(Salt Lake City, UT) Behind 14 team blocks, No. 17 Sun Devil Volleyball swept Utah (25-11, 25-16, 25-22) in the Huntsman Center on Friday night.
Notable Stats
Arizona State (19-2, 7-2 Pac-12) fought back in the third set, down 6-0 to start, to beat Utah (8-11, 3-6 Pac-12) and get its 13th sweep of the season. The 13 sweeps are tied for the third-highest number of three-set wins in ASU history.
The Sun Devils had 14 blocks in the wins, tied for the most ASU has had this season (the other at Oregon State last weekend). However, it is the most in three sets. The middle blockers racked up the blocks, with senior Claire Jeter leading with seven (tying her season high) and graduate Maddie McLaughlin right behind her with six.
The defense held the Utes to a .065 hitting percentage. This was the seventh time this season the Sun Devils have held a team to a .100 or worse clip.
Graduate setter Shannon Shields collected her 12th double-double of her career, sixth of the season, with 29 assists and a season-high 14 digs. She added three blocks, four kills and an ace as well.
Senior opposite Marta Levinska led all players in kills with 14 on a .462 clip, nearing a double-double with nine digs. She also had four blocks and two aces.
Holding down the back row was graduate libero Mary Shroll with a match-high 18 digs. She’s currently on a streak of 12-consecutive matches with double-digit digs, tied for the longest in her career. She also had two aces.
Junior outside hitter Geli Cyr matched her personal best in blocks with four, as well as being second in kills with eight. She also had six digs.
Set One: ASU 25, Utah 11
With a 6-0 run that saw two blocks from the duo of Levinska and McLaughlin, Arizona State jumped out to a 9-4 lead. Utah scored three in a row to get within two at 9-7 before ASU got up again with another run. With freshman Jillian Neal serving, the Sun Devils scored five-consecutive points to double up the Utes, 14-7. A huge 6-0 run that had two aces from Shroll put the set out of reach, making it a 20-9 lead. Jeter slammed the ball straight down to win the set, 25-11.
Set Two: ASU 25, Utah 16
A solo block from Roberta Rabelo put ASU up 4-2, but Utah responded with three in a row to take the 5-4 lead. After a couple of lead changes, the Sun Devils scored four in a row to get ahead, 13-9. McLaughlin’s kill capped off a 3-0 run to make it 17-11. Shields served up an ace as part of another run of three, pushing the lead to 20-12. A couple of kills from Levinska down the stretch sealed the 25-16 win.
Set Three: ASU 25, Utah 22
The Utes responded in the third set, jumping out to a 6-0 lead to start, forcing an early timeout from the Sun Devils. With back-to-back blocks from the Sun Devils to trail 14-10, they forced a timeout from the Utes. They tacked on two more to make it a 6-0 run and get within two, 14-12. A 3-0 run capped off by a block from Shields and Jeter finally tied it up at 15-15 before the back and forth began. An ace from Levinska finally got the Sun Devils back on top and an error from the home team added another to make it 23-21. Two more blocks won the set at 25-22.
Up Next
Arizona State will conclude the two-week road trip in Boulder against Colorado on Sunday. The match will be at 11 a.m. MST/12 p.m. MDT and will be on the Pac-12 Network.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Kimberlie Haner
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