TEMPE – For the first time since 2009, No. 23 Sun Devil Volleyball swept UCLA (25-20, 25-15, 25-22) behind a balanced attack in Mullett Arena on Sunday afternoon.
Notable Stats
Quotes
Head Coach JJ Van Niel
Opening Statement
"This was a big weekend. I was really proud of the team. I thought Friday was super emotional and today could've been one of those let down matches, regardless of who you're playing. UCLA is a good team, but we were firing right out of the gate and at a really high efficiency, which has kinda been how we are winning matches. We're serving tough and siding out because we're passing well. Geli is literally another libero, she and Mary and her both had 11 digs and they keep us in system so much, it helps us decide our game. It's nice to see Rob get loose; she had 10 kills, hit over .300, which was super cool. So we just had a lot of contributions from everywhere. And again, serving was key. I think UCLA is really physical. And when they were in system, it was tough to stop them, although we were doing some nice things defensively, and that was really big for us"
On coming off five-set win to today
"I think it's just a testament to the kids. They were really focused. To be honest, yesterday in our practice, we didn't do a lot physically because of the five-setter, but we did a lot of walkthroughs. And I think they were really really engaged and focused and I was really fired up. They came out and they really were ready to play right away."
On Shannon Shields
"She worked really hard in the offseason. I think I've said it a million times, but she increased her vertical by like three inches. And teams really try to pick on her when she's in the front row. She had three blocks tonight and she gets really good quality touches. And when you have someone that can do that, it allows us to be more aggressive defensively, which we took some shots, and they worked out pretty well for us tonight."
On the third set
"We played unbelievably sloppy, we had 10 unforced errors, which is very uncharacteristic of us. Fortunately, we were defending really well. We do talk a lot about our game and it is basically just being patient. And I felt we lost some patience and they were just kind of uncharacteristic errors for us. So we'll clean it up. But I'm proud of them for coming back and winning that set."
Graduate Setter Shannon Shields
What message they want to leave after beating USC and UCLA back to back
"Don't underestimate us. After being ranked 23rd, I feel like that already put us on the map. I'm seeing a lot more people pay attention to us, but after these two wins and especially a sweep, I think we're gonna have a bigger target on our back. But I'm excited and we're gonna be on the road these next two weeks. So it's gonna be fun."
On how well the defense played and if they get tired as the rally lets longer
"I see us rise in a sense when we get all of those digs. I thought tonight was one of our best defensive match. Of course the other side is like, dang, we can't put a ball down. So, I think we rose to the top and we showed our dominance and it was good. I loved it."
On if this season feels different
"Yeah, I just feel like the chemistry is all there. Everyone's on the same page, we know what we want, everyone's working towards that goal. And I was having a blast tonight. Like I was laughing and enjoying the play, and I feel like last season, it was a little bit different with that. We are just enjoying and playing well, and obviously we're successful too so that's a little different too."
Senior Outside Hitter Roberta Robelo
What message they wanted to leave after beating USC and UCLA back to back
"We're ready. We're ready to go. We're not the same ASU team that we were last year. We're going after it. Don't come thinking that we are like last year. We are new and we are ready to go."
On if this season feels different
"So we play very clear and very clean, like everyone understands what's going on. We don't have doubts. When they're two or three points ahead, we don't stress out. And our connection is very strong. We're all on the same page. It's really, really good."
Set One: ASU 25, UCLA 20
Strong serving from Cyr got the Sun Devils off on the right foot, jumping out to a 5-1 lead. A couple of kills from the Bruins got them within two, but a 5-1 run pushed the Devils' lead up to 12-6. UCLA scored four in a row, forcing an ASU timeout up 15-12. The teams went back and forth until Arizona State pulled away with a 4-1 run made up of points from four different Sun Devils, making it 24-19. A kill from Shields won the set, 25-20.
Set Two: ASU 25, UCLA 15
Like the first set, Arizona State jumped out to an early lead to start the second frame. Back-to-back blocks from Jeter and Levinska made it 5-1 for the Sun Devils. Cyr's second ace of the day pushed the advantage to 9-3. ASU scored three in a row, one of which was a kill from Jeter to get Shields her 2,000th career assist, to make it 17-9. Rabelo's kill got the team to set point, 24-13. UCLA tacked on a couple of points, but an error from the visitors ended the set, 25-15.
Set Three: ASU 25, UCLA 22
After a quick 3-0 lead from ASU, UCLA responded and got within one, 7-6. Four in a row for the Bruins gave them the lead, 10-8, and forced a Sun Devil timeout. Jeter was part of three-straight blocks to help ASU get back in the lead, up 18-15. Following another kill from Jeter to extend the lead to four, UCLA responded with three-straight points, including two aces, to get within one, 22-21. A tip kill from Levinska completed the sweep, winning the set 25-22.
Up Next
Arizona State is on the road for two-straight weekends, starting with a trip to Oregon State and No. 5 Oregon next weekend.
Notable Stats
- Arizona State improved to 17-1 (5-1 Pac-12) on the year. The win total is the sixth-best ASU has had this century, the highest since 2019.
- ASU beat UCLA (9-7, 1-5 Pac-12) for the first time since 2021, which was also at home. This was the first sweep over the Bruins since 2009.
- The Sun Devils swept the weekend against the LA schools for the first time since 2010. It is only the third time in program history that ASU has beaten both USC and UCLA in the same weekend.
- For the 11th time this season, Arizona State won in straight sets. The team is already tied for the fifth-highest number of sweeps in a season in program history, the most being 15.
- Senior opposite Marta Levinska led all players in kills with 14 on the day. It was her 16th match of the year in double figures. She also added four blocks, five digs and two aces.
