(Photo: Zac Pacleb/WCSN)
After losing to No. 1 Stanford, the No. 20 Sun Devils took on the unranked California Golden Bears in Berkeley, Calif. The Sun Devils took the win in four sets (26-28, 25-22, 26-24, 25-22).
It didn’t look good for the Sun Devils in the first set as they struggled offensively and never had a lead. The best they did was level the score at 17 and eventually lost in extra points.
Cal played like they had not lost twelve straight matches going into this match as they continued to push the Sun Devils and made the Sun Devils work for every point.
The second set was rocky for both of the teams. If it wasn’t senior outside hitter Christina Higgins getting the kills for Cal, it was redshirt junior Lillian Schonewise. Higgins and Schonewise led the Golden Bears with a combined 32 kills and saw 88 attack attempts while the rest of the team saw 82.
Luckily for the Sun Devils, Cal beat themselves as they recorded 11 of their 32 errors in the fourth set. As Cal struggled not to create errors, ASU struggled to keep a decent lead. The largest lead in the fourth set was five points, but it did not last long as Cal came marching back and cut the lead two points. ASU eventually won the set thanks to senior defensive specialist Shannon McCready, sophomore defensive specialist Mia Mazon and freshman libero Halle Harker. The three defenders totaled 45 digs in the match and helped the Sun Devils take the 3-1 win.
Freshman Madison McDaniel also got the start at outside hitter in place of sophomore outside hitter Kizzy Willey and put up career-highs in both kills (seven) and digs (six).
As the Sun Devils continue to find their defensive identity and junior opposite hitter BreElle Bailey gets her offensive rhythm back, they look to try to beat No. 11 Oregon and Oregon State in Tempe next weekend and hope to keep their dreams of going to the national tournament alive.
