Sun Devils Falter Against Cougars

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Sun Devil Volleyball opened a four-match home stand with a setback against 2020-21 NCAA Tournament team Washington State, falling in straight sets (25-20, 25-18, 25-14) in Desert Financial Arena on Thursday night.

Notable Stats:

• Arizona State (8-8, 1-4 Pac-12) was defeated in straight sets by Washington State (9-6, 3-2 Pac-12) to open the first of two matches versus the Washington schools. 
• Sophomore outside hitter Roberta Rabelo had ten kills, her season high and the sixth time in her career reaching double figures in kills. Rabelo also added five digs and two aces to tie her career high. 
• Junior pin hitter Iman Isanovic had eight kills for the Sun Devils, ending her impressive career-high streak of 16 matches in a row with double figures in kills.
• Jamye Cox started and in the third set played as libero, totaling seven digs. Junior libero Annika Larson, as libero through the first two sets and a defensive specialist in the third, had nine digs, which snapped her streak of six games with double digits in digs. 
• Sophomore setter Ella Snyder had 22 assists in the match, as well as five digs and two kills.
• The Sun Devil defense held WSU's Pia Timmer to single digit kills with a .061 hitting percentage after she had 15+ kills in her last three matches. 

Quotes
Arizona State Head Coach Sanja Tomasevic
Opening Statement
"We were just not good tonight, that was probably the worst we have played in a year or so and they were really good. They were really good in serve receive. We let them in the first set get in a nice little rhythm of serve receive with our easy serves. And then later on when we even hit hard serves, they were already feeling good about their serve receive. They really didn't struggle. When that team is in rhythm, they are really hard to stop. Their middles are really good. I'm disappointed in the way we played. There is a lot to do in a short period of time. We are going to watch ourselves tomorrow (in film), we are going to come into the gym on Saturday and hopefully get ready for Washington on Sunday."

On having a winning mindset 
"That team lost last weekend to UCLA and USC and they were ready for revenge. They were not coming out to get beat by us, too. You could tell how they played they meant business. They came out here and they were like, this is not happening. That's something I want my team to eventually start doing. I told them today we have to get out there with the idea that we are going to win. We are not going to push them hard. We are not going to try to win. We are going out there to win. I think the teams that come out there and truly believe that have a different swag about them. This team has potential to do that, it's just going to take some growing up."

On Jamye Cox as Libero in the third set
"It's because Anni (Larson) was having a tough serve receive match. Jamye was passing better and we needed some change in the position… Jamye was passing 75 percent in the first two sets, Anni was passing 20 percent. Those two have been competing the entire season. I thought Jamye did really well when she was called upon."

Sophomore outside hitter Roberta Rabelo
On what the team needs to improve on
"I think we should have been confident. They were aggressive, they were confident. We should be confident as well. We need to be aggressive and we were not confident as we should have been and like we can be." 

On mindset against ranked Washington 
"We have a really good mindset that we are going to win. We will go to the court to win like we did last year. Even if it is the same team or different team, we are going to be better. We are going to watch the film and improve to play well on Sunday."

Set One: Washington State 25, Arizona State 20
A kill from Isanovic tied the set 5-5 for the Sun Devils in the opening set against the Cougars. WSU took a 12-9 lead after scoring three points in a row, causing ASU to take their first timeout of the set. A tip from Snyder cut the deficit to one, 14-13, but the Cougars would have consecutive points to regain a three-point lead in the middle of the set. Following ASU'S second timeout, WSU pushed its lead to four, 19-15. A kill from Rabelo brought ASU within one, but the Cougars would score five of the next six points to take the set, 25-20.

Set Two: Washington State 25, Arizona State 18
Washington State jumped out to an early 6-2 lead, taking the momentum from the end of the first set. After back-to-back points by the Sun Devils, the Cougars scored three in a row to increase their lead, 11-5. Arizona State would go on a 4-0 run to cut a seven-point deficit to three, 14-11, and after that the Sun Devils and Cougars traded points, with WSU keeping a three-point lead. Back-to-back kills by WSU would push its lead to seven, 22-15, and would win the set on an ASU error, 25-18.

Set Three: Washington State 25, Arizona State 14
A 5-0 run by WSU gave them the early edge, 8-4, in the third set, leading to a Sun Devil timeout. Back-to-back kills by the Cougars pushed their lead 13-7 and four straight by WSU pushed its lead 17-8 until a kill from Jeter stopped the run. Consecutive points by the Sun Devils cut the deficit, 22-13, however the Cougars would take the set and match on an ace, 25-14. 
 

Up Next
Arizona State will host No. 11 Washington on Sunday, taking on the Huskies at noon MST. The match will be broadcasted on the ASU Live Stream.