HOUSTON – Led by a phenomenal day from senior libero Courtney Leffel, Arizona State volleyball won both matches on Saturday at the Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup, first beating LSU in five sets before downing Texas A&M Corpus Christi in four sets.
Quotes
Arizona State head coach Sanja Tomasevic
Overall thoughts
"It was a good weekend for us, not just because of the wins, but because of the growth we had. We were able to pull out of some situations that we were not able to in the past. I loved the fact that everyone is ready to come off of the bench at any time and immediately contribute."
On Courtney's strong weekend
"I'm super excited for Courtney. She was our MVP this weekend. She was steady. When things were down, she kept her head up and kept us going. She was in charge in the back row and helped everyone around her. On top of that, she served well."
Game One: Arizona State 3, LSU 2
Courtney Leffel had a career-high 39 digs, the ninth-highest total in ASU history, to lead Arizona State volleyball to an epic five-set win (27-25, 25-17, 20-25, 25-22, 15-7) against LSU (1-1). The last time the Sun Devils won a five-set match was against Cal in September 2018.
Notable Stats
Arizona State started the match strong. Kovensky, picking up where she left off yesterday, had four kills in ASU's first eight points. Her fourth kill put the Sun Devils up 8-5. After another kill from her and an LSU error, the Tigers called a timeout, down 17-13. The break sparked LSU, coming back within two. Arizona State was able to stay in it thanks to service errors from LSU, but the Sun Devils fell in a close set, 27-25.
Set Two: Arizona State 25, LSU 17
The Sun Devils came out with a vengeance in the second set, going on a 10-0 run to get up 11-2 early on. Leffel had three aces during that streak. However, ASU allowed LSU to get back in it again, the Tigers scoring five straight to make it 14-8. Kennedi Boyd had blocks in two of the three next points for ASU, pushing the lead back up to 17-8. The Tigers strung together four in a row late, but a couple errors allowed the Sun Devils to close out the set, 25-17.
Set Three: LSU 25, Arizona State 20
Like ASU in the second set, LSU took control from the start, going on a 7-0 run to go up 7-1. The Sun Devils slowly started to chip into the lead. Andrea Mitrovic checked in and killed the ball on three of ASU's next four points to get within four, 11-7. When it looked like the Tigers were going to run away with the set, the Sun Devils went on a 5-0 run with Annika Larson serving to make it a 19-16 deficit, forcing a timeout from their opponent. The comeback would ultimately fall short, LSU winning 25-20.
Set Four: Arizona State 25, LSU 22
The fourth set was close from start to finish. Arizona State scored the first three, but LSU responded later with a 4-0 run to go up 10-7. After battling back and forth, Jeremic and Mitrovic teamed up to lead ASU on a 4-0 run to push the lead to 21-16. The Tigers responded with three-straight before Mitrovic slammed a cross-court kill to stop the run. An ace from Noa Miller got Arizona State to set point, and another kill from Mitrovic finished it at 25-22.
Set Five: Arizona State 15, LSU 7
The teams started the fifth set close until the Sun Devils went on a 5-0 run that included two kills from Burse, which put them up 11-6. Jeremic had two key kills down the stretch, and an error from LSU sealed the win for ASU, 15-7.
Game Two: Arizona State 3, Texas A&M Corpus Christi 1
Arizona State closed out the tournament with a 3-1 win (22-25, 25-15, 25-20, 25-15) over Texas A&M Corpus Christi (0-3). After dropping the first set, the Sun Devils won the next three to remain perfect this season.
Notable Stats
After allowing the Islanders to get up early, the Sun Devils put together an 8-1 run to not only take the lead, but go up by four, 19-15. Mitrovic had three kills in that run. However, ASU allowed its opponent to score six in a row to win the set, 25-22.
Set Two: Arizona State 25, Texas A&M Corpus Christi 15
ASU trailed early, but put together seven in a row to jump to a 9-6 lead. Capped off by an ace from Jeremic, the Sun Devils went on a 4-0 run to push the lead up to 15-9. Arizona State never looked back, winning the second set 25-15 on an ace that just barely rolled over the net.
