TEMPE, Ariz. -- Extending the win streak to four in a row, Sun Devil Volleyball had three reach triple figures in kills in a sweep over Cal (25-15, 25-18, 25-17) at home on Friday night to complete the season sweep of the Golden Bears.
Notable Stats
Arizona State Head coach Sanja Tomasevic
Opening Statement
"Fun night for us. It is fun to see our girls get into a groove and gain a little confidence. We are playing Sun Devil Volleyball no matter who is on the other side of the net. That is the goal that we talked about. Some of Cal's best players were hurt, but what I am proud of is we still took care of our side of the net."
On implementing Geli Cyr more into the offense
"She plays way above her age. She is very smart and can see the block well. She has a toolbox that even some of our older players don't even have. It is fun to see her get out and compete now that her shoulder is healthier. We still haven't seen the best of her yet. It is fun to see how calm and poised she was out there, but she is still a freshman that gets nervous. She is going to be an amazing addition for us going forward, not just this season, but beyond."
On picking up the sweep
"What is super fun for me to see is the things that we work on in practice coming out in a game. They start celebrating that and practice becomes a lot more fun because they have a chance to rehearse something that they are going to do on a gameday. I am not surprised it was 3-0, we played some good volleyball today."
On keeping the momentum going the rest of the season
"We have to keep on getting better. We have another practice tomorrow and us coaches are going to watch film tonight. See what we need to get better at because we have a really good team coming in Sunday. We have to keep on improving and keep on building them up. Stanford is beatable. If we take care of our side of the net like we are supposed to do, we will give them hell at least."
Freshman outside hitter Geli Cyr
On aggression in first set and becoming more comfortable on hitting
"I used to be very nervous when I started playing because I'm coming off of my injury and everything, but I feel so much more comfortable out there now and just am feeling very chill in my element. Everyone around me is super supportive and just focusing on one point at a time is all there really is to it."
On the big run in the third set
"Once we get into a groove, it all just comes easier and everything falls into place much better. I think that's the thing, as long as we keep a good serve and pass, the game's all about that. So just staying chill and doing the fundamentals we know how to do."
Sophomore setter Ella Snyder
On setting up hitters for productivity on offense
"Honestly, with each hitter that I have on the court, they're different players and adjusting to each hitter is really fun and an experience. With high assists, it always feels good, but we can always do better on what we need to work on. I'm super excited for tomorrow and this weekend on Sunday to bring it again and get my hitters in a good position and rhythm."
On team mentality during win streak and for the rest of the season
"Earlier in the season we knew we could do it, we just needed to execute. After we got over that little hump, we knew we were a good volleyball team and we knew that we could battle with each team and take care of business like we did tonight. I think our mindsets have changed and our confidence has changed. We want to beat Stanford and we're ready to beat Stanford, so each day at practice has been dedicated to this weekend and continuing our winning streak. It's a team sport, so everyone in the gym is working hard, it's super fun to be with everyone and all of the coaches, too."
Set One: Arizona State 25, Cal 15
An ace by Isanovic opened an early lead for the Sun Devils in the opening set, 6-1. A 4-0 run that saw a kill from Claudia Stahlke and errors by Cal kept ASU ahead, 13-6. Cyr's sixth kill of the set pushed the Sun Devils' lead up to nine, leading to a timeout by the Bears. An Isanovic kill brought ASU's lead up to double digits, 23-13, and the Sun Devils would take the set on another kill from Isanovic, 25-15. ASU outhit Cal .407 to .091 in the first set.
Set Two: Arizona State 25, Cal 18
A kill from Levinska sparked a 6-0 run to open the set for the Sun Devils. A 7-0 run by the Golden Bears that included four aces gave them an 8-7 lead. An ace by Ureña and an error by the Bears put the Sun Devils back up, 12-9. ASU took a 15-11 lead going into the media timeout. A kill by Stahlke and an ace by Isanovic made it 18-12, causing Cal to call a timeout. Consecutive blocks and a kill by Jeter gave the Sun Devils the second set, 25-18.
Set Three: Arizona State 25, Cal 17
A kill by Levinska gave ASU the early 5-4 lead in the third set. The Sun Devils went on an 8-0 run with Jeter at the service line to take a nine-point lead, 15-6. An ace by Levinska pushed ASU's lead to double figures, 22-12, which led to the Bears' second timeout of the set. Four in a row by Cal cut its deficit to six, 22-16, but a kill by Andi Kreiling stopped the run. An ace by Cooper secured the set and match for ASU, 25-17.
Up Next
Arizona State volleyball will take on No. 15 Stanford in its next match at Desert Financial Arena on Sunday at 1p.m. MST. The match can be viewed on the ASU Live Stream.
Notable Stats
- Arizona State (12-10, 5-6 Pac-12) opened its second half of Pac-12 play against Cal (7-15, 0-11 Pac-12). This is ASU's fourth win in a row over Cal and the three-set win for the Sun Devils since September 11 against UC Davis.
- This is ASU's second four-match winning streak of the season.
- Freshman outside hitter Geli Cyr reached double figures in kills for the fourth match in a row and the fifth time this season. She led all players and reached her career-high with 14 kills while hitting .385, also a personal best. She added six digs as well.
- The pin hitter duo of Marta Levinska and Iman Isanovic were the other Sun Devils to reach double digits in kills with 11 and 10, respectively. Isanovic tied her season high in service aces with four, while Levinska had a career-high .550 hitting percentage.
