TEMPE – With Marta Levinska notching 20-plus kills for the third-straight match, No. 17 Sun Devil Volleyball beat the Utah Utes in a sweep (25-23, 27-25, 25-17) Saturday night in Desert Financial Arena.
Notable Stats
24+ WINS FOR SUN DEVIL VOLLEYBALL
1982: 31-16
1986: 27-7
2023: 24-3
1980: 24-17
12+ PAC-12 WINS FOR SUN DEVIL VOLLEYBALL
1993: 13-5 (T2nd)
1986: 13-5 (3rd)
2023: 12-3
BEST PAC-12/10 FINISH FOR SUN DEVIL VOLLEYBALL
1993: 13-5 (T2nd)
1986: 13-5 (3rd)
1995: 11-7 (T4th)
1994: 11-7 (T4th)
1992: 11-7 (4th)
1999: 10-8 (5th)
2000: 9-9 (T5th)
Quotes
Arizona State Head Coach JJ Van Niel
Opening Statement:
"I think this is just a nice opportunity for us to battle through a little bit of adversity. Obviously, Maddie (McLaughlin) went down, so Olivia had to step in and did a nice job for us. (With Claire being sick) I think it was a good opportunity for us to just kind of deal with a little adversity. Honestly, Utah was doing a great job those first couple of sets who were serving really tough. We didn't pass very well and kind of scrapped out wins at the end, which is great. I think anytime you can maybe not play the way you're used to playing and still pull out a win in a set is really, really good. Then the third set, I thought we really, did a nice job kind of executing the things we normally do. We passed much better and we really served tough."
On still taking the win after having fewer wins and kills than Utah:
"We just have to play our game. I thought they played really, really well. They were fighting like crazy. They were digging a lot of balls. I think we were putting some pressure on some situations they were in, some tough situations, and made some errors. Volleyball is kind of a weird sport, you know, as you see, frequently you can lose in a bunch of categories and still win, win all the sets like we did tonight. It's good. We just kept battling and playing our game."
On Marta Levinska:
"In volleyball, you don't have the record that we have, you don't have the seasons that you typically have without someone like her. Obviously, Marty carries a really heavy load for us. It's really nice having an opposite who is really, really good because most teams are not used to defending it because so much of the game is played on the left. It's not just her attacking, she serves great, and we get point runs when she's back there. I'm very fortunate that she's here for my first season. I think the teams obviously know she carries a heavy load and I think in general in volleyball, you have to have that one person that just cleans everything up to have a successful season. On a night like tonight where maybe you're not firing on all cylinders, you're still able to do some stuff."
Arizona State Graduate Hitter Marta Levinska
On nearing the end of the regular season and approaching the postseason:
"We know that we've been at it for a while and you feel the fatigue. That's what I think is the thing that we feel the most, a lot of times. But, we've played a lot of games and now it's just up to us to be consistent and keep showing up. Keep doing our best."
On how she was able take over the second set:
"I was in my groove. I was pretty comfortable. Shannon (Shields) was giving me great sets. I tried to be aggressive with my serve, get some touches and all those little things matter. I'm happy the second set went our way."
On sweeping Utah tonight:
"I think it shows character. We know that some of our players aren't feeling well. We don't have Maddie, so we're going to have to compensate somehow too. I'm just glad that we fought. There were definitely tough spots along the time but we fought through and it shows character."
Arizona State Graduate Setter Shannon Shields
On nearing the end of the regular season and approaching the postseason:
"This is what the season was for. Make the tournament. We've been striving for this. We haven't done it since I've been here and I'm excited to be able to continue with the momentum. I'm really pumped."
On sweeping Utah tonight:
"I think we focused on our serve and pass. That's our game: serve and pass. With our middle presence, with one of our middles down and another one sick, we really had to be on it with that serving presence. So they (Utah) were off the net all the time so they only had to focus on one side of the court. I think defensively, that was a major focus of the game knowing we had a few players down and just grooving with our passing. Anyone on this team can hit a ball, so I feel like that's what I thought about this game."
On hosting Oregon next Friday:
"I feel like it speaks for where we're both at. We're both ranked and they are obviously ranked a little bit higher than we are. We beat them last time and they're ready for some revenge. Getting swept is not a good feeling so I feel like that's the pitch. We just have to play with our hearts and try to beat them again."
Set One: ASU 25, Utah 23
The Sun Devils started off the first set with a back-and-forth battle with the Utes. Jeter got the first kill on the board for the Sun Devils, down 3-1. Levinska tied the game for ASU with a kill at 7-7. ASU called a timeout with Utah ahead 20-18 and the team responded out of the break. Levinska brought the pressure to Utah with a kill and then an attack error from Utah tied the game 20-20. In this set, there were 12 ties and three lead changes. An error from Utah and a kill from Roberta Rabelo set the Sun Devils up for their set point. A block from Jeter and Shields took the first set win.
