LOUISVILLE – Senior Jada Burse had a total of 31 kills on the day as Arizona State volleyball split its matches on Friday at the Fleur De Lis Tournament, falling to Western Kentucky 3-1 and defeating Tennessee Tech 3-0.
Quotes
Arizona State head coach Sanja Tomasevic
"With all of the adversity that we have been hit with lately, from injuries to illnesses, I am hoping that we are finding our groove with the lineup that we have. We didn't start the day great, but we ended on a good note. I hope we can carry this to tomorrow afternoon to finish the tournament strong."
Match One: Western Kentucky 3, Arizona State 1
ASU had a rough start to the tournament after dropping the first match to Western Kentucky (4-0). The Sun Devils won the first set and lost leads in the second and third sets to ultimately lead to losing the match 3-1 (21-25, 25-21, 27-25, 25-18).
Notable Stats
Arizona State opened the match with a 7-1 run after losing the first two points. A stuff block from Burse and Megan Beedie put the Sun Devils up 7-3, forcing an early timeout from the Lady Toppers. Jones, setting all the way around for the first time this season, took advantage of being in the front row by dumping the ball to push ASU's lead to 18-13. A kill from Mitrovic finished off the set for the Sun Devils, taking it 25-21.
Set Two: Western Kentucky 25, Arizona State 21
Mitrovic had three-straight kills for ASU early in the second set, making it 8-4 after the third one down the line. WKU responded with three in a row of their own, but Arizona State then went on a 4-0 run to push it to 12-7. Behind three kills from Burse, the Sun Devils put together a 6-1 run to make it 18-10. The Lady Toppers fought back, scoring eight in a row to tie the set at 20-20. WKU would complete the comeback, winning 25-21.
Set Three: Western Kentucky 27, Arizona State 25
The Sun Devils jumped out to a 4-0 lead early before allowing the Lady Toppers to tie it up at 5-5. A 7-1 run and four kills in a row from Mitrovic created some separation, giving ASU the 13-7 lead. Three kills from Burse powered a 4-0 run to push the lead to 18-9. Like the second set, however, WKU came back to tie it at 20-20. It took extra points, but the Sun Devils fell short again, 27-25.
Set Four: Western Kentucky 25, Arizona State 18
Western Kentucky kept the momentum to lead early, 13-8, forcing a timeout from ASU. Burse put down two-straight kills to make it 13-10, but the Sun Devils could not get any big runs together. The gap got even bigger after WKU had a 6-0 run, finally stopped by a kill from Beedie. A 3-1 run for ASU held off Western Kentucky, but the Sun Devils could not come back, dropping the set 25-18.
Match Two: Arizona State 3, Tennessee Tech 0
The Sun Devils bounced back in the second match, earning their first sweep of the season. ASU defeated Tennessee Tech (0-5) in straight sets (25-22, 25-15, 25-15).
Notable Stats
With Mitrovic serving, the Sun Devils started the match with a 6-0 run that included three kills from Burse. A kill from Nicole Peterson ended three-straight points for TTU, making it 10-6 in favor of ASU. The Golden Eagles scored four in a row to get within two before Burse killed the ball to push the lead up to 16-13. Well-place tips from Mitrovic and Burse got the Sun Devils to 23-18, but their opponents made it interesting with a 3-0 run. Ultimately, Burse put down the hammer, killing the ball on set point to win 25-22.
Set Two: Arizona State 25, Tennessee Tech 15
The second set was all ASU, start to finish. The Sun Devils put together four in a row early on, capped off by an overpass kill from Isanovic, to make it 6-2. After a 5-1 run already created more space ahead of Tennessee Tech, Arizona State scored seven in a row with Beedie at the service line to push the lead all the way to 19-6. The Golden Eagles scored five in a row late, but the Sun Devils answered with four-straight to win the set, 25-15.
Set Three: Arizona State 25, Tennessee Tech 15
Arizona State held onto the momentum for the third set, jumping out to a 6-2 lead early. A pair of blocks from Beedie made it 9-4 in favor of ASU. Five in a row pushed the lead to 15-6 and the Sun Devils never looked back. A block finished the set, 25-15, and the match.
Up Next
Arizona State will play its final game of the Fleur De Lis Tournament on Saturday against No. 24 Louisville, the first ranked opponent of the season for the Sun Devils. The match will begin at 12:30 p.m. MST and will be streamed live on the ACC Network.
Quotes
Arizona State head coach Sanja Tomasevic
"With all of the adversity that we have been hit with lately, from injuries to illnesses, I am hoping that we are finding our groove with the lineup that we have. We didn't start the day great, but we ended on a good note. I hope we can carry this to tomorrow afternoon to finish the tournament strong."
Match One: Western Kentucky 3, Arizona State 1
ASU had a rough start to the tournament after dropping the first match to Western Kentucky (4-0). The Sun Devils won the first set and lost leads in the second and third sets to ultimately lead to losing the match 3-1 (21-25, 25-21, 27-25, 25-18).