- Pacing the offense, graduate setter Shannon Shields had 30 assists to surpass 2,000 career assists. She added seven digs, three blocks and three kills.
- Senior outside hitter Roberta Rabelo was the other Sun Devil with double-digit kills, earning 10 for her seventh match in double figures this season.
- On defense, two Sun Devils reached double-digit digs. Both Mary Shroll and Geli Cyr notched 11 digs to lead the team. Cyr also added six kills and Shroll tied her season high in assists with six.
- At the net, senior middle blocker Claire Jeter had a match-high six blocks to go with her six kills.
Quotes
Head Coach JJ Van Niel
Opening Statement
"This was a big weekend. I was really proud of the team. I thought Friday was super emotional and today could've been one of those let down matches, regardless of who you're playing. UCLA is a good team, but we were firing right out of the gate and at a really high efficiency, which has kinda been how we are winning matches. We're serving tough and siding out because we're passing well. Geli is literally another libero, she and Mary and her both had 11 digs and they keep us in system so much, it helps us decide our game. It's nice to see Rob get loose; she had 10 kills, hit over .300, which was super cool. So we just had a lot of contributions from everywhere. And again, serving was key. I think UCLA is really physical. And when they were in system, it was tough to stop them, although we were doing some nice things defensively, and that was really big for us"
On coming off five-set win to today
"I think it's just a testament to the kids. They were really focused. To be honest, yesterday in our practice, we didn't do a lot physically because of the five-setter, but we did a lot of walkthroughs. And I think they were really really engaged and focused and I was really fired up. They came out and they really were ready to play right away."
On Shannon Shields
"She worked really hard in the offseason. I think I've said it a million times, but she increased her vertical by like three inches. And teams really try to pick on her when she's in the front row. She had three blocks tonight and she gets really good quality touches. And when you have someone that can do that, it allows us to be more aggressive defensively, which we took some shots, and they worked out pretty well for us tonight."
On the third set
"We played unbelievably sloppy, we had 10 unforced errors, which is very uncharacteristic of us. Fortunately, we were defending really well. We do talk a lot about our game and it is basically just being patient. And I felt we lost some patience and they were just kind of uncharacteristic errors for us. So we'll clean it up. But I'm proud of them for coming back and winning that set."
Defending Tempe ??
— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) October 8, 2023
Beat both LA schools at home for the first time since 2010??#ForksUp pic.twitter.com/cKBtgh9GsD
Graduate Setter Shannon Shields
What message they want to leave after beating USC and UCLA back to back
"Don't underestimate us. After being ranked 23rd, I feel like that already put us on the map. I'm seeing a lot more people pay attention to us, but after these two wins and especially a sweep, I think we're gonna have a bigger target on our back. But I'm excited and we're gonna be on the road these next two weeks. So it's gonna be fun."
On how well the defense played and if they get tired as the rally lets longer
"I see us rise in a sense when we get all of those digs. I thought tonight was one of our best defensive match. Of course the other side is like, dang, we can't put a ball down. So, I think we rose to the top and we showed our dominance and it was good. I loved it."
On if this season feels different
"Yeah, I just feel like the chemistry is all there. Everyone's on the same page, we know what we want, everyone's working towards that goal. And I was having a blast tonight. Like I was laughing and enjoying the play, and I feel like last season, it was a little bit different with that. We are just enjoying and playing well, and obviously we're successful too so that's a little different too."
Senior Outside Hitter Roberta Robelo
What message they wanted to leave after beating USC and UCLA back to back
"We're ready. We're ready to go. We're not the same ASU team that we were last year. We're going after it. Don't come thinking that we are like last year. We are new and we are ready to go."
On if this season feels different
"So we play very clear and very clean, like everyone understands what's going on. We don't have doubts. When they're two or three points ahead, we don't stress out. And our connection is very strong. We're all on the same page. It's really, really good."
Set One: ASU 25, UCLA 20
Strong serving from Cyr got the Sun Devils off on the right foot, jumping out to a 5-1 lead. A couple of kills from the Bruins got them within two, but a 5-1 run pushed the Devils' lead up to 12-6. UCLA scored four in a row, forcing an ASU timeout up 15-12. The teams went back and forth until Arizona State pulled away with a 4-1 run made up of points from four different Sun Devils, making it 24-19. A kill from Shields won the set, 25-20.
Set Two: ASU 25, UCLA 15
Like the first set, Arizona State jumped out to an early lead to start the second frame. Back-to-back blocks from Jeter and Levinska made it 5-1 for the Sun Devils. Cyr's second ace of the day pushed the advantage to 9-3. ASU scored three in a row, one of which was a kill from Jeter to get Shields her 2,000th career assist, to make it 17-9. Rabelo's kill got the team to set point, 24-13. UCLA tacked on a couple of points, but an error from the visitors ended the set, 25-15.
S2 | Out here HUSTLING ??
— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) October 8, 2023
???: ASU Live Stream#ForksUp pic.twitter.com/wWYgVcDE7l
Set Three: ASU 25, UCLA 22
After a quick 3-0 lead from ASU, UCLA responded and got within one, 7-6. Four in a row for the Bruins gave them the lead, 10-8, and forced a Sun Devil timeout. Jeter was part of three-straight blocks to help ASU get back in the lead, up 18-15. Following another kill from Jeter to extend the lead to four, UCLA responded with three-straight points, including two aces, to get within one, 22-21. A tip kill from Levinska completed the sweep, winning the set 25-22.
Up Next
Arizona State is on the road for two-straight weekends, starting with a trip to Oregon State and No. 5 Oregon next weekend.