Set Three: Arizona State 25, Texas A&M Corpus Christi 20
The Sun Devils started the third on fire with a 4-0 run that saw two aces from Larson. Corpus Christi responded with a run of their own to take the 11-10 lead, but ASU took back the momentum. A 6-1 run that included another ace from Larson extended Arizona State's lead to 16-12. Mitrovic had three consecutive kills to get ASU to set point, 24-18. The Islanders held off a few, but a missed serve gave the Sun Devils the win.
Set Four: Arizona State 25, Texas A&M Corpus Christi 15
The Canadian duo of Mitrovic and Beedie took the Sun Devils on a 5-0 run in the fourth set, combining for all five of those points to put ASU up 12-10. It was all Arizona State from then on. The Sun Devils closed out the match on an 8-0 run with Leffel serving, taking the set 25-15.
Up Next
Arizona State will continue nonconference play on the road at the Fleur De Lis Tournament in Louisville next weekend, taking on Western Kentucky, Tennessee Tech and Louisville.
Quotes
Arizona State head coach Sanja Tomasevic
Overall thoughts
"It was a good weekend for us, not just because of the wins, but because of the growth we had. We were able to pull out of some situations that we were not able to in the past. I loved the fact that everyone is ready to come off of the bench at any time and immediately contribute."
On Courtney's strong weekend
"I'm super excited for Courtney. She was our MVP this weekend. She was steady. When things were down, she kept her head up and kept us going. She was in charge in the back row and helped everyone around her. On top of that, she served well."
Game One: Arizona State 3, LSU 2
Courtney Leffel had a career-high 39 digs, the ninth-highest total in ASU history, to lead Arizona State volleyball to an epic five-set win (27-25, 25-17, 20-25, 25-22, 15-7) against LSU (1-1). The last time the Sun Devils won a five-set match was against Cal in September 2018.
Notable Stats
- Leffel became the 20th Sun Devil to reach 1,000 career digs. As if that wasn't impressive enough, she earned a career-high 39 digs in the match as well, demolishing her previous career high of 28. That number is the ninth-most all-time at ASU, seventh-most in the rally-scoring era.
- Leffel also had three aces, one shy of tying her career high.
- Dating back to last season, Leffel has had seven matches in a row with double-digit digs.
- Megan Beedie tied her career high in blocks with six to go along with her six kills.
- Claire Kovensky led the team in kills for the second match in a row with 14.
- Ivana Jeremic and Andrea Mitrovic also had double-digit kills with 12 and 10, respectively.
- Noa Miller had 16 assists to lead ASU, as well as 7 digs and an ace.
Set One: LSU 27, Arizona State 251??0??0??0?? DIGS.
— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) August 31, 2019
Congrats to Courtney Leffel for becoming the 20th Sun Devil to earn 1,000 career digs!! ??#ForksUp pic.twitter.com/nVaHzUEeD4
Arizona State started the match strong. Kovensky, picking up where she left off yesterday, had four kills in ASU's first eight points. Her fourth kill put the Sun Devils up 8-5. After another kill from her and an LSU error, the Tigers called a timeout, down 17-13. The break sparked LSU, coming back within two. Arizona State was able to stay in it thanks to service errors from LSU, but the Sun Devils fell in a close set, 27-25.
Set Two: Arizona State 25, LSU 17
The Sun Devils came out with a vengeance in the second set, going on a 10-0 run to get up 11-2 early on. Leffel had three aces during that streak. However, ASU allowed LSU to get back in it again, the Tigers scoring five straight to make it 14-8. Kennedi Boyd had blocks in two of the three next points for ASU, pushing the lead back up to 17-8. The Tigers strung together four in a row late, but a couple errors allowed the Sun Devils to close out the set, 25-17.