Notable Stats
- Andrea Mitrovic had her first double-double as a Sun Devil with 19 kills and 13 digs. She also had a .326 hitting percentage, two aces and one block.
- Courtney Leffel extended her streak of matches with double-digit digs to nine after earning 24 digs in the match.
- Two other Sun Devils earned double-digit kills. Jada Burse had 16 kills, a new season high, and Iman Isanovic had 10, her first time in double-digits.
- Callie Jones led the team in assists with 37, her highest number of assists as a Sun Devil.
Arizona State opened the match with a 7-1 run after losing the first two points. A stuff block from Burse and Megan Beedie put the Sun Devils up 7-3, forcing an early timeout from the Lady Toppers. Jones, setting all the way around for the first time this season, took advantage of being in the front row by dumping the ball to push ASU's lead to 18-13. A kill from Mitrovic finished off the set for the Sun Devils, taking it 25-21.
S1 | Callie Jones with the sneaky dump! ??
— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) September 6, 2019
Sun Devils are up 18-13! #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/Ulmi6HlmdN
Set Two: Western Kentucky 25, Arizona State 21
Mitrovic had three-straight kills for ASU early in the second set, making it 8-4 after the third one down the line. WKU responded with three in a row of their own, but Arizona State then went on a 4-0 run to push it to 12-7. Behind three kills from Burse, the Sun Devils put together a 6-1 run to make it 18-10. The Lady Toppers fought back, scoring eight in a row to tie the set at 20-20. WKU would complete the comeback, winning 25-21.
Set Three: Western Kentucky 27, Arizona State 25
The Sun Devils jumped out to a 4-0 lead early before allowing the Lady Toppers to tie it up at 5-5. A 7-1 run and four kills in a row from Mitrovic created some separation, giving ASU the 13-7 lead. Three kills from Burse powered a 4-0 run to push the lead to 18-9. Like the second set, however, WKU came back to tie it at 20-20. It took extra points, but the Sun Devils fell short again, 27-25.
Set Four: Western Kentucky 25, Arizona State 18
Western Kentucky kept the momentum to lead early, 13-8, forcing a timeout from ASU. Burse put down two-straight kills to make it 13-10, but the Sun Devils could not get any big runs together. The gap got even bigger after WKU had a 6-0 run, finally stopped by a kill from Beedie. A 3-1 run for ASU held off Western Kentucky, but the Sun Devils could not come back, dropping the set 25-18.
Match Two: Arizona State 3, Tennessee Tech 0
The Sun Devils bounced back in the second match, earning their first sweep of the season. ASU defeated Tennessee Tech (0-5) in straight sets (25-22, 25-15, 25-15).
Notable Stats
- Senior outside hitter Jada Burse led all players in kills with 15, her highest total as a Sun Devil.
- Freshman Iman Isanovic reached double-digit kills with 10 for the second-straight match, as well as earning four blocks and five digs.
- Courtney Leffel kept the streak of double-digit digs alive, improving to 10 after earning 21 digs in the match.
- The libero was not the only one with digs in double figures. Andrea Mitrovic chipped in 14 to go with her nine kills, and Callie Jones had 11 digs to go with her team-high 19 assists for a double-double.
- Avital Jaloba earned a career high in kills in the win with five.
With Mitrovic serving, the Sun Devils started the match with a 6-0 run that included three kills from Burse. A kill from Nicole Peterson ended three-straight points for TTU, making it 10-6 in favor of ASU. The Golden Eagles scored four in a row to get within two before Burse killed the ball to push the lead up to 16-13. Well-place tips from Mitrovic and Burse got the Sun Devils to 23-18, but their opponents made it interesting with a 3-0 run. Ultimately, Burse put down the hammer, killing the ball on set point to win 25-22.
Set Two: Arizona State 25, Tennessee Tech 15
The second set was all ASU, start to finish. The Sun Devils put together four in a row early on, capped off by an overpass kill from Isanovic, to make it 6-2. After a 5-1 run already created more space ahead of Tennessee Tech, Arizona State scored seven in a row with Beedie at the service line to push the lead all the way to 19-6. The Golden Eagles scored five in a row late, but the Sun Devils answered with four-straight to win the set, 25-15.
S3 | Jada Burse is feeling it!! This kill is her 15th of the day!
— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) September 6, 2019
ASU is up 17-8! #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/dyrFJGXklz
Set Three: Arizona State 25, Tennessee Tech 15
Arizona State held onto the momentum for the third set, jumping out to a 6-2 lead early. A pair of blocks from Beedie made it 9-4 in favor of ASU. Five in a row pushed the lead to 15-6 and the Sun Devils never looked back. A block finished the set, 25-15, and the match.
Up Next
Arizona State will play its final game of the Fleur De Lis Tournament on Saturday against No. 24 Louisville, the first ranked opponent of the season for the Sun Devils. The match will begin at 12:30 p.m. MST and will be streamed live on the ACC Network.