LAS VEGAS – Behind an efficient night on offense, Arizona State volleyball held on to beat UNLV in five sets (21-25, 25-19, 25-16, 20-25, 15-9) in the first match of the Rebel Challenge on Thursday night at Cox Pavilion.
Notable Stats
Arizona State head coach Sanja Tomasevic
"It was a good win for us on the road against a team that was energized by the return of their best player. We did some really good things offensively tonight. I'm pretty excited about it. They put pressure on us with tough serves and we were still able to hit a pretty high percentage off passes that weren't perfect. Now, we will relax a little and get ready for a physical Kansas team tomorrow."
On Andrea Mitrovic's strong performance
"Andrea had a great match. She hit .483 on 29 attacks. She took some really good swings out of system and got us the ball back. I'm pretty excited for her and the player she is becoming for us."
On the team's energy
"I liked how everyone was ready to come off the bench and do what was expected for them. They are all genuinely excited for everyone on the court and are ready to contribute when needed, which is something we have not always had in the past."
Set One: UNLV 25, Arizona State 21
For the first half of the set, UNLV led Arizona State. Kills from Mitrovic and Jada Burse got ASU within one, down 8-7. From there, the Rebels started to pull away, leading by as much as four. With two kills from Ivana Jeremic, the Sun Devils scored three-straight to make it a one-point game, 18-17, forcing a timeout from the home team. With a 3-0 run down the stretch, UNLV was able to hold off Arizona State, winning 25-21.
Set Two: Arizona State 25, UNLV 19
The Sun Devils took control from the start in the second set. They scored three in a row, capped off with an overpass kill from Mitrovic, to go up 7-3. A 6-2 run for ASU extended the lead to 16-8. UNLV cut the lead down to four, 22-18, before Tomasevic called a timeout to regroup. Mitrovic immediately killed the ball coming out of the timeout. Back-to-back kills for Boyd sealed the victory for ASU, taking it 25-19.
Set Three: Arizona State 25, UNLV 16
Arizona State kept the momentum for the third set, dominating from start to finish. The Sun Devils scored six in a row, capped off by two-straight kills from Kovensky, to make it a 10-3 lead. A well-placed tip from Jeremic gave ASU its highest lead of the set, 16-7. Annika Larson came in to serve the last two points, serving an ace on set point to win it 25-16 for her team.
Set Four: UNLV 25, Arizona State 20
The Rebels battled back in the fourth set, putting together a 4-0 run to get up 11-5 early. The Sun Devils had three blocks in a rally before Mitrovic finally got it to the ground, making it a 14-10 deficit. ASU scored three in a row to get back to within three, 22-18,
Set Five: Arizona State 15, UNLV 9
Arizona State's first three points came from kills by Mitrovic, getting up 3-2 early. The Sun Devils went on a 4-0 run to push their lead to 8-4 to lead at the switch. Larson's second ace of the day capped off another 4-0 run for ASU, making it 12-6. The Rebels responded with three in a row before Boyd slammed it straight to the ground to stop the run. Two-straight errors gave the Sun Devils the 15-9 win to take the match.
Up Next
The Sun Devils will finish the Rebel Challenge on Friday against the Kansas Jayhawks at 3:30 p.m. MST. The match will be live streamed and will have live stats.
SUN DEVILS WIN??
— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) September 20, 2019
ASU holds on to beat UNLV in five sets! Callie Jones had a double-double in the win with 30 assists and a career-high 15 digs! ?? #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/QFIW6IZgDY
Notable Stats
- This is the third five-set match the Sun Devils (7-3) have played this season, one more than they played in the 2018 season. Arizona State is 2-1 in five sets this year.
- As a team, the Sun Devils hit .321, the highest percentage of the season and the first time getting over .300. They outhit the Rebels (3-7), who hit .197.
- Callie Jones earned a career-high in digs with 15, surpassing her previous high of 14 digs at Oregon State last season. Her 30 assists were a season high. This was also her second double-double of the year.
- Junior outside hitter Andrea Mitrovic had a match-high 16 kills on a .483 clip. She has had double-digit kills in every match this season but one. Additionally, she had two aces, tied for a match high.
- Claire Kovensky, another junior outside hitter, reached double figures in kills as well with 13. She had a season-high hitting percentage of .273.
- Senior libero Courtney Leffel reached double figures in digs for the 14th match in a row, notching 20.
- Freshman middle blocker Kennedi Boyd had an efficient night with seven kills on a .455 clip. Her kill total tied her career high.
Arizona State head coach Sanja Tomasevic
"It was a good win for us on the road against a team that was energized by the return of their best player. We did some really good things offensively tonight. I'm pretty excited about it. They put pressure on us with tough serves and we were still able to hit a pretty high percentage off passes that weren't perfect. Now, we will relax a little and get ready for a physical Kansas team tomorrow."
On Andrea Mitrovic's strong performance
"Andrea had a great match. She hit .483 on 29 attacks. She took some really good swings out of system and got us the ball back. I'm pretty excited for her and the player she is becoming for us."
On the team's energy
"I liked how everyone was ready to come off the bench and do what was expected for them. They are all genuinely excited for everyone on the court and are ready to contribute when needed, which is something we have not always had in the past."
Set One: UNLV 25, Arizona State 21
For the first half of the set, UNLV led Arizona State. Kills from Mitrovic and Jada Burse got ASU within one, down 8-7. From there, the Rebels started to pull away, leading by as much as four. With two kills from Ivana Jeremic, the Sun Devils scored three-straight to make it a one-point game, 18-17, forcing a timeout from the home team. With a 3-0 run down the stretch, UNLV was able to hold off Arizona State, winning 25-21.
Set Two: Arizona State 25, UNLV 19
The Sun Devils took control from the start in the second set. They scored three in a row, capped off with an overpass kill from Mitrovic, to go up 7-3. A 6-2 run for ASU extended the lead to 16-8. UNLV cut the lead down to four, 22-18, before Tomasevic called a timeout to regroup. Mitrovic immediately killed the ball coming out of the timeout. Back-to-back kills for Boyd sealed the victory for ASU, taking it 25-19.
Set Three: Arizona State 25, UNLV 16
Arizona State kept the momentum for the third set, dominating from start to finish. The Sun Devils scored six in a row, capped off by two-straight kills from Kovensky, to make it a 10-3 lead. A well-placed tip from Jeremic gave ASU its highest lead of the set, 16-7. Annika Larson came in to serve the last two points, serving an ace on set point to win it 25-16 for her team.
S3 | Sub in, serve an ace, win the set. Well done, Annika Larson. ??
— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) September 20, 2019
Sun Devils take the third set 25-16 and go up 2-1 in the match! #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/gtNOfwn3fR
Set Four: UNLV 25, Arizona State 20
The Rebels battled back in the fourth set, putting together a 4-0 run to get up 11-5 early. The Sun Devils had three blocks in a rally before Mitrovic finally got it to the ground, making it a 14-10 deficit. ASU scored three in a row to get back to within three, 22-18,
Set Five: Arizona State 15, UNLV 9
Arizona State's first three points came from kills by Mitrovic, getting up 3-2 early. The Sun Devils went on a 4-0 run to push their lead to 8-4 to lead at the switch. Larson's second ace of the day capped off another 4-0 run for ASU, making it 12-6. The Rebels responded with three in a row before Boyd slammed it straight to the ground to stop the run. Two-straight errors gave the Sun Devils the 15-9 win to take the match.
Up Next
The Sun Devils will finish the Rebel Challenge on Friday against the Kansas Jayhawks at 3:30 p.m. MST. The match will be live streamed and will have live stats.