TEMPE, Ariz. – The Sun Devil volleyball team capped the first day of the 2018 Sparky Classic in a winning fashion, securing a double-header sweep with a 3-1 win over Gonzaga on Friday night at Wells Fargo Arena.
"I think we did a very good job of getting out of this match with a win," coach Sanja Tomasevic said. "They can be a very good, dangerous team, and we didn't let them appear that way."
The Maroon and Gold's Friday night victory was preceded by a morning win over the NAU Lumberjacks (7-4), solidifying a three match win-streak for ASU dating back to the UNIWYO Invite last week.
ASU (9-2) relied on junior Ivana Jeremic and sophomore Megan Beedie to spark the offense against the Bulldogs. Jeremic, coming off a morning match where she recorded her fifth double-double of the season, once against reached the double-digit kill mark. The Serbian finished with 12 to secure her sixth double-double, the most in the Pac-12. She has now reached the double-digit kill benchmark in all but one of ASU's 11 matches this season.
Beedie had another efficient day for the Sun Devils, tallying 11 kills on only 19 total attacks, giving her a .474 hitting percentage.
The Sun Devil defense played a huge roll in the match as well, holding the Bulldogs to a miniscule .024 hitting percentage through the first two sets including a -.024 mark in the first set. The Lumberjacks finished the match with a .045 hitting percentage. With that statistic, ASU held both NAU (.089) and Gonzaga to a sub-.100 hitting percentage.
"We did a good job putting them in some trouble situations with our serves where they couldn't run their offense," Tomasevic said. "When you serve well, it makes everything else easier."
Junior Courtney Leffel once again cemented a solid defense, notching 21 digs in the night game.
Finishing the match with 13 total blocks, ASU dropped a close third set, 25-21, but rallied to an easy 25-14 third-set victory to secure a Sun Devil win.
"We were working a lot, and last week we paid a lot of attention to blocking in small group training and six-on-six drills," Tomasavic said. "It's good to see it paying off because we're doing a better job."
The Sun Devils are back in action tomorrow evening for the final match of the Sparky Classic. The game, with first serve set for 7 p.m. MST, can be watched online or through live stats. Fans can also follow the action all season long by following @SunDevilVB on Twitter.
"I think we did a very good job of getting out of this match with a win," coach Sanja Tomasevic said. "They can be a very good, dangerous team, and we didn't let them appear that way."
The Maroon and Gold's Friday night victory was preceded by a morning win over the NAU Lumberjacks (7-4), solidifying a three match win-streak for ASU dating back to the UNIWYO Invite last week.
ASU (9-2) relied on junior Ivana Jeremic and sophomore Megan Beedie to spark the offense against the Bulldogs. Jeremic, coming off a morning match where she recorded her fifth double-double of the season, once against reached the double-digit kill mark. The Serbian finished with 12 to secure her sixth double-double, the most in the Pac-12. She has now reached the double-digit kill benchmark in all but one of ASU's 11 matches this season.
Beedie had another efficient day for the Sun Devils, tallying 11 kills on only 19 total attacks, giving her a .474 hitting percentage.
The Sun Devil defense played a huge roll in the match as well, holding the Bulldogs to a miniscule .024 hitting percentage through the first two sets including a -.024 mark in the first set. The Lumberjacks finished the match with a .045 hitting percentage. With that statistic, ASU held both NAU (.089) and Gonzaga to a sub-.100 hitting percentage.
"We did a good job putting them in some trouble situations with our serves where they couldn't run their offense," Tomasevic said. "When you serve well, it makes everything else easier."
Junior Courtney Leffel once again cemented a solid defense, notching 21 digs in the night game.
Finishing the match with 13 total blocks, ASU dropped a close third set, 25-21, but rallied to an easy 25-14 third-set victory to secure a Sun Devil win.
"We were working a lot, and last week we paid a lot of attention to blocking in small group training and six-on-six drills," Tomasavic said. "It's good to see it paying off because we're doing a better job."
The Sun Devils are back in action tomorrow evening for the final match of the Sparky Classic. The game, with first serve set for 7 p.m. MST, can be watched online or through live stats. Fans can also follow the action all season long by following @SunDevilVB on Twitter.