Set Two: ASU 27, Utah 25
It was another close battle between the Utes and the Sun Devils in the second frame with the Sun Devils coming out on top again. The second set had 11 ties with three lead changes. ASU had three aces in this set from Cyr, Jeter and Levinska. After starting neck and neck, Levinska had back-to-back kills to bring the Sun Devils ahead 12-11. Levinska put two points on the board for the Sun Devils with an ace followed by a kill as part of a 6-0 run to make it 16-11. Levinska led the second set with 11 kills. The Sun Devils and the Utes were tied 24-24 until Levinska came in with back-to-back kills to bring the Sun Devils out of the 25-25 tie. Utah's error gave ASU the second set win 27-25.
Set Three: ASU 25, Utah 17
The Sun Devils started the third set in the lead over the Utes. Back-to-back kills from Cyr and Levinksa set the Sun Devils up 9-8, followed by an ace from Shroll. Cyr put two aces on the board for ASU before Utah called a timeout at 14-11. ASU maintained the lead on Utah throughout the third set. A kill from Olivia Johnson made it 19-14 and caused Utah to call another timeout. That was one of two Johnson kills in the third set. With a block from Jeter and Cyr to make it 23-17, errors from Utah gave the Sun Devils the win.
Up Next
The Sun Devils will play their final two home matches next weekend, hosting Oregon on Friday and Oregon State on Sunday.
Notable Stats
- Arizona State improves to 24-4 (12-4), the third-highest win total in program history. The 12 conference wins are the fourth-most all-time. The team also remains undefeated at home, a perfect 8-0.
- This was the 17th sweep of the season, extending the program-best record.
- The Sun Devils completed the season sweep over the Utes (10-16, 5-11 Pac-12). The last season sweep against Utah was in 2015, which also saw each match won in straight sets. This was the third win in a row against the Utes.
- Senior opposite Marta Levinska collected a match-high 21 kills, her third match in a row with 20-plus kills. That is her longest streak of 20 or more since the last three matches of the 2022 season. She also has hit over .400 in each of these last three matches. She has hit over .400 in 11 matches this season. This is the seventh time this season and 15th time in her career with 20-plus kills. Additionally, she reached double digits for the 13th match in a row.
- Graduate libero Mary Shroll had double-digit digs for the sixth-straight match, notching 14 to lead the team.
- Leading all players, junior Geli Cyr tied her career high in aces with three. She also had nine digs.
- Graduate setter Shannon Shields 30 assists, seven digs, three blocks and three kills.
- Senior middle blocker Claire Jeter led all players with four blocks. She also had six kills and an ace.
- Starting for the first time since NAU earlier this season, sophomore middle blocker Olivia Johnson had three kills.
- Junior defensive specialist Jaden Ravnsborg had a season high five digs.
Staying undefeated at home??
— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) November 12, 2023
See you back at Desert Financial Arena next weekend! #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/MLuPnlNltt
24+ WINS FOR SUN DEVIL VOLLEYBALL
1982: 31-16
1986: 27-7
2023: 24-3
1980: 24-17
12+ PAC-12 WINS FOR SUN DEVIL VOLLEYBALL
1993: 13-5 (T2nd)
1986: 13-5 (3rd)
2023: 12-3
BEST PAC-12/10 FINISH FOR SUN DEVIL VOLLEYBALL
1993: 13-5 (T2nd)
1986: 13-5 (3rd)
1995: 11-7 (T4th)
1994: 11-7 (T4th)
1992: 11-7 (4th)
1999: 10-8 (5th)
2000: 9-9 (T5th)
Quotes
Arizona State Head Coach JJ Van Niel
Opening Statement:
"I think this is just a nice opportunity for us to battle through a little bit of adversity. Obviously, Maddie (McLaughlin) went down, so Olivia had to step in and did a nice job for us. (With Claire being sick) I think it was a good opportunity for us to just kind of deal with a little adversity. Honestly, Utah was doing a great job those first couple of sets who were serving really tough. We didn't pass very well and kind of scrapped out wins at the end, which is great. I think anytime you can maybe not play the way you're used to playing and still pull out a win in a set is really, really good. Then the third set, I thought we really, did a nice job kind of executing the things we normally do. We passed much better and we really served tough."
On still taking the win after having fewer wins and kills than Utah:
"We just have to play our game. I thought they played really, really well. They were fighting like crazy. They were digging a lot of balls. I think we were putting some pressure on some situations they were in, some tough situations, and made some errors. Volleyball is kind of a weird sport, you know, as you see, frequently you can lose in a bunch of categories and still win, win all the sets like we did tonight. It's good. We just kept battling and playing our game."
