Freshman outside hitter Macey Gardner lifts up to hit the ball during the Sheraton Invitational at Wells Fargo Arena last weekend. (Photo by Kyle Newman)The ASU women’s volleyball team took care of business this weekend by sweeping the competition on its home floor.
The Sun Devils took home the Sheraton Invitational championship Saturday night when they capped off a perfect 4-0 record in the tournament to win the title.
Wins over Villanova, UC Riverside, Florida Atlantic University and Gonzaga not only helped the Devils capture the championship, but also push their record to 11-2, a team best since 2008.
“To be able to get these victories and kind of get that high-feeling, high-emotion going into conference, there are no words for it,” junior middle blocker Alexis Pinson said.
ASU got started on Friday afternoon when the team took on Villanova (5-8) to begin its tournament play. In the first set, the Sun Devils got off to a comfortable lead (8-1) on freshman outside hitter Macey Gardner’s serves. That would set the trend for the game, as they took the first set 25-9.
The second set was dominated by ASU again, as Pinson and senior outside hitter Erica Wilson combined for 11 of the team’s 16 kills in the 25-9 victory in the second set.
The Wildcats could not keep up with the Sun Devils as ASU took the third set 25-22, sweeping Villanova to begin the Sheraton Invitational.
Friday night was capped off with a primetime matchup against UCR (5-8). Thanks to a solid hitting percentage (.259), the Sun Devils took the first set by a score of 25-16.
Unable to hold their serve in the second set, the Highlanders capitalized and jumped out to a 13-20 lead. The team would continue to fight, eventually cutting the lead down to one at 23-24, but UCR would take the second set, 25-23.
From there on, ASU would not let UCR back into the game, surrendering the lead just once in the next two sets. The Sun Devils won the match 3-1 and improved their record to 9-2 on the season.
“We know we still have a lot of work to do,” Gardner said. “We’re not looking past it, we’re going to be here in the morning ready to go, ready to play.”
With two more games on its plate, ASU opened up Saturday with an afternoon match against FAU (3-6). In the first set, the Sun Devils hit a high percentage of .625. ASU was led by Gardner, who had six kills, and was assisted by freshman setter Allison Palmer, who notched 11 assists in the first set alone.
The high hitting continued into the second set, as the Sun Devils’ .440 percentage paved the way for a 25-13 win.
ASU closed out FAU, fittingly on a Gardner kill, to take the set 25-20 and move to 3-0 in the tournament.
In its final game of the tournament, ASU went up against Gonzaga (8-5) on Saturday night, with the winner taking the Sheraton Invitational title. The Sun Devils came out hitting at a high percentage of .342 en route to a 25-20 victory in the first set.
Gonzaga challenged ASU in the second set, as the teams tied 12 times in the frame alone, with the Bulldogs holding off the Sun Devils for a 25-23 win.
The next two sets were all ASU, as the Sun Devils put away the Bulldogs 25-11 and 25-13 respectively to win the Sheraton Invitational.
“I thought (in) those last two games against Gonzaga, we played well,” coach Jason Watson said. “For them to come out, lose Game 2, and then come out and win Games 3 and 4 speaks a lot to them.”
After the tournament, Pinson and junior libero Stephanie Preach were named to the All-Tournament Team, while Gardner was named Tournament MVP.
At 11-2, the Sun Devils travel to Tucson to face UA Tuesday night in their first Pac-12 game of the season.
Reach the reporter at talopez3@asu.edu
