TEMPE – Led by 25 kills from Marta Levinska, No. 17 Sun Devil Volleyball beat the Colorado Buffaloes in four sets (21-25, 25-21, 25-21, 25-16) Thursday night in the final match in Mullett Arena of the season to remain a perfect 7-0 in Tempe this year.
Notable Stats:
Quotes
Arizona State Head Coach JJ Van Niel
Opening Statement:
"Any win in the Pac-12 is a good win. I felt like we weren't playing up to our standard, but we put some stuff together there at the end. We battled back after being down 1-0, which I love because 10 of our 14 matches have been sweeps, one way or the other. It's nice that we gritted it out and even in the second set I don't think we defended very well, but we battled back. We defended well in the third set and in the last set we were executing at a really flawless level. It was a great win and it's nice to be home. We'll be home the next couple of weeks, which we are really excited about."
On tonight's execution:
"For us, it's really important that we execute at a high level. We weren't passing very well in the first two sets, but we cleaned it up a little later. I think some pieces of our offense were doing really well. Geli was on fire tonight and obviously Marta is really good. Colorado does a lot of scheming on defense and last time they really did a good job, so I think it took a little while for Shannon to get settled in, but once she did we started humming a little better."
Senior Middle Blocker Claire Jeter:
On what clicked in the fourth set:
"I don't know what really clicked with us, but I think going into that fourth set, we were ready to bring it home. I think we were tired of playing with them. We were kind of stooping down to their level and playing their game instead of our own, which we talked about throughout all of the sets. I think it finally clicked in our head that it was time for us to play ASU volleyball and not play like them. I think once we had that and we had the energy on our side, it was easy for us."
On staying focused after an injury:
"I'm gonna say that's all because of the other side of the court. When we have practice, our B side is phenomenal and they always put forth effort and we're never worried if one of them has to come out and play because we know that they're more than capable of doing the job that's been done. I think that's a big shout out to Liv (Olivia Johnson) too. She came out and she did her thing. She got good touches and she put forth effort, which was really exciting to see."
Junior Outside Hitter Geli Cyr:
On their performances throughout the sets:
"I think that was really cool to see how we kind of responded to that (losing the first set). I think a big thing for us is defending our home court because we haven't lost here yet. It's a really great environment to play and it's a huge advantage for us. For us to just say like no, like they're not going to take a win in our house like this is, this is where we win. This is where we beat Stanford, we are gonna come back and do this."
On what clicked in the fourth set:
"I think a huge thing too was our serving and passing was so much better in that set. A huge shout to Jaden Ravnsborg, who came in and really settled things down in the back row, and Claire went on that serving run. Those things just give us confidence, especially in the front row, that helped a lot."
Set One: Colorado 25, ASU 21
Colorado opened the match winning seven of the first 11 points of the set, leading 7-4. Then the Sun Devils managed to tie the set at 8-8 after a service ace from Levinska, going on a 4-1 run. From there, a series of kills from Jeter, Levinska and Roberta Rabelo gave ASU a 13-9 lead, forcing a Colorado timeout. After trading points, the Buffaloes then went on a 5-1 run to lead 18-17, forcing a Sun Devil timeout. Despite ASU leading 19-18, Colorado went on a 3-0 run to take the 21-19 advantage, prompting the last timeout for the Sun Devils. The Buffaloes would take the first set 25-21.
Set Two: ASU 25, Colorado 21
The Sun Devils opened the set by winning four of the first five points, but the opposition tied the match at 5-5. After three lead changes with the match squared at eight, ASU went on a 6-1 run to take a 13-9 lead, led by three errors by Colorado, kills from Rabelo and Levinska and a service ace by Jeter. The Buffaloes responded after both sides traded serves by scoring six straight to take an 18-16 lead, forcing two Sun Devil timeouts. The maroon and gold responded by taking five of the next eight points to tie the set at 21, including Jeter's second ace of the set. Back-to-back ferocious kills by Levinska forced Colorado to take a timeout as ASU led 23-21, and the Sun Devils sealed the set 25-21 with a Rabelo solo block.
