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Sun Devils Triumph In Two Matches

by thesundevils.com
Sep 10, 2021

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - Iman Isanovic and Marta Levinska had double-doubles in each match to lead Sun Devil Volleyball to victories over Utah Valley in five sets and Northern Arizona in four, going 2-0 to start the Lumberjack Classic on Friday.

Quotes
Arizona State Head Coach Sanja Tomasevic
"I'm really proud of the adjustments we made from game one to game two! After the tough battle this morning, we changed what we needed to and it showed. I also love the way our setters Shannon (Shields) and Ella (Snyder) ran offense tonight. I also want to shout out Andi (Kreiling) for how she played against NAU. She really stepped up for us and made a difference. I'm looking to continue building from here."
 

Match One: Arizona State 3, Utah Valley 2
The tournament started off with a five-set battle for the Sun Devils. After going down 2-1 in the match, ASU came back to beat UVU 3-2 (25-18, 23-25, 22-25, 25-23, 15-13), led by double-doubles from Iman Isanovic and Marta Levinska and a career-high in kills from Claire Jeter.

Notable Stats

  • Arizona State (4-3) played in its fourth five-set match of the season and is now 2-2 in those contests. 
  • The Sun Devils improve to 4-1 all-time against the Wolverines (1-5).
  • Pin hitters Marta Levinska and Iman Isanovic both earned double-doubles in the win. Levinska had 16 kills (season high) and 13 digs while Isanovic earned 14 kills and 12 digs (season high). Isanovic also extended her streak of reaching double figures in kills to eight matches in a row (dating back to last season). She also had a season-best four aces.
  • Sophomore middle blocker Claire Jeter reached a career-high 15 kills in the victory. She also led the team in blocks with five total.
  • The setting duties were split throughout the match. Junior Shannon Shields earned the most assists with a season-high 23, as well as two aces and six digs. Sophomore Ella Snyder had 19 assists, adding six digs, and ace and a kill.
  • Freshmen Allie Gray and Geli Cyr made their first collegiate appearances in the match. Gray had three assists and a dig, and Cyr had two kills and a block.

Set One: Arizona State 25, Utah Valley 18
Both teams struggled offensively to start the match, each of them hitting below .200 in the first set. The Sun Devils ran away with it late in the set after a competitive opening frame. With Isanovic at the service line, ASU closed out the set on a 5-0 run, three of which were aces.

Set Two: Utah Valley 25, Arizona State 23
After a 4-0 run, the Wolverines took an 8-7 lead early in the second frame. The Sun Devils got back the lead right after the run by scoring a couple in a row capped off by an ace from Annika Larson, making it 10-8. Four-straight points for ASU extended its lead to 17-13. However, UVU put together a big 6-0 run to take the 19-17 lead, an advantage which it would hold to eventually win the set.

Set Three: Utah Valley 25, Arizona State 22
The third set began with the two teams trading points until UVU went on an 8-2 run to go up 16-12. Arizona State threatened late in the set, getting as close as 23-21 after a kill from Levinska, but the damage was done and Utah Valley would take the set, 25-22. 

Set Four: Arizona State 25, Utah Valley 23
The Sun Devils jumped out to a big 6-1 lead to start this set with help from two aces from Shields and a Jeter solo block. The Wolverines closed the gap, going on a 4-0 run to tie the set at 11-11. ASU responded with its own run of four with three UVU attack errors later in the set to make it an 18-14 advantage. A late 6-1 run for the Wolverines made it close at the end, cutting the Sun Devils' lead down to one at 24-23. A lengthy review at set point gave UVU an extra point to that run to make it 24-23, but ASU would finish the set thanks to a service error and force a fifth.

Set Five: Arizona State 15, Utah Valley 13
Battling from the start, neither team gave up much of an edge until the Sun Devils put together four in row with two kills from Isanovic to go up 10-6. The Wolverines closed the gap to just one at 11-10, keeping it close. Arizona State scored three straight to get to match point at 14-11. UVU held off a couple match points before ASU got the 15-13 win with a kill from Jeter.

