NORMAN, Okla. – Junior outside hitter Andrea Mitrovic led the team in kills as Arizona State volleyball swept Louisiana and fell in five sets at Oklahoma on Friday as part of the OU Nike Invitational.
Arizona State moved to 5-3 after splitting its matches. Mitrovic led the team in kills in both matches with 15 against Louisiana and 17 against Oklahoma. She had a double-double in both matches as well.
Match One: Arizona State 3, Louisiana 0
The Sun Devils got back to their winning ways with a victory over the Ragin' Cajun (3-4), 3-0 (25-18, 25-12, 25-21). Two hitters, Claire Kovensky and Andrea Mitrovic, reached double figures to lead ASU in the win.
Notable Stats:
The teams were close to start the match, but the Sun Devils were able to pull away and control the first set. Arizona State went on a 10-1 run, which included three kills from Kovensky, to take a huge lead, 17-9. ASU would keep hold of that lead, winning handily at 25-18.
Set Two: Arizona State 25, Louisiana 12
Arizona State's momentum held up in the second set, scoring the first four points of the set. A 7-0 run with Leffel at the service line pushed the lead up to 19-5. Louisiana showed some fight with a 4-0 run, but the lead proved too great to overcome as ASU ran away with the set, 25-12. The serves were on another level this set as the Sun Devils had five aces.
Set Three: Arizona State 25, Louisiana 21
The Sun Devils played a closer set in the third. The teams had back-to-back 3-0 runs to start the set. Three in a row for ASU made it 9-6 in its favor, capped off by a kill from Mitrovic. A 5-1 run for the Sun Devils made it 19-14, but the Ragin' Cajun responded with four-straight points to cut it to 19-18. Arizona State took back control with another 3-0 run, thanks to two kills from Mitrovic. A block from Avital Jaloba clinched the 25-21 win for ASU.
Match Two: Oklahoma 3, Arizona State 2
Down 2-1, the Sun Devils were able to force a fifth set, but the host-team Sooners (5-2) closed it out to win in five sets (22-25, 25-17, 25-16, 12-25, 15-12).
Notable Stats:
Thanks to tough serving from Miller, ASU went on an early 6-0 run to get ahead by four, 8-4. Oklahoma strung together three in a row, but Arizona State held on to its lead. To get the sideout, Isanovic killed the ball straight down to push the lead to 19-14. At set point, the Sooners scored three-straight points to force a timeout from the Sun Devils. Kovensky killed the ball right out of the timeout to finish the set, 25-22.
Set Two: Oklahoma 25, Arizona State 17
Oklahoma took control of the second set with an early 6-1 run to go up 9-2. Arizona State cut into the lead, scoring three in a row thanks to back-to-back kills from Jeremic to make it 10-7. An overpass kill from Avital Jaloba got the Sun Devils within two, down 15-13. The Sooners pulled away again with a 4-0 run, pushing their lead to 20-14. They would go on to win 25-17.
Set Three: Oklahoma 25, Arizona State 16
The Sun Devils started hot in the third with Boyd on fire, getting three blocks and a kill in ASU's first five points, her third block putting her team up 5-3. However, Oklahoma took control, going on an 8-0 run to lead 11-5. Arizona State did not make any big runs to cut into the lead and lost 25-16.
Set Four: Arizona State 25, Oklahoma 12
Arizona State took back all of the momentum for the fourth set, getting up early and never looking back. Four in a row made it an 8-2 lead before Oklahoma called a timeout. A stuff block from Isanovic would put an exclamation mark on a 3-0 run to push the lead to 13-5. Four-straight points got the lead to double digits, pushing it to 22-9 with two kills from Mitrovic. A kill from Ivana Jeremic finished the set, winning it 25-12.
Set Five: Oklahoma 15, Arizona State 12
The two teams battled from the start, trading leads and tying it up. Oklahoma got to eight points first, just barely at 8-7. Back-to-back stuff blocks for the Sun Devils gave them the 10-9 lead. The Sooners scored three-straight points to take the lead, 13-11. Arizona State could not comeback, and fell 15-12, dropping the match.
Next Up:
Arizona State will play its final match of the OU Nike Invitational on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. MST against Georgia Tech. Live stats will be available for fans to follow along.
Arizona State moved to 5-3 after splitting its matches. Mitrovic led the team in kills in both matches with 15 against Louisiana and 17 against Oklahoma. She had a double-double in both matches as well.
Match One: Arizona State 3, Louisiana 0
The Sun Devils got back to their winning ways with a victory over the Ragin' Cajun (3-4), 3-0 (25-18, 25-12, 25-21). Two hitters, Claire Kovensky and Andrea Mitrovic, reached double figures to lead ASU in the win.
Notable Stats:
- ASU hit .291 as a team, its highest hitting percentage of the year.
- Andrea Mitrovic and Claire Kovensky both reached double figures in kills with 15 and 11, respectively. Mitrovic also had 11 digs to earn her second double-double of the season.