On Marta Levinska:
"In volleyball, you don't have the record that we have, you don't have the seasons that you typically have without someone like her. Obviously, Marty carries a really heavy load for us. It's really nice having an opposite who is really, really good because most teams are not used to defending it because so much of the game is played on the left. It's not just her attacking, she serves great, and we get point runs when she's back there. I'm very fortunate that she's here for my first season. I think the teams obviously know she carries a heavy load and I think in general in volleyball, you have to have that one person that just cleans everything up to have a successful season. On a night like tonight where maybe you're not firing on all cylinders, you're still able to do some stuff."
Arizona State Graduate Hitter Marta Levinska
On nearing the end of the regular season and approaching the postseason:
"We know that we've been at it for a while and you feel the fatigue. That's what I think is the thing that we feel the most, a lot of times. But, we've played a lot of games and now it's just up to us to be consistent and keep showing up. Keep doing our best."
On how she was able take over the second set:
"I was in my groove. I was pretty comfortable. Shannon (Shields) was giving me great sets. I tried to be aggressive with my serve, get some touches and all those little things matter. I'm happy the second set went our way."
On sweeping Utah tonight:
"I think it shows character. We know that some of our players aren't feeling well. We don't have Maddie, so we're going to have to compensate somehow too. I'm just glad that we fought. There were definitely tough spots along the time but we fought through and it shows character."
Arizona State Graduate Setter Shannon Shields
On nearing the end of the regular season and approaching the postseason:
"This is what the season was for. Make the tournament. We've been striving for this. We haven't done it since I've been here and I'm excited to be able to continue with the momentum. I'm really pumped."
On sweeping Utah tonight:
"I think we focused on our serve and pass. That's our game: serve and pass. With our middle presence, with one of our middles down and another one sick, we really had to be on it with that serving presence. So they (Utah) were off the net all the time so they only had to focus on one side of the court. I think defensively, that was a major focus of the game knowing we had a few players down and just grooving with our passing. Anyone on this team can hit a ball, so I feel like that's what I thought about this game."
On hosting Oregon next Friday:
"I feel like it speaks for where we're both at. We're both ranked and they are obviously ranked a little bit higher than we are. We beat them last time and they're ready for some revenge. Getting swept is not a good feeling so I feel like that's the pitch. We just have to play with our hearts and try to beat them again."
Set One: ASU 25, Utah 23
The Sun Devils started off the first set with a back-and-forth battle with the Utes. Jeter got the first kill on the board for the Sun Devils, down 3-1. Levinska tied the game for ASU with a kill at 7-7. ASU called a timeout with Utah ahead 20-18 and the team responded out of the break. Levinska brought the pressure to Utah with a kill and then an attack error from Utah tied the game 20-20. In this set, there were 12 ties and three lead changes. An error from Utah and a kill from Roberta Rabelo set the Sun Devils up for their set point. A block from Jeter and Shields took the first set win.
A diving save and joust at the net ??#NCAAWVB x ?? ASU Live Stream / @SunDevilVB pic.twitter.com/Ajx3oDaeCg
— NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) November 12, 2023
Set Two: ASU 27, Utah 25
It was another close battle between the Utes and the Sun Devils in the second frame with the Sun Devils coming out on top again. The second set had 11 ties with three lead changes. ASU had three aces in this set from Cyr, Jeter and Levinska. After starting neck and neck, Levinska had back-to-back kills to bring the Sun Devils ahead 12-11. Levinska put two points on the board for the Sun Devils with an ace followed by a kill as part of a 6-0 run to make it 16-11. Levinska led the second set with 11 kills. The Sun Devils and the Utes were tied 24-24 until Levinska came in with back-to-back kills to bring the Sun Devils out of the 25-25 tie. Utah's error gave ASU the second set win 27-25.
Set Three: ASU 25, Utah 17
The Sun Devils started the third set in the lead over the Utes. Back-to-back kills from Cyr and Levinksa set the Sun Devils up 9-8, followed by an ace from Shroll. Cyr put two aces on the board for ASU before Utah called a timeout at 14-11. ASU maintained the lead on Utah throughout the third set. A kill from Olivia Johnson made it 19-14 and caused Utah to call another timeout. That was one of two Johnson kills in the third set. With a block from Jeter and Cyr to make it 23-17, errors from Utah gave the Sun Devils the win.
S3 | Things we love to see ??
— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) November 12, 2023
We're up 20-16!
???: ASU Live Stream#ForksUp pic.twitter.com/oMIxqq56D7
Up Next
The Sun Devils will play their final two home matches next weekend, hosting Oregon on Friday and Oregon State on Sunday.