(Las Cruces, NM) Sun Devil Volleyball beat New Mexico State on its home court in four sets (21-25, 25-17, 25-12, 25-21) on Sunday afternoon to finish the Borderland Invitational with a perfect 3-0 record to keep the undefeated start to the season rolling.
Notable Stats
Arizona State (6-0) stays perfect after the win over New Mexico State (3-2), continuing the best start at ASU since 2015 (15-0). The team beat all three opponents at the Borderland Invitational, the only team to do so.
This was the second match of the year with double-digit blocks, tallying 11 in the win.
Fifth-year senior Shannon Shields had a career-high six blocks against the Aggies. She tallied 40 assists, her third-straight match with 40 or more assists. It was the eighth match of her career with 40-plus.
The three pin hitters all reached double digits again: Marta Levinska (14), Geli Cyr (13) and Roberta Rabelo (10).
Levinska, a senior opposite, moved to 17-straight matches in double figures with her 14 kills. She also had six digs and an ace.
Rabelo, a senior outside hitter, reached double-digit kills in every match this weekend. She also had a career-high three aces, as well as six digs.
Along with her 13 kills, junior outside hitter Cyr neared a double-double with nine digs, adding a block and an ace as well.
Graduate libero Mary Shroll led the defense with 13 digs.
Senior middle blocker Claire Jeter hit .500 with nine kills and five blocks, chipping in an ace as well.
Quote
Head Coach JJ Van Niel
“We faced a lot of adversity this weekend and were able to come through with wins against three quality opponents. Several of our athletes stepped up in a variety of ways throughout the weekend, and I’m really happy with how we responded and figured out ways to win.”
Set One: NMSU 25, ASU 21
The Aggies started out on top, leading 5-1 early, but the Sun Devils responded with three in a row with a block from Shields. Rabelo tied the set at 7-7 with a kill, an ace from Jeter giving ASU the lead. It stayed close for a while, neither team able to pull away. Five in a row from NMSU gave it back the lead, 18-16. Levinska put away two-straight kills to tie it at 20-20, but the rest of the set went to the Aggies, winning 25-21. This is the only first-set loss of the season for the Sun Devils so far.
Set Two: ASU 25, NMSU 17
In the second frame, the two teams were close, trading leads and tying to start. Five in a row from ASU pushed the lead to 13-6, a run that saw an ace and a backrow kill from Cyr. NMSU responded with a 5-1 run, making it 15-12 and forcing a timeout. Out of the break, Rabelo put away a kill to stop the momentum. The Sun Devils scored four in a row with two kills and two Aggie errors to extend the lead to 21-15. Jeter got the team to set point with a kill and then an ace, with an error from the home team finishing the set, 25-17.
Set Three: ASU 25, NMSU 12
It was all Arizona State in the third set. With Rabelo serving, the Sun Devils scored six-straight points to jump out to a 9-2 lead. Behind a 6-1 run, the Aggies got close at 12-9, but that would be as close as they got. Back-to-back kills from Levinska and McLaughlin pushed the lead to 20-11. Cyr wrapped up the set with consecutive kills of her own, winning 25-12.
Set Four: ASU 25, NMSU 21
Rabelo’s serving came up big for the team again in the fourth set, as she served seven in a row, getting the squad a 9-5 lead with two aces. NMSU battled back, scoring three in a row to make it 14-14 before its own error ended the run. Levinska served up an ace and Jeter and Shields teamed up for a block to push the lead up to 21-17. The perfect season stayed alive as Rabelo’s kill sealed the win, 25-21.
Up Next
Arizona State will stay in state next weekend, playing at the Lumberjack Classic at Northern Arizona from September 7-9. ASU will play NAU first, then Boise State and Stephen F. Austin.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Kimberlie Haner
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