College Volleyball Tournament News Today: ASU Sheraton Invitational,
Sarah Reaves Moves to Fifth in ASU Career Kills as ASU Splits Day One of ASU Sheraton Invitational
TEMPE, Ariz. – With Sarah Reaves moving to fifth in the ASU Career kills list, the Sun Devil Volleyball Team (3-5 overall) opened the 2010 ASU Sheraton Invitational Friday with a five-set win over High Point before falling in the nightcap to Utah Valley in five. Against the Panthers, the Sun Devils won 23-25, 25-18, 19-25, 25-19 and 15-13 before embroiling themselves in a vicious nightcap loss to Utah Valley, falling in a tough five sets 19-25, 25-13, 26-28, 14-25 and 13-15. ASU wraps the day 3-5 on the season with one match left to go on the weekend.
Match one slated the Sun Devils in the high noon match against the High Point Panthers from North Carolina, who came out ready to rumble swinging a nasty .375 in the first set to knock ASU back on their heels a bit taking a 25-23 win. ASU wasn’t going to let it slide in their house though, holding HPU to a .000 attack percentage in the second set to slam home a 25-18 win to tie it at one apiece headed into the break.
The Panthers proved to be on the prowl for a long match though as they stepped up to take a 25-19 win in the third set to inch ahead before ASU threw it down again in set four dropping the hammer on four blocks to High Point to shut them down in a 25-19 win to tie it up and send it five. ASU came out to swing it in set five as well, putting down a .241 attack percentage to finish off the Panthers in a nailbiter 15-13.
In the nightcap, ASU came out to face Utah Valley, coming off a solid win over UC Riverside earlier in the day. UVU came out to win the first set 25-19 as ASU’s offense found another sluggish start, but the Sun Devils bounced back again in the second, letting the Wolverines know who’s court it was with a 25-13 win and holding UVU to a -.152 attack percentage.
Set three told a different story though as 14 tie scores and six lead changes later UVU squeaked out a 28-26 win in extra points to push ASU against a wall. The Sun Devils responded with flair in the fourth though posting three blocks as Sarah Reaves tore it down with six kills for a .267 attack percentage to lead ASU to a 25-14 win and push it to five. It wasn’t to be though as UVU hung tough on another nailbiter with unforced errors tripping up ASU in the end as the Wolverines finished the match in a 15-13 final set.
Video highlights to come!
The Sun Devils return to action tomorrow to close out the ASU Sheraton Invitational as they face the UC Riverside Highlanders tomorrow at noon in Tempe at Wells Fargo Arena.
Erica Wilson Blazes ASU Volleyball Past UCR to Close ASU Sheraton Invitational
TEMPE, Ariz. – A revitalized ASU Volleyball team hit the court Saturday afternoon as they closed out the ASU Sheraton Invitational as ASU hit a .282, powered by Erica Wilson’s break-out performance of nine kills for a .583 average as ASU swept the UC Riverside Highlanders in the final match of the weekend, 25-21, 25-16 and 25-20. The win places ASU at 4-6 on the season as UC Riverside drops to 1-8.
The Sun Devils busted open the door in the first set with Sarah Reaves leading the way on offense as she put five on the floor to bolster ASU’s attack percentage to a well-oiled .353 on the set. The net was where the party was at though as ASU posted three blocks as a team with Malia Marquardt and Erica Wilson both putting up two block assists and pushing the UCR offense to make mistakes as ASU took the lead with a 25-21 win.
Set two saw Erica Wilson jump in on the offensive melee as she matched Sarah Reaves’ five kills as she nearly swung out of the gym with a .571 attack percentage that UCR’s defense couldn’t keep up with as the Sun Devils rolled into the break with a 25-16 win and up 2-0 in the match.
Three was proved to be a magic number for the Sun Devils on the day as that’s all they needed to finish off the win over the Highlanders, all the while looking fired up from first point to last. Malia Marquardt and Ashley Kastl stepped up in the set, putting down four kills apiece keeping UCR off-balance with attacks from all angles to give ASU their first sweep on the season with a 25-20 win.
The win wraps ASU’s second home tournament with a third on the horizon for the Sun Devils next weekend as they set to host the ASU Sheraton Tournament. Coming to town for the event are Michigan, Utah and Pacific with action starting Friday, Sept. 17 and through the 18th.