- Sophomore setter Ella Snyder notched 33 assists and 13 digs, making Friday's sweep her 11th double-double of the season. Both totals led all players. She also added two blocks.
- A couple of defensive specialists came off of the bench and delivered at the service line. Sophomore Alasia Ureña had her first ace of the season in the second set for ASU. Freshman Meadow Cooper served an ace to win the match in the third set.
Arizona State Head coach Sanja Tomasevic
Opening Statement
"Fun night for us. It is fun to see our girls get into a groove and gain a little confidence. We are playing Sun Devil Volleyball no matter who is on the other side of the net. That is the goal that we talked about. Some of Cal's best players were hurt, but what I am proud of is we still took care of our side of the net."
On implementing Geli Cyr more into the offense
"She plays way above her age. She is very smart and can see the block well. She has a toolbox that even some of our older players don't even have. It is fun to see her get out and compete now that her shoulder is healthier. We still haven't seen the best of her yet. It is fun to see how calm and poised she was out there, but she is still a freshman that gets nervous. She is going to be an amazing addition for us going forward, not just this season, but beyond."
On picking up the sweep
"What is super fun for me to see is the things that we work on in practice coming out in a game. They start celebrating that and practice becomes a lot more fun because they have a chance to rehearse something that they are going to do on a gameday. I am not surprised it was 3-0, we played some good volleyball today."
On keeping the momentum going the rest of the season
"We have to keep on getting better. We have another practice tomorrow and us coaches are going to watch film tonight. See what we need to get better at because we have a really good team coming in Sunday. We have to keep on improving and keep on building them up. Stanford is beatable. If we take care of our side of the net like we are supposed to do, we will give them hell at least."
How sweep it is ?? pic.twitter.com/z8dg866EsP
— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) October 30, 2021
Freshman outside hitter Geli Cyr
On aggression in first set and becoming more comfortable on hitting
"I used to be very nervous when I started playing because I'm coming off of my injury and everything, but I feel so much more comfortable out there now and just am feeling very chill in my element. Everyone around me is super supportive and just focusing on one point at a time is all there really is to it."
On the big run in the third set
"Once we get into a groove, it all just comes easier and everything falls into place much better. I think that's the thing, as long as we keep a good serve and pass, the game's all about that. So just staying chill and doing the fundamentals we know how to do."
Sophomore setter Ella Snyder
On setting up hitters for productivity on offense
"Honestly, with each hitter that I have on the court, they're different players and adjusting to each hitter is really fun and an experience. With high assists, it always feels good, but we can always do better on what we need to work on. I'm super excited for tomorrow and this weekend on Sunday to bring it again and get my hitters in a good position and rhythm."
On team mentality during win streak and for the rest of the season
"Earlier in the season we knew we could do it, we just needed to execute. After we got over that little hump, we knew we were a good volleyball team and we knew that we could battle with each team and take care of business like we did tonight. I think our mindsets have changed and our confidence has changed. We want to beat Stanford and we're ready to beat Stanford, so each day at practice has been dedicated to this weekend and continuing our winning streak. It's a team sport, so everyone in the gym is working hard, it's super fun to be with everyone and all of the coaches, too."
Set One: Arizona State 25, Cal 15
An ace by Isanovic opened an early lead for the Sun Devils in the opening set, 6-1. A 4-0 run that saw a kill from Claudia Stahlke and errors by Cal kept ASU ahead, 13-6. Cyr's sixth kill of the set pushed the Sun Devils' lead up to nine, leading to a timeout by the Bears. An Isanovic kill brought ASU's lead up to double digits, 23-13, and the Sun Devils would take the set on another kill from Isanovic, 25-15. ASU outhit Cal .407 to .091 in the first set.
S1 | WHAT. A. PLAY. Ella with the one-handed set for an absolute BOMB from @CyrAngelique ????
— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) October 30, 2021
??: @Pac12Network (https://t.co/W0qL9Pn5aj) pic.twitter.com/7rngNxlPCr
Set Two: Arizona State 25, Cal 18
A kill from Levinska sparked a 6-0 run to open the set for the Sun Devils. A 7-0 run by the Golden Bears that included four aces gave them an 8-7 lead. An ace by Ureña and an error by the Bears put the Sun Devils back up, 12-9. ASU took a 15-11 lead going into the media timeout. A kill by Stahlke and an ace by Isanovic made it 18-12, causing Cal to call a timeout. Consecutive blocks and a kill by Jeter gave the Sun Devils the second set, 25-18.
S2 | HECK of a save from Annika and Iman pounds it sharp cross for the kill ??
— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) October 30, 2021
??: @Pac12Network (https://t.co/W0qL9Pn5aj) pic.twitter.com/bFqeyisgBI
Set Three: Arizona State 25, Cal 17
A kill by Levinska gave ASU the early 5-4 lead in the third set. The Sun Devils went on an 8-0 run with Jeter at the service line to take a nine-point lead, 15-6. An ace by Levinska pushed ASU's lead to double figures, 22-12, which led to the Bears' second timeout of the set. Four in a row by Cal cut its deficit to six, 22-16, but a kill by Andi Kreiling stopped the run. An ace by Cooper secured the set and match for ASU, 25-17.
How about @meadow_cooper with the ace for the win??? ?? pic.twitter.com/jmcc0z8bms
— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) October 30, 2021
Up Next
Arizona State volleyball will take on No. 15 Stanford in its next match at Desert Financial Arena on Sunday at 1p.m. MST. The match can be viewed on the ASU Live Stream.