized on ASU's 20 service errors. Nele Barber had 21 kills while Hailey Harward added 16. YiZhi Xue led the 49ers with eight block assists on the match.
"As far as addressing the situation at the service line, we'll be serving a lot," Mussie said. "They're afraid to make an error and we just need to make them comfortable in those situations. But they all had each other's back, and when someone did miss, they knew they had to score right away and they did that."
Up next, the Sun Devils close out the non-conference slate in Idaho at the Boise State Classic on Sept. 16-17. ASU opens the weekend against Santa Clara at 11 a.m. PT/Noon MT on Friday, followed by a match against Portland State at 4 p.m. PT/5 p.m. MT. ASU will cap the weekend at 11 a.m. PT/Noon MT against the host Broncos.
ASU vs. Harvard Match Notes
Kills: C. Pickrell (12), Okaro (10)
Attack Pct: Koonts (.571; 5K 1E 7TA), Okaro (.438; 10K 3E, 16TA), C. Pickrell (.357; 12K 2E 28TA)
Assists: Pearson (20), K. Pickrell (15)
Digs: C. Pickrell (13)
Aces: Pearson (3), Okaro (3), C. Pickrell (3)
Blocks: Nwoke (4BA), Okaro (4BA), Jeremic (4BA)
Double-Doubles: C. Pickrell (1st: 12 kills & 13 digs)
ASU at Long Beach State Match Notes
Kills: Okaro (19)*, Jeremic (18)*, C. Pickrell (11), MacLean (10)
*Career high
Attack Pct: Nwoke (.750; 9K 0E 12TA), Koonta (.562; 9K 0E 16TA), Okaro (.389; 19K 5E 36TA), Jeremic (.308; 18K 6E 39TA)
Assists: K. Pickrell (37), Pearson (27)
Digs: Harker (15), Leffel (13)*, C. Pickrell (11)
*Career high
Blocks: Okaro (8TB: 1BS, 7BA*), Jeremic (6BA*), Nwoke (5BA), Koonts (4BA)
*Career high
Double-Doubles: C. Pickrelll (2nd: 11 kills & 11 digs)
Team Notes
Single-Match Aces (Rally Scoring Era)
1. vs. Pacific (9/7/02)—16
2. Oregon State (9/24/05)—14
Arizona (9/26/03)—14
4. Utah (8/29/03)—13
Northern Arizona (10/23/01)—13
6. Harvard (9/10/16)—12
at California (11/1/03)—12
at Washington State (10/1/05)—12
vs. Creighton (9/7/02)—12
Program Note
Following the Long Beach State match, Arizona State is one win away from the 700th program victory