Match Two: Arizona State 3, Northern Arizona 1
The Sun Devils wrapped up the first day of the Lumberjack Classic with a 3-1 win (25-18, 24-26, 27-25, 25-16) over the home team Lumberjacks, led by a second-straight match of double-doubles from Isanovic and Levinska.

Notable Stats:

  • Arizona State improved to 5-3 on the season and now leads the all-time series 5-1 versus Northern Arizona (1-5).
  • This was the first match to go to four sets that ASU has played in this season.
  • The pin hitter duo of Iman Isanovic and Marta Levinska earned double-doubles for the second match in a row. Isanovic had a team-high 15 kills with 13 digs, while Levinska tallied 12 kills and 11 digs .
  • Sophomore middle blocker Claire Jeter had a career-high in blocks with seven in the victory. She also added nine kills.
  • Another career night for a Sun Devil came from freshman middle blocker/outside hitter Andi Kreiling who had nine kills swinging from the pins in the victory.
  • Junior libero Annika Larson led the team in digs with 17, adding five assists as well.
  • Splitting setting duties again were Shannon Shield and Ella Snyder. Their assist totals were separated by just one, with Shield earning 23 and Snyder getting 22. They also both had two aces each.
  • The serve continued to be a factor as ASU had just five service errors and eight aces in the match, while Northern Arizona had nine aces but 15 service errors.
  • The Sun Devils out-blocked the Lumberjacks 11 to 5. ASU's number ties a season high, the second time reaching double figures in blocks this season.

Set One: Arizona State 25, Northern Arizona 18
The Sun Devils opened the second match of the day with a quick 3-0 run that saw a kill by Isanovic and a service ace by Shields. Leading early, Rabelo had two quick kills for ASU. A kill from Isanovic and a second ace by Shields led the Sun Devils on a 5-0 run and the Lumberjacks called a timeout with ASU leading 15-7. A kill by NAU and an error by ASU would bring the Lumberjacks within six, 23-17, but the Sun Devils would win the first set, 25-18 on a hitting error by NAU.

Set Two: Northern Arizona 26, Arizona State 24
The Lumberbacks responded to the first set defeat by opening the second set with a 3-1 lead. Sparked by back-to-back kills by Levinska, the Sun Devils went on a 5-0 run to take the lead, 7-4. The Lumberjacks crafted a 3-0 run of their own to tie the set, 11-11. A block from Jeter and Rabelo along with a kill from Isanovic pushed ASU on a 3-0 run to get the 14-11 advantage. After the Lumberjacks tied it back up at 14-14, the two teams kept it close, trading sideouts until the end of the frame. ASU got to set point, 24-23, after an NAU error, but the Lumberjacks came back with three straight to take second set in extra points, 26-24, clinching it on an ace that hit the end line.

Set Three: Arizona State 27, Northern Arizona 25
ASU found itself tied with NAU early in the third set, 6-6, with errors keeping it close. The close competition continued from the previous set with neither team able to create separation. With back-to-back kills by Kreiling and an ace by Snyder, ASU regained its lead, 14-12. A kill by Isanovic pushed the Sun Devils' lead to three, 17-14, but the Lumberjacks responded with a 3-0 run to tie the set at 17 apiece. An ace, of which the Lumberjacks had five in the third set, helped NAU regain its lead, 19-18. Despite trailing 22-20, the Sun Devils came back and had the first set point at 24-23. The set went to extra points again where ASU had the set point two more times before taking the set on an NAU error, 27-25.

Set Four: Arizona State 25, Northern Arizona 16
Jeter had her seventh kill of the match to give the Sun Devils an early 5-3 lead. NAU had three of the next four points to tie the set 6-6, but ASU went on a 4-0 run that saw back-to-back kills from Isanovic and a block by Badini and Kreiling. A Levinska kill gave ASU a 16-9 lead, which led to a Lumberjack timeout. An ace and a kill by NAU helped cut into its deficit, but a kill followed by consecutive aces from Levinska and a kill from Kreiling gave the Sun Devils a double-digit advantage. They would win the set, 25-16, on a kill by Badini.

Up Next
The final match of the tournament is against UC Davis on Saturday at noon MST. There will be no live stream for the match, but fans can follow along with live scoring or on Twitter (@SunDevilVB).

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