(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)
The Arizona State Sun Devils (10-2) will open conference play on Thursday night in a rivalry match-up against the University of Arizona Wildcats (6-3) at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, AZ.
The game will feature competitive play at the net, as both teams have standout hitters. For ASU, Olouma Okaro and Griere Hughes possess the highest number of kills, while Paige Whipple and Tyler Spriggs are the biggest offensive threats coming from UA.
Physicality at the net will also come from blocking. Wildcats’ Devyn Cross has the greatest potential to be an obstacle for the Sun Devils front line, given that she already has 39 blocks this season in only nine matches.
Service aces are one of the Wildcats’ biggest strengths offensively. They have 27 aces this season, which adds an extra challenge for ASU’s back line. Luckily for ASU, libero Halle Harker has put up 230 digs this season to add to her career total of 1,633. Her digging ability will come in handy as the Sun Devils take on a team that can execute great offense from behind the service line.
“The team that serves and passes better is pretty much going to win that match tomorrow,” said Sun Devils head coach Sanja Tomasevic. “That’s what it’s going to come down to, and I’m hoping that we’re going to be that team that can serve and pass better than the other team because we are at home.”
Not having home court advantage does not work in UA’s favor statistically. The Wildcats are 0-1 in away games while ASU is 3-0 at home. The Sun Devils are expecting a lot of emotion and energy during this in-state rivalry match-up.
“I think the biggest thing is recognizing that it’s important to have butterflies and just embrace them,” said Halle Harker.
As a senior, Harker is no stranger to the obstacles that the Wildcats bring to the table.
“The biggest thing to expect is no plays off,” Harker said, “Every play, they’re going to come back with something.”
ASU will enter this game riding a six-game win streak. The Sun Devils have also played three more games than the Wildcats in non-conference play. ASU’s 12 non-conference games compared to UA’s nine non-conference games could possibly be an advantage for the Sun Devils, who have more in-game preparation than the Wildcats.
“Sometimes when things are going so fast and you’re playing those really challenging [Pac-12] teams, you don’t really have time to work on those little things that you need to fix,” said Sun Devils middle blocker Oluoma Okaro. “But I think with that kind of [non-conference] competition that we had, it helped us to kind of work on the things that we wanted to work on.”
ASU also ended non-conference play with an .833 winning percentage, which is higher than UA’s .667 percentage. The two teams will go head-to-head at 8 p.m. on Thursday night.
