TEMPE, Ariz. – With a roaring home crowd, Arizona State volleyball swept rival Arizona in straight sets (25-20, 25-16, 25-19) for the first time in six years in Wells Fargo Arena on Thursday night, posting the highest hitting percentage of the season.
Notable Stats??TFW WHEN YOU SWEEP THE CATS ??
— Arizona State Sun Devils (@TheSunDevils) September 27, 2019
?? @SunDevilVB pic.twitter.com/xjj05Cd9pb
- Arizona State (9-3, 1-0 Pac-12) beat Arizona (10-3, 0-1 Pac-12) for the first time since 2016, sweeping them for the first time since 2013.
- The Sun Devils hit .330 with only 11 hitting errors in three sets.
- Outside hitter Claire Kovensky led the offense with a match-high 14 kills, hitting .393.
- Outside hitter Ivana Jeremic had 11 kills on 15 attempts, hitting an impressive .600.
- Middle hitter Avital Jaloba hit .741 with five kills on seven attempts.
- Libero Courtney Leffel lead with 17 digs. She has just two matches this season with single digit digs.
- Senior setters Callie Jones and Nicole Peterson led in assets with 18 and 16, respectively.
- The Sun Devils earned half a point in the Territorial Cup with today's win. The other half of the point will be decided later this season in Tucson on November 30.
QuotesO U R S T A T E ?? pic.twitter.com/w0IkC34k5k
— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) September 27, 2019
Arizona State head coach Sanja Tomasevic
"I think we sent the message that we're ready to play this season. And this is a fun team. Like I've been saying from the beginning, we had a couple obstacles in preseason because not everybody was healthy for three weekends in a row. This was the first time since the first weekend that we had everybody. And it's fun as a coach to have options and it's fun to have players who know what they're talking about, who want the ball. Who are asking for the ball, who are asking to get better."
On the home crowd's energy
"The good thing is we got all these people cheering for us. So let's turn that into and into our favor. Let's feed off of their energy. Our girls on the bench were outstanding, like the way they supported our team, wouldn't have happened two years ago."
Arizona State senior setter Callie Jones
On energy from the home crowd:
"We just fed off of it and used it to our advantage. Playing at home is probably the best thing ever because you have the fans, you are at home and you know the court better than anyone. That energy that they brought tonight just fueled us the whole game. We could not have done that without our student section behind us. I think our team in general was so excited to be home because we have been gone for a whole month and it just carried through the bench and onto the court – no matter where you were you felt it, you played with it and it was awesome."
On posting the highest hitting percentage all season:
"We have been working on our chemistry the whole preseason and we finally took ownership that this is our team and this our offense and we have to do whatever we can to run it. I think we are really trusting each other on the court, which is incredible and it's translating into our games. We are clicking much better than we have. Everyone wants the ball, which is awesome. It is incredible to have hitters. I can tell you as a setter to have a hitter with every single one of them in the front say, 'give me the ball.' I am like, 'Okay, I have my options now.' I think that is what is helping us click. We are just confident in what we have and what we can do out there."
On getting the first conference win of the season:
"I wanted to cry after the game. That was one of the coolest experiences. The other was sweeping Oregon up at Oregon last year, I think. To be here and to go and sweep them (Arizona) today was just incredible. I couldn't have asked for a better home opener."
Arizona State outside hitter Ivana Jeremic
On her record performance hitting .600
"Honestly, I didn't worry about my hitting at all today, because I was obviously a passing target. So as long as I was passing well, I was doing fine. Because I know when we pass well, we can run our offense. And while focusing on passing, I guess I wasn't thinking about hitting as much which released the pressure on me."
Set One: Arizona State 25, Arizona 20
Arizona started the match with a couple of aces to put them ahead 5-2 against Arizona State. After a long break with a play under review, the Sun Devils quickly caught up and the teams battled back and forth until 16-16. Two four-point serving runs for Jeremic and six kills for Kovensky, along with five service errors and six attack errors from Arizona, pushed the Sun Devils forward to a 25-20 victory.
S1 | We love a good Canadian connection! Megan and Andrea team up for this STUFF block!!
— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) September 27, 2019
ASU leads 23-19! #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/Xr5UzCIwKc
Set Two: Arizona State 25, Arizona 16
Coming off the momentum from winning the first set, Arizona State pushed ahead to an early lead, with Arizona calling a timeout at 7-3. The Sun Devils hit an impressive 15 kills with only one error in the set. Callie Jones went on a four point service run to put the Sun Devils ahead 24-14. After letting Arizona back in for a couple points, ASU ended the set on an Andrea Mitrovic kill at 25-16.
Set Three: Arizona State 25, Arizona 19
The Sun Devils and the Wildcats battled back and forth early, tying it at 5-5. After three kills in a row by Kovensky, the Sun Devils surged ahead to take an 11-8 lead. After missed serves and critical errors by Arizona, along with five kills from both Jeremic and Kovensky, the Sun Devils finished off the match with a 25-19 victory.
S3 | Iva slams it cross court for the kill!
— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) September 27, 2019
We are tied 6-6 early here! #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/s7ZlPmsuWh
Up Next
Arizona State heads to Pauley Pavilion to face UCLA (6-4) at 12 p.m. MST on Sunday the 29th. UCLA is coming off a five-set win against rival No. 25 USC on Wednesday night.
OUTSIDE RECAP LINKS
--Jeremic, Sun Devils dominate Arizona (House of Sparky)
--ASU volleyball sweeps Arizona (State Press)
--Sun Devils open conference play with sweep over Wildcats (Cronkite Sports)