Set Three: ASU 25, Colorado 21
Colorado responded by opening the set leading 6-2, but back-to-back blocks by Jeter cut the lead to 6-4. After going on a 3-1 spurt that gave Colorado a 9-5 lead, ASU called its first timeout. Both sides traded the next four points until the Sun Devils went on a 6-1 run, taking a 13-12 lead, pressuring a Colorado timeout. Levinska led the charge with two strong kills and Cyr added an ace to lead 18-15, but the Buffaloes stormed back with a 4-0 run to take back the lead at 19-18, compelling a Sun Devil timeout. The Latvian Levinska answered with another kill and a Rabelo added a kill of her own to retake a 20-19 lead. After being tied at 21-21, Levinska added another strike with a Colorado error to force a Buffalo timeout. ASU would then take the set 25-21 after a series of Colorado errors to lead 2-1.
Set Four: ASU 25, Colorado 16
Levinska kickstarted the set with back-to-back strikes then added another to account for half of ASU's points, taking an early 6-4 lead. Both sides split the ensuing 10 points, with ASU maintaining an 11-9 lead. Quickly, the Sun Devils went on a 3-1 run with kills by Maddie McLaughlin and Rabelo, forcing a Buffaloes timeout with a 14-10 lead. Both sides traded the next six points until a Levinska kill and a Colorado error extended the ASU lead to 19-13, prompting the opposition's last timeout. From there the Sun Devils remained in control, taking the set 25-16 and the match.
Up Next
No. 17 Sun Devil Volleyball returns to action on Saturday against Utah at Desert Financial Arena at 6:30 p.m MST in the Salute to Service game. Coverage can be seen on ASU Live Stream and live scoring will be available for Saturday's match. For more updates, follow along on Twitter (@SunDevilVB) and on Instagram (@sundevilvolleyball)
Notable Stats:
- Arizona State improves to 23-4 (11-4 Pac-12), reaching 11 conference wins for the first time since 1995. That number is tied for the second-most conference wins in program history. The most ASU has ever had is 13 (1993, 1986, 1975). Additionally, the win total of 23 is tied for the fourth-highest in team history (also 1992).
- This was the third home win in a row against Colorado (14-12, 6-9 Pac-12). With the win, ASU split the season series after falling in Boulder.
- Senior opposite Marta Levinska had her 12th-straight match with double-digit kills, leading all players with 25, hitting .444. This is her sixth time this season with 20 or more kills, 14th time in her career. She also got her fifth double-double of the season with 10 digs.
- The serve was on fire for senior middle blocker Claire Jeter. She had four service aces, which tied her season high. She last reached that number on October 1 against Cal. Jeter also had five kills and four blocks, the latter leading the team.
- Pacing the offense, graduate setter Shannon Shields had 46 assists and nine digs for a near double-double. This was her eighth match of the season with 40-plus assists, 12th in her career.
- Graduate libero Mary Shroll had 10 digs in the match, her fifth in a row in double figures. Junior outside Geli Cyr also reached double-digit digs with 10, her ninth time in double figures for digs. She also had nine kills on a .304 clip.
Went undefeated in Mullett ??#ForksUp pic.twitter.com/EfxJrKbFSz
— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) November 10, 2023
Quotes
Arizona State Head Coach JJ Van Niel
Opening Statement:
"Any win in the Pac-12 is a good win. I felt like we weren't playing up to our standard, but we put some stuff together there at the end. We battled back after being down 1-0, which I love because 10 of our 14 matches have been sweeps, one way or the other. It's nice that we gritted it out and even in the second set I don't think we defended very well, but we battled back. We defended well in the third set and in the last set we were executing at a really flawless level. It was a great win and it's nice to be home. We'll be home the next couple of weeks, which we are really excited about."
On tonight's execution:
"For us, it's really important that we execute at a high level. We weren't passing very well in the first two sets, but we cleaned it up a little later. I think some pieces of our offense were doing really well. Geli was on fire tonight and obviously Marta is really good. Colorado does a lot of scheming on defense and last time they really did a good job, so I think it took a little while for Shannon to get settled in, but once she did we started humming a little better."
Senior Middle Blocker Claire Jeter:
On what clicked in the fourth set:
"I don't know what really clicked with us, but I think going into that fourth set, we were ready to bring it home. I think we were tired of playing with them. We were kind of stooping down to their level and playing their game instead of our own, which we talked about throughout all of the sets. I think it finally clicked in our head that it was time for us to play ASU volleyball and not play like them. I think once we had that and we had the energy on our side, it was easy for us."