Set Three: LSU 25, Arizona State 20
Like ASU in the second set, LSU took control from the start, going on a 7-0 run to go up 7-1. The Sun Devils slowly started to chip into the lead. Andrea Mitrovic checked in and killed the ball on three of ASU's next four points to get within four, 11-7. When it looked like the Tigers were going to run away with the set, the Sun Devils went on a 5-0 run with Annika Larson serving to make it a 19-16 deficit, forcing a timeout from their opponent. The comeback would ultimately fall short, LSU winning 25-20.
Set Four: Arizona State 25, LSU 22
The fourth set was close from start to finish. Arizona State scored the first three, but LSU responded later with a 4-0 run to go up 10-7. After battling back and forth, Jeremic and Mitrovic teamed up to lead ASU on a 4-0 run to push the lead to 21-16. The Tigers responded with three-straight before Mitrovic slammed a cross-court kill to stop the run. An ace from Noa Miller got Arizona State to set point, and another kill from Mitrovic finished it at 25-22.
Set Five: Arizona State 15, LSU 7
The teams started the fifth set close until the Sun Devils went on a 5-0 run that included two kills from Burse, which put them up 11-6. Jeremic had two key kills down the stretch, and an error from LSU sealed the win for ASU, 15-7.
2??-0??#O2V pic.twitter.com/VIteH8Z7CF
— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) August 31, 2019
Game Two: Arizona State 3, Texas A&M Corpus Christi 1
Arizona State closed out the tournament with a 3-1 win (22-25, 25-15, 25-20, 25-15) over Texas A&M Corpus Christi (0-3). After dropping the first set, the Sun Devils won the next three to remain perfect this season.
Notable Stats
- Courtney Leffel continued her streak of double-digit digs, extending it to eight matches after collecting 21 in the win.
- Andrea Mitrovic led the team in kills with 19 on a .515 clip. She also had three aces and four digs.
- Noa Miller notched 19 assists for a team high in that category. Callie Jones had 16 assists.
- Ivana Jeremic reached double-digits in digs with 11 to go along with her eight kills.
- The serving was tough against the Islanders, as the Sun Devils earned 12 aces total. Annika Larson led the effort with four, while Leffel and Mitrovic each had three.
Set One: Texas A&M Corpus Christi 25, Arizona State 22SUN DEVILS WIN??
— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) August 31, 2019
ASU finishes the Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup with a 3-0 record after beating Texas A&M Corpus Christi! #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/5yZfA3Iish
After allowing the Islanders to get up early, the Sun Devils put together an 8-1 run to not only take the lead, but go up by four, 19-15. Mitrovic had three kills in that run. However, ASU allowed its opponent to score six in a row to win the set, 25-22.
Set Two: Arizona State 25, Texas A&M Corpus Christi 15
ASU trailed early, but put together seven in a row to jump to a 9-6 lead. Capped off by an ace from Jeremic, the Sun Devils went on a 4-0 run to push the lead up to 15-9. Arizona State never looked back, winning the second set 25-15 on an ace that just barely rolled over the net.
Set Three: Arizona State 25, Texas A&M Corpus Christi 20
The Sun Devils started the third on fire with a 4-0 run that saw two aces from Larson. Corpus Christi responded with a run of their own to take the 11-10 lead, but ASU took back the momentum. A 6-1 run that included another ace from Larson extended Arizona State's lead to 16-12. Mitrovic had three consecutive kills to get ASU to set point, 24-18. The Islanders held off a few, but a missed serve gave the Sun Devils the win.
Set Four: Arizona State 25, Texas A&M Corpus Christi 15
The Canadian duo of Mitrovic and Beedie took the Sun Devils on a 5-0 run in the fourth set, combining for all five of those points to put ASU up 12-10. It was all Arizona State from then on. The Sun Devils closed out the match on an 8-0 run with Leffel serving, taking the set 25-15.
S3 | Annika Larson with the ACE!
— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) August 31, 2019
We are still leading, up 15-12! #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/XOOFt66ajH
Up Next
Arizona State will continue nonconference play on the road at the Fleur De Lis Tournament in Louisville next weekend, taking on Western Kentucky, Tennessee Tech and Louisville.