(Provo, UT) For the first time since 1995, No. 5 seed Sun Devil Volleyball is going to the Sweet 16 after sweeping No. 5 seed BYU on its home court (25-20, 25-21, 25-21) on Saturday night.
Notable Stats
Arizona State (28-6) won a second NCAA Tournament match for the first time in program history and is going to the Sweet 16 for the third time.
ASU got win 28, now in sole possession of second place for most wins in program history. The record number of sweeps in a single season is now at 20 after the three-set win over the Cougars.
Senior opposite Marta Levinska led all players in kills with 17 on a .533 clip. That hitting percentage just barely surpasses the number from Geli Cyr in Friday’s match against Georgia for a new Sun Devil record in a tournament match. She also had 10 digs for her seventh double-double of the year, 28th of her career. Additionally, she had five aces for a new season high. That number broke her into the top 10 for career aces, now with 106.
The outside hitters provided a balanced attack for the Sun Devils. Junior Geli Cyr had nine kills, as well as eight digs and a pair of blocks. Senior Roberta Rabelo had eight kills and also had two blocks.
Graduate setter Shannon Shields notched 35 assists in the three-set win. She also had two aces and two blocks.
Leading the defense at the net was senior middle blocker Claire Jeter with five blocks, adding four kills as well. In the back row, graduate libero Mary Shroll had 10 digs to match Levinska’s total.
Set One: ASU 25, BYU 20
An early 4-0 run with kills from Levinska and Jeter gave ASU a 4-2 lead. It was back and forth for a while until a block from Jeter and back-to-back aces from Levinska pushed the lead to 12-9, forcing BYU’s first timeout. An error from the Cougars made it four in a row, extending the advantage to 13-9. After ASU’s lead got down to one, Cyr crushed a ball out of a Sun Devil timeout to start three-straight points, making it 20-16. The teams traded points but Arizona State held its lead, with Levinska tooling the block at set point to win 25-20. She had eight kills in the first set, hitting .700.
Set Two: ASU 25, BYU 21
The Sun Devils held the momentum into the second set behind Levinska’s serve. She opened the set on a 4-0 run with her serves, drilling an ace in the run. After some back and forth, she got her fourth ace of the set to make it 11-6 and force BYU’s first timeout. Six-straight points with two aces from Shields pushed it to 19-10, bringing BYU’s second timeout midway through the run. The Sun Devils allowed a pair of runs late in the set, including four in a row late to hold off set point and make it 24-21. However, a roll shot from Levinska got the 25-21 win.
Set Three: ASU 25, BYU 21
The third set was a battle to start. Four in a row from the Sun Devils gave them a 9-6 lead, capped off by an incredible dig from Estella Zatechka to set up the Cyr kill. BYU tied it up at 9-9 and the teams traded sideouts until Jeter got on a serving run, leading ASU to three-straight points to make it 14-11 and cause a timeout from the home team. Another 3-0 run from Arizona State pushed it to 17-12 and forced the second BYU timeout. The Cougars tried to make a late push, but the Sun Devils slammed the door with a kill from Levinska to win 25-21 and punch their ticket to the Sweet Sixteen.
Up Next
Arizona State will match up against No. 1 seed Stanford in the Sweet Sixteen. The match will be on December 7 at 8:30 p.m. PST/9:30 p.m. MST on ESPNU.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Kimberlie Haner
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