On staying focused after an injury:
"I'm gonna say that's all because of the other side of the court. When we have practice, our B side is phenomenal and they always put forth effort and we're never worried if one of them has to come out and play because we know that they're more than capable of doing the job that's been done. I think that's a big shout out to Liv (Olivia Johnson) too. She came out and she did her thing. She got good touches and she put forth effort, which was really exciting to see."
Junior Outside Hitter Geli Cyr:
On their performances throughout the sets:
"I think that was really cool to see how we kind of responded to that (losing the first set). I think a big thing for us is defending our home court because we haven't lost here yet. It's a really great environment to play and it's a huge advantage for us. For us to just say like no, like they're not going to take a win in our house like this is, this is where we win. This is where we beat Stanford, we are gonna come back and do this."
On what clicked in the fourth set:
"I think a huge thing too was our serving and passing was so much better in that set. A huge shout to Jaden Ravnsborg, who came in and really settled things down in the back row, and Claire went on that serving run. Those things just give us confidence, especially in the front row, that helped a lot."
WHAT A SAVE ??#NCAAWVB x ?? Pac-12 Insider / @SunDevilVB pic.twitter.com/54S9fzdsxm
— NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) November 10, 2023
Set One: Colorado 25, ASU 21
Colorado opened the match winning seven of the first 11 points of the set, leading 7-4. Then the Sun Devils managed to tie the set at 8-8 after a service ace from Levinska, going on a 4-1 run. From there, a series of kills from Jeter, Levinska and Roberta Rabelo gave ASU a 13-9 lead, forcing a Colorado timeout. After trading points, the Buffaloes then went on a 5-1 run to lead 18-17, forcing a Sun Devil timeout. Despite ASU leading 19-18, Colorado went on a 3-0 run to take the 21-19 advantage, prompting the last timeout for the Sun Devils. The Buffaloes would take the first set 25-21.
Set Two: ASU 25, Colorado 21
The Sun Devils opened the set by winning four of the first five points, but the opposition tied the match at 5-5. After three lead changes with the match squared at eight, ASU went on a 6-1 run to take a 13-9 lead, led by three errors by Colorado, kills from Rabelo and Levinska and a service ace by Jeter. The Buffaloes responded after both sides traded serves by scoring six straight to take an 18-16 lead, forcing two Sun Devil timeouts. The maroon and gold responded by taking five of the next eight points to tie the set at 21, including Jeter's second ace of the set. Back-to-back ferocious kills by Levinska forced Colorado to take a timeout as ASU led 23-21, and the Sun Devils sealed the set 25-21 with a Rabelo solo block.
Set Three: ASU 25, Colorado 21
Colorado responded by opening the set leading 6-2, but back-to-back blocks by Jeter cut the lead to 6-4. After going on a 3-1 spurt that gave Colorado a 9-5 lead, ASU called its first timeout. Both sides traded the next four points until the Sun Devils went on a 6-1 run, taking a 13-12 lead, pressuring a Colorado timeout. Levinska led the charge with two strong kills and Cyr added an ace to lead 18-15, but the Buffaloes stormed back with a 4-0 run to take back the lead at 19-18, compelling a Sun Devil timeout. The Latvian Levinska answered with another kill and a Rabelo added a kill of her own to retake a 20-19 lead. After being tied at 21-21, Levinska added another strike with a Colorado error to force a Buffalo timeout. ASU would then take the set 25-21 after a series of Colorado errors to lead 2-1.
Set Four: ASU 25, Colorado 16
Levinska kickstarted the set with back-to-back strikes then added another to account for half of ASU's points, taking an early 6-4 lead. Both sides split the ensuing 10 points, with ASU maintaining an 11-9 lead. Quickly, the Sun Devils went on a 3-1 run with kills by Maddie McLaughlin and Rabelo, forcing a Buffaloes timeout with a 14-10 lead. Both sides traded the next six points until a Levinska kill and a Colorado error extended the ASU lead to 19-13, prompting the opposition's last timeout. From there the Sun Devils remained in control, taking the set 25-16 and the match.
S3 | We were due for a big swing from Shannon ??
— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) November 10, 2023
???: ASU Live Stream#ForksUp pic.twitter.com/h5xMleOU9m
Up Next
No. 17 Sun Devil Volleyball returns to action on Saturday against Utah at Desert Financial Arena at 6:30 p.m MST in the Salute to Service game. Coverage can be seen on ASU Live Stream and live scoring will be available for Saturday's match. For more updates, follow along on Twitter (@SunDevilVB) and on Instagram (@sundevilvolleyball)