TEMPE, Ariz. – Despite winning the first set, Arizona State volleyball could not complete the upset against No.10 Washington, falling in four sets (25-17, 22-25, 23-25, 19-25) at Desert Financial Arena on Sunday afternoon.
Notable Stats
Arizona State associate head coach Carlos Moreno
"When you play a team like that, you have to execute all the time. I think we started out the match aggressive and we were doing what we were supposed to, we followed the game plan, and then we won (the first set). We had a really good first set. But when you play against a team like that, again, you have to execute all the time."
On making adjustments for next week
"We definitely had some overpasses that we weren't planning on. The game is better played off the net, passing and defense. So that's something we have to focus on this week. Those adjustments are hopefully easy to make. We only have two more days to prepare for USC so those things - setting and passing, playing the game off the net - are going to be two of our focuses for this week for sure."
Junior outside hitter Andrea Mitrovic
On the critical third set
"I think we should've won that set. We were down by so much and (Nicole Peterson's four aces) brought us within reach. I think it was tied or we were up by one and we just didn't execute in the end. I definitely think that match could have been ours."
Senior outside hitter Ivana Jeremic
On not capitalizing after winning the first set
"It's hard. Washington is a ranked team. We know that even though we won the first set, it's not over. They're not going to just give it to us. They're going to fight back. So we were aware that we played well for a set, but we were supposed to come even stronger the second set instead of falling down, which we didn't. I think that's our problem. We just need to stay consistent as the sets go on."
On finishing strong through the rest of the regular season
"This is going to be our first time playing USC this year. I believe they are running the same system so it's expected to be a really close game. It's just going to be a matter of execution and patience, so that's going to be a good match and really important for us. But I also think that we learned how to play under pressure throughout the season. In Oregon, we beat both teams in five sets even though we knew we needed those wins just to be at .500 to be eligible to go to the postseason. We will take the lessons we learned in those wins to finish the regular season strong."
Set One: Arizona State 25, Washington 17
It was a battle from the start. Arizona State started off on top at 1-0 with a Kovensky kill but went back and forth with five lead changes at the start of the set. The Sun Devils took over the lead at 12-11 and extended it with a four-point service run from Jones to put Arizona State at 17-12. A balanced attack from the Sun Devil offense, boasting a .314 hitting average, along with a strong five-point service run from Peterson led to Washington errors. Back-to-back blocks from Mitrovic and Boyd, along with a Boyd overpass kill finished off the Huskies 25-17.
Set Two: Washington 25, Arizona State 22
Arizona State started on fire, with immediate first-ball kills that led to a 4-1 ASU lead. The Huskies battled back with strong defense, leading to seven lead changes at the start of the set, until the Sun Devils took back the lead at 14-13. Jeremic had a monster performance, with eight digs, five kills and an .833 hitting average in this set alone. A huge block from the Huskies tied the set at 18 and an out of rotation call on the Sun Devils gave Washington the lead at 19-18. The Sun Devils tied it back up at 22, but a Washington ace and two kills pushed the Huskies to victory at 25-22.
Set Three: Washington 25, Arizona State 23
The third set started off again at a back and forth battle between the Sun Devils and the Huskies. Washington took the lead at 5-4 with an Arizona State setting error and maintained it for the majority of the set, boasting a .323 hitting average and three team blocks. A Mitrovic kill pulled the Sun Devils within the gap at 18-15, and four-straight aces from Peterson gave Arizona State the lead at 20-18. The teams battled back and forth, but Washington pulled out the win 25-23.
Set Four: Washington 25, Arizona State 19
The final set of the match was dominated by the Washington offense. The Huskies put up 20 kills with a .528 hitting average. The teams battled back and forth at the start, but two setter dumps in a row from the Huskies led to a 9-7 Washington lead. Arizona State fought back, with four kills from Mitrovic in the set and three team aces, but unfortunately it wasn't enough. Three Husky kills in a row brought Washington to a 25-19 victory over the Sun Devils.
Up Next
Arizona State faces off against USC at Desert Financial Arena on Wednesday, November 28 at 5 p.m. MST for the final home match of the season.
Notable Stats
- Arizona State (16-13, 8-10 Pac-12) wass defeated by No. 10 Washington (23-5, 14-4 Pac-12) in four sets. This loss snapped a three-match winning streak for the Sun Devils.
- The Sun Devils' nine service aces was the highest total of the season against Pac-12 opponents. Senior setter Nicole Peterson achieved a career-high five aces in the match, with four of them coming back-to-back in set three. Junior outside hitter Claire Kovensky contributed three aces and the last one came from freshman outside hitter Iman Isanovic.
