(Photo: Tyler Rittenhouse/WCSN)
The Arizona State Sun Devils (10-17, 0-15 Pac-12) fell to the No. 15 Oregon Ducks (16-7, 9-6 Pac-12) in a sweep on Thursday night at Wells Fargo Arena.
The Ducks set the tone of the match with a very fast offense that forced both teams to move quickly on the court. The Sun Devils managed to keep up, and they kept the first set close. The Ducks did not get a lead in the set until they finally brought the score up to 13-12. Once securing a lead, the Ducks began to pull away from the Sun Devils to win the set 25-17.
ASU took a stronger lead to open the second set. Despite the loss, the Sun Devils came together and put up better numbers in the second set. Both Ivana Jeremic and Peyton Grahovac had solo blocks to round out ASU’s defense while setter Nicole Peterson added a kill in addition to her seven assists for the set. The Sun Devils also utilized the second set to keep the ball and increase their sideout percentage from 45 percent to 60 percent.
Although the Sun Devils kept the first two sets close, the Ducks took the third set with authority. While the third set was the only set in which the Sun Devils had no reception errors or service errors, the Ducks gained their points purely from kills and blocks. Oregon’s Taylor Agost, Willow Johnson and Ronika Stone all took their turn stopping the ball at the net. The trio put up three blocks in the final set.
“The last set we started out just passive and just a little bit mindless,” ASU interim head coach Carlos Moreno said. “We cannot do that. We need to execute but we can’t take any plays off. If we do, we lose a close game just like that because over time they were better than us.”
With the absence of Oluoma Okaro, ASU’s freshman hitter Griere Hughes stepped up to become an offensive asset for the Sun Devils. Hughes led both teams with 11 kills. Nicole Peterson led the team with 28 assists, while libero Halle Harker led both teams with 18 digs.
“By making sure each player knows exactly what they need to do, it helps us from worrying about other players,” ASU setter Nicole Peterson said. “That’s how we’ve been practicing.”
While ASU looked to specific players to make big plays both offensively and defensively, Oregon spread their plays out among the team. August Raskie and Maggie Scott combined for 41 of Oregon’s 44 assists, while Taylor Agost, Lindsey Vander Weide and Jolie Rasmussen each contributed 9 kills apiece.
The Ducks had a total of seven players end the match with positive hitting percentages to aid in their quick and effective offense. They ended the match with a .300 hitting percentage. Unlike the Ducks, the Sun Devil offense put up both negative and positive hitting percentages to combine for a .179 hitting percentage for the night.
“In my opinion, we never lose,” Moreno said. “We either win or we learn. I think it was just another learning experience for us tonight.”
The Sun Devils will play their final home game on Saturday, Nov. 11. The team will also honor seniors Halle Harker, Isabel Miller and Oluoma Okaro for their last home game as Sun Devils.
