The ASU women’s volleyball team defeated the University of Nevada, Reno, in four sets in the first day of the 2017 Gonzaga Invitational.
The matches went back and forth for the first three rounds, and for the Sun Devils (4-1), the first set was a difficult one in comparison with last week's Sun Devil Volleyball Classic. Reno went on a 6-2 run early in the first set before Sun Devil freshman outside hitter Griere Hughes and junior opposite hitter Peyton Grahovac each made kills that motivated their team.
Despite their valiant effort and kills by senior middle blocker Oluoma Okaro and junior middle blocker Carmen Unzue, ASU would drop the first set 25-23. Things started out rough in the second set as well for the Sun Devils, falling behind 7-3 early. However, ASU mounted a furious 8-0 comeback to take a 11-7 lead.
From there, the Sun Devils did not let up and remained ahead of the Wolf Pack throughout the rest of the game – taking set two 25-23, set three 25-17 and the final set 25-19.
The victory helped the Sun Devils reach 4-0 on the season, and three players finished with double digit kills: Okaro with 20, sophomore Ivana Jeremic with 16 and Hughes with 13.
Okaro also contributed three assists and 19 digs to go along with her career high of 20 kills. Okaro wasn’t the only Sun Devil to reach career highs, as freshman Shelbie Dobmeier reached a career high of 49 assists and teammate Hughes had three career blocks.
Along with their success, senior libero Halle Harker also added a match-best 22 digs to move her career total to 1,486. Harker currently sits in fifth in program history for career digs, only 42 away from former Sun Devil Jami Coughlin’s 1,528.
Gonzaga Deals Sun Devils Their First Loss
The second game of the day was a nail-biter, as the Gonzaga Bulldogs and Sun Devils went to five sets to determine the winner. However, the hard-fought match ended in Gonzaga's favor as they defeated ASU in five sets.
In the first set, the Sun Devils lead early with the help of kills from Unzue and Okaro. However it wasn’t long before the Bulldogs tied things up. Throughout the set, ASU was able to maintain a lead or stay tied with Gonzaga, but once the Sun Devils were able to set, the Bulldogs showed they would not back down.
The second set started off well for the Bulldogs who went on a 5-2 run to start. Despite the early lead, the Sun Devils were able to score three unanswered points thanks to attack errors by Gonzaga.
This spark, as well as kills by Unzue and Hughes, allowed the Sun Devils to take a lead that would not be let up until later in the set. The Bulldogs went on a 12-2 run, from a mix of kills and attack errors by the Sun Devils which ultimately gave Gonzaga the second set.
The most exhilarating set was the fifth, in which ASU jumped out to an early lead once again, but was ultimately overtaken by Gonzaga’s dominant offense. The Bulldogs pulled ahead midway through the final set after an attack error on Okaro and kept their foot on the gas with kills by junior Tiyana Hallums and redshirt junior Kaylie Loewen.
ASU’s Okaro gave a valiant effort and showed the same tenacity as she did in the first matchup with two kills, which brought the Sun Devils within striking range, but the Bulldog’s would not back down.
After a service ace from sophomore Ivana Jeremic, the Bulldogs responded with a kill by redshirt senior Alyse Whitaker who would bring the Bulldogs within one of taking the game. Despite the attempts at a comeback and Okaro getting her 17th kill of the night, the Bulldogs pulled away 15-13 to take the fifth and final set.
ASU head coach Sanja Tomasevic spoke on the way her team performed.
"We didn’t get the result we wanted tonight, but credit to Gonzaga,” Tomasevic said. “We know heading into tomorrow’s match, we’re going to have to put this result behind us and move forward."
Tomasevic said that learning to overcome adversity will be an integral role in the building of the teams culture and character.
"Facing adversity from time to time bodes well for a team that can learn and grow from it — and that is what we intend to do," Tomasevic said.
ASU will look to close out the tournament with a win tomorrow against Portland State at 1 p.m.
Reach the reporter at klbroder@asu.edu or follow @KellyB1459 on Twitter.
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