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Sun Devil Volleyball Upsets No. 8 UW in Season Opener

Jan 22, 2021

Box Score | Sanja Tomasevic Timeline | Boxscore

SEATTLE - Kicking off the season with a bang, Sun Devil Volleyball swept No. 8 Washington on the road, led by freshman Marta Levinska's 18 kills.

Notable Stats

  • Arizona State (1-0) opened the 2020-21 season by upsetting No. 8 Washington (0-1). This is the first win in Seattle for the Sun Devils since 2012. The last sweep over the Huskies came in 2018 in Tempe.
  • This is the first top-10 win since 2015 when ASU beat No. 8 Stanford in four sets.
  • As a team, the Sun Devils hit .364, the 10th-highest hitting percentage in program history and highest since 2013. 
  • The Sun Devil block got off to a strong start in the match. Megan Beedie, Kennedi Boyd and Maddie McLaughlin all teamed up with four blocks apiece to give the team eight total blocks.
  • Freshman Marta Levinska made her collegiate debut in extraordinary fashion. She had a match-high with 18 kills. She hit .500 and had eight digs.
  • Another freshman Ella Snyder started at setter, dishing out 36 assists, as well as collecting 11 digs to get a double-double and two kills. 
  • Sophomore Iman Isanovic made her season debut with a double-double of her own with 12 kills and 10 digs. She also had two aces.
  • Another sophomore made an impact. Annika Larson made her first start at libero, notching a career-high 18 digs.
  • Other freshmen got their first taste of college volleyball as well, with Alasia Ureña and Roberta Rabelo taking the court for the first time as well. Ureña had one dig and Rabelo had one kill.
  • Arizona State head coach Sanja Tomasevic picked up her second win as a head coach against her alma mater Washington, the other being in 2018 in Tempe.

Quotes
Arizona State Head Coach Sanja Tomasevic
"What an amazing night for our young team! I'm super proud of the way we showed up to play against one of the best Pac-12 teams. This team has talent and will to be great. It's going to take games like this to get the experience, and we will for sure have more of these kinds of nights coming up in the tough Pac-12 schedule.I loved the play of Iman and Marta, freshman and sophomore; they had great nights. Marta hit .500 her first night in the Pac-12 and had 18 kills in 3 sets. I'm so proud of her! Now it's time to get some rest and do it all over again tomorrow night. I'll tell you this, I know it won't be easy but we will be ready." 

Set One: Arizona State 25, UW 20
The Huskies came out hot and were able to take an early lead, going up by as many as six points. ASU went on a 3-0 run halfway through the set to come within three points. An ace by Isanovic tied the game up at 18 all. A net violation by the Huskies sealed their fate, allowing the Sun Devils to secure the 25-20 victory. Arizona State outhit the Huskies .480 to .250 in the opening frame. 

Set Two: Arizona State 25, UW 15
Despite allowing the Huskies to score first, set two was all Sun Devils. An early kill by Beedie gave ASU a 5-3 lead. From that point on, the Sun Devils dominated. Back-to-back kills by Levinska allowed the Devils to jump to a 15-8 lead. Another kill by Beedie increased the lead to 22-10. The Huskies then went on a 4-0 run, but it was too little too late as a service error by the Huskies secured the Sun Devil victory. ASU led by as many as 13 points in the second set. 

Set Three: Arizona State 28, UW 26
In a thrilling third set, Arizona State was able to complete the sweep over Washington and get their first win of the season. The score was tied numerous times in the beginning of the set before Washington went on a 7-0 run to lead 16-12. Kills by Isanovic and Levinska kept ASU in the game and led to another tie at 22 points. A ball handling error gave the Sun Devils match point, but the Huskies continued to put up a fight to force extra points. Arizona State had four separate match points, and ultimately won the game on a kill from Lavinska. 

Up Next
The second match of the two-game series against Washington will be played tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. MST. Fans can watch the battle on the UW Live Stream or follow along on live stats or on social media (@SunDevilVB).