Facing a daunting challenge against Stanford, a struggling ASU volleyball team came out firing to score the match’s first three points, and fed off that energy to lead 8-3.
Timeout Stanford. Devils lead by five, 8-3 in the first set. #NewOrder
— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) November 19, 2016
Then the Cardinal called timeout, and the beast that is the 12th-ranked team in the nation woke up.
Stanford took control following the timeout, scored the next five points and handed the Sun Devils their sixth consecutive loss, winning in straight sets by final tallies of 25-21, 25-16 and 25-18 at Wells Fargo Arena on Friday night.
It was another home loss for an ASU team that is now 0-7 in front of its home crowd.
"I think it's the maturity thing," head coach Stevie Mussie said. "When things get hard, we kind of back off a little bit ... kind of being able to handle that adversity, and staying together through the adversity is a big part of it, and just kind of having each other's backs throughout."
The Sun Devils, who have been in such a position before — giving up an early lead in the first set — came out and fought in the second frame. They kept it close in the early going, but Stanford overpowered them with impeccable hitting to pull away and win by eight after leading just 13-11.
The third set went in similar fashion — after keeping things tight at the start, ASU didn’t have enough in the tank to keep it up through the entire frame, dropping the third set by a slightly smaller margin.
"I think the other team adapts to the game way better than we do," senior outside hitter Maya McClendon said. "I think we come off hot because we see certain things and we stick to the scouting report, and then once they make adjustments, we don't adjust back."
A point of emphasis in terms of the recent struggles has been accuracy; when the Sun Devils lose, they often hurt themselves in the process with a low hit percentage to show for it.
Stanford, on the other hand, was the epitome of accurate and disciplined Friday, committing a total of just nine errors on their way to a stellar hit percentage of .200. Juxtaposed with ASU’s .391 hit percentage and 17 errors, the Cardinal hit percentage proved key in the sound victory.
"It makes all the difference in the world," Mussie said. "They play the game the right way, they play the right way by hitting the corners, swinging high and deep and making it really hard on you."
A few bright spots that led the way on the stat sheet for the Sun Devils were McClendon and freshman outside hitter Ivana Jeremic. McClendon finished with nine kills and a strong .261 hit percentage, while Jeremic added nine kills and ten digs. Junior middle blocker Oluoma Okaro also had eight kills.
Post match with K. Pickrell, McClendon, and Jeremic. Back at it tomorrow at 7 vs Cal #BeThere #NewOrder pic.twitter.com/RFvDNAt6ZZ
— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) November 19, 2016
The Sun Devils have just three matches left in their season, all at home against California, Colorado and Arizona respectively, as they search for their first home win of the year.
And for seniors like McClendon, at this point, it's about enjoying the short time this team has left together, and making the remaining moments count, while also playing spoiler in the final three matches.
"I don't have a next season, so I'm trying to mess somebody up," she said with a laugh. "I'm trying to have a good time with my teammates, try and leave some kind of mark on the people that I'm leaving behind, but also trying to mess up the rankings a little bit."
Related Links:
ASU volleyball falls short of No. 9 UCLA in straight sets
Home woes continue in ASU volleyball loss to No. 25 USC
Reach the reporter at jeff.griffith21@asu.edu or follow @Jeff_Griffith21 on Twitter.
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