- Junior outside hitter Andrea Mitrovic put down a team-high 15 kills with a .302 hitting percentage.
- Senior outside hitter Ivana Jeremic achieved a double-double with 13 digs and 10 kills, along with an impressive .400 hitting average. It was her fourth double-double of the year.
- Peterson narrowly missed a double-double with a team-high 24 assists, eight digs along with her career-high five aces.
- Senior setter Callie Jones achieved a double-double with 12 digs and 11 assists, her sixth of the season.
- Senior libero Courtney Leffel led the match with 16 digs. This is the eighth match in a row for Leffel with double-digit digs.
- Freshman middle blocker Kennedi Boyd produced a match-high .455 hitting average with six kills and a team-high four blocks.
Arizona State associate head coach Carlos Moreno
"When you play a team like that, you have to execute all the time. I think we started out the match aggressive and we were doing what we were supposed to, we followed the game plan, and then we won (the first set). We had a really good first set. But when you play against a team like that, again, you have to execute all the time."
On making adjustments for next week
"We definitely had some overpasses that we weren't planning on. The game is better played off the net, passing and defense. So that's something we have to focus on this week. Those adjustments are hopefully easy to make. We only have two more days to prepare for USC so those things - setting and passing, playing the game off the net - are going to be two of our focuses for this week for sure."
Junior outside hitter Andrea Mitrovic
On the critical third set
"I think we should've won that set. We were down by so much and (Nicole Peterson's four aces) brought us within reach. I think it was tied or we were up by one and we just didn't execute in the end. I definitely think that match could have been ours."
Senior outside hitter Ivana Jeremic
On not capitalizing after winning the first set
"It's hard. Washington is a ranked team. We know that even though we won the first set, it's not over. They're not going to just give it to us. They're going to fight back. So we were aware that we played well for a set, but we were supposed to come even stronger the second set instead of falling down, which we didn't. I think that's our problem. We just need to stay consistent as the sets go on."
On finishing strong through the rest of the regular season
"This is going to be our first time playing USC this year. I believe they are running the same system so it's expected to be a really close game. It's just going to be a matter of execution and patience, so that's going to be a good match and really important for us. But I also think that we learned how to play under pressure throughout the season. In Oregon, we beat both teams in five sets even though we knew we needed those wins just to be at .500 to be eligible to go to the postseason. We will take the lessons we learned in those wins to finish the regular season strong."
Set One: Arizona State 25, Washington 17
It was a battle from the start. Arizona State started off on top at 1-0 with a Kovensky kill but went back and forth with five lead changes at the start of the set. The Sun Devils took over the lead at 12-11 and extended it with a four-point service run from Jones to put Arizona State at 17-12. A balanced attack from the Sun Devil offense, boasting a .314 hitting average, along with a strong five-point service run from Peterson led to Washington errors. Back-to-back blocks from Mitrovic and Boyd, along with a Boyd overpass kill finished off the Huskies 25-17.
Set Two: Washington 25, Arizona State 22
Arizona State started on fire, with immediate first-ball kills that led to a 4-1 ASU lead. The Huskies battled back with strong defense, leading to seven lead changes at the start of the set, until the Sun Devils took back the lead at 14-13. Jeremic had a monster performance, with eight digs, five kills and an .833 hitting average in this set alone. A huge block from the Huskies tied the set at 18 and an out of rotation call on the Sun Devils gave Washington the lead at 19-18. The Sun Devils tied it back up at 22, but a Washington ace and two kills pushed the Huskies to victory at 25-22.
Set Three: Washington 25, Arizona State 23
The third set started off again at a back and forth battle between the Sun Devils and the Huskies. Washington took the lead at 5-4 with an Arizona State setting error and maintained it for the majority of the set, boasting a .323 hitting average and three team blocks. A Mitrovic kill pulled the Sun Devils within the gap at 18-15, and four-straight aces from Peterson gave Arizona State the lead at 20-18. The teams battled back and forth, but Washington pulled out the win 25-23.
Set Four: Washington 25, Arizona State 19
The final set of the match was dominated by the Washington offense. The Huskies put up 20 kills with a .528 hitting average. The teams battled back and forth at the start, but two setter dumps in a row from the Huskies led to a 9-7 Washington lead. Arizona State fought back, with four kills from Mitrovic in the set and three team aces, but unfortunately it wasn't enough. Three Husky kills in a row brought Washington to a 25-19 victory over the Sun Devils.
Up Next
Arizona State faces off against USC at Desert Financial Arena on Wednesday, November 28 at 5 p.m. MST for the final home match of the season.