- Senior libero Courtney Leffel extended her streak of matches with double-digit digs to 12 in a row, which is a new career-long. She had 16 in the match to lead all players.
- Freshman middle blocker Kennedi Boyd had the best game of her career so far, notching a career-high five kills on a .455 clip.
- Senior setter Callie Jones had a season-high 26 assists in the win. Sophomore Noa Miller came in to set in the third set, adding 14 assists.
- Freshman Annika Larson had a career-high 10 digs.
The teams were close to start the match, but the Sun Devils were able to pull away and control the first set. Arizona State went on a 10-1 run, which included three kills from Kovensky, to take a huge lead, 17-9. ASU would keep hold of that lead, winning handily at 25-18.
S1 | Kennedi Boyd with the kill!
— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) September 13, 2019
ASU leads 22-14! #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/D3lRZUmpuz
Set Two: Arizona State 25, Louisiana 12
Arizona State's momentum held up in the second set, scoring the first four points of the set. A 7-0 run with Leffel at the service line pushed the lead up to 19-5. Louisiana showed some fight with a 4-0 run, but the lead proved too great to overcome as ASU ran away with the set, 25-12. The serves were on another level this set as the Sun Devils had five aces.
Set Three: Arizona State 25, Louisiana 21
The Sun Devils played a closer set in the third. The teams had back-to-back 3-0 runs to start the set. Three in a row for ASU made it 9-6 in its favor, capped off by a kill from Mitrovic. A 5-1 run for the Sun Devils made it 19-14, but the Ragin' Cajun responded with four-straight points to cut it to 19-18. Arizona State took back control with another 3-0 run, thanks to two kills from Mitrovic. A block from Avital Jaloba clinched the 25-21 win for ASU.
1-0 at the OU Nike Invitational. ??#ForksUp pic.twitter.com/tVzqdCvrGV
— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) September 13, 2019
Match Two: Oklahoma 3, Arizona State 2
Down 2-1, the Sun Devils were able to force a fifth set, but the host-team Sooners (5-2) closed it out to win in five sets (22-25, 25-17, 25-16, 12-25, 15-12).
Notable Stats:
- Junior Andrea Mitrovic collected her third double-double of the year, second in a row. She had a game-high 17 kills and 17 digs. Her digs total was her highest this season.
- Courtney Leffel extended her career-long double-digit dig streak to 13 after notching 29 in the setback. This was her sixth match this year with 20 or more digs.
- Kennedi Boyd had a career-high six total blocks, five block assists and one solo block. She also had five kills for the second match in a row.
- Noa Miller had her second double-double of the season with 19 assists and 10 digs.
Thanks to tough serving from Miller, ASU went on an early 6-0 run to get ahead by four, 8-4. Oklahoma strung together three in a row, but Arizona State held on to its lead. To get the sideout, Isanovic killed the ball straight down to push the lead to 19-14. At set point, the Sooners scored three-straight points to force a timeout from the Sun Devils. Kovensky killed the ball right out of the timeout to finish the set, 25-22.
S1 | Avital Jaloba with the block!!
— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) September 14, 2019
ASU leads 13-7! #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/edUTC3RlZ0
Set Two: Oklahoma 25, Arizona State 17
Oklahoma took control of the second set with an early 6-1 run to go up 9-2. Arizona State cut into the lead, scoring three in a row thanks to back-to-back kills from Jeremic to make it 10-7. An overpass kill from Avital Jaloba got the Sun Devils within two, down 15-13. The Sooners pulled away again with a 4-0 run, pushing their lead to 20-14. They would go on to win 25-17.
Set Three: Oklahoma 25, Arizona State 16
The Sun Devils started hot in the third with Boyd on fire, getting three blocks and a kill in ASU's first five points, her third block putting her team up 5-3. However, Oklahoma took control, going on an 8-0 run to lead 11-5. Arizona State did not make any big runs to cut into the lead and lost 25-16.
Set Four: Arizona State 25, Oklahoma 12
Arizona State took back all of the momentum for the fourth set, getting up early and never looking back. Four in a row made it an 8-2 lead before Oklahoma called a timeout. A stuff block from Isanovic would put an exclamation mark on a 3-0 run to push the lead to 13-5. Four-straight points got the lead to double digits, pushing it to 22-9 with two kills from Mitrovic. A kill from Ivana Jeremic finished the set, winning it 25-12.
Set Five: Oklahoma 15, Arizona State 12
The two teams battled from the start, trading leads and tying it up. Oklahoma got to eight points first, just barely at 8-7. Back-to-back stuff blocks for the Sun Devils gave them the 10-9 lead. The Sooners scored three-straight points to take the lead, 13-11. Arizona State could not comeback, and fell 15-12, dropping the match.
Next Up:
Arizona State will play its final match of the OU Nike Invitational on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. MST against Georgia Tech. Live stats will be available for fans to follow along.