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Isanovic Gets Career High But Sun Devils Fall At No. 21 WSU

by thesundevils.com
Nov 7, 2021

PULLMAN, Wash. -- Despite a career-high 28 kills from Iman Isanovic, Sun Devil Volleyball could not finish the win at No. 21 Washington State, falling in five sets (21-25, 23-25, 25-19, 25-17, 15-6) on Sunday afternoon.

Notable Stats

  • Arizona State (13-12, 6-8 Pac-12) dropped the match against Washington State (16-8, 10-4 Pac-12) in the Sun Devils' 11th five set match of the season. They now have a 3-8 record in matches that go to five sets. The 11 five-set matches played in is tied for second-most in program history with the 2019 season. The ASU record is 14 five-set matches in a single season.
  • The Sun Devils had a strong bounce back from the service line, earning eight aces after notching none in Seattle. However, ASU allowed 18 aces from WSU, the most an opponent has had against the Sun Devils this season.
  • Junior outside hitter Iman Isanovic had a career-high 28 kills while hitting a season-high .426 clip along with six digs. In the two matches Isanovic has played in Pullman in her career, she has notched 20 or more both times. Back in 2019, she had 20 kills, which was then a career high.
  • Two additional Sun Devils reached double figures in kills as Marta Levinska had 12 kills and 10 digs and sophomore middle blocker Claire Jeter had 10 kills and five digs along with  having three blocks. This is Levinska's 10th double-double of the season and Jeter's 10th match reaching double figures in kills 
  • Sophomore setter Ella Snyder had 42 assists and six digs along with two service aces. Snyder has 10 matches with 40 or more assists this season.
  • As the anchor on defense today for the Sun Devils, grad libero Jamye Cox finished with 10 digs and four assists. This is Cox's third time this season reaching double figures in digs and ties her career high in assists.
  • Sophomore middle blocker Claudia Stahlke matched her career-high in kills with four while also tallying three blocks, which along with Jeter, was the team high. 

Set One: Arizona State 25, Washington State 21
Four unanswered points after an ace by Snyder gave ASU a 4-0 lead in the first set. The Cougars tied the set 6-6 after a kill, but three straight points by the Sun Devils after an ace by Levinska made the score 9-6. WSU knotted up the set on back-to-back aces, 10-10, and ASU went on a 7-0 run, where Jeter had two aces throughout the stretch. WSU had a 3-0 spurt of its own to cut the deficit to five, 23-18, leading to ASU's first timeout of the set. Isanovic had a kill coming out of the timeout, but consecutive aces by the Cougars brought them within three on the Sun Devils' set point. A kill by Isanovic won the set for ASU, 25-21, making this the first opening set that WSU has lost since October 3.

Set Two: Arizona State 25, Washington State 23
An attack error by ASU put it behind 10-6, leading to a Sun Devil timeout. Isanovic had a kill after the timeout, then a 3-0 spurt by the Cougars made their lead six, 13-7, after back-to-back aces by WSU. The Sun Devils went on a 5-1 run to cut the Cougars' lead to two after a kill by Levinska, 14-12. A service error by the Sun Devils made it 20-14 in favor of WSU, but that deficit didn't keep ASU down. A kill from Stahlke put Arizona State within two, 21-19, and an error by WSU tied the set 23-23, forcing a Cougar timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Isanovic had consecutive aces to seal the set for the Sun Devils, 25-23.

Set Three: Washington State 25, Arizona State 19
A 3-0 run by ASU brought it within one of WSU in the early part of the third set, 5-4. A successful challenge by the Sun Devils tied the set at 9-9. However, a 4-0 run by WSU to lead 14-10 forced ASU to take a timeout. The Cougars continued their run to lead by six, resulting in the Sun Devils' second timeout of the set. A kill by Levinska snipped its deficit to three, 18-15. A 3-0 run by the Cougars pushed their lead out to six and a service error by the Sun Devils gave WSU the set, 25-19.

Set Four: Washington State 25, Arizona State 17
ASU took a 7-5 lead on a block from Isanovic and Stahlke. WSU went on a 7-0 run to lead 13-8, which led to a Sun Devil timeout. The Cougars went on a 3-0 spurt to push the lead to 16-9, which forced ASU into its second timeout of the set. A 4-0 stretch by ASU where Isanovic had consecutive kills brought the Sun Devils within six, 21-15. But the Cougars scoring four of the next six points gave them the set on a kill, 25-17.

Set Five: Washington State 15, Arizona State 6
Isanovic tallied three kills in the early moments of the fifth set to lead 3-1. WSU had six of the next seven points to take a 7-4 lead. The Sun Devils took a timeout and Levinska had a kill coming out of the break, but the Cougars had a 3-0 spurt to lead by five, 10-5. A kill from WSU resulted in ASU's second timeout with the Cougars up five, 11-6. WSU went on a 5-0 run to take the deciding set on a kill, 15-6. 

Up Next
Arizona State volleyball will have its last homestand of the season, facing Colorado on Friday at 2 p.m. MST and Senior Day against Utah will be on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. MST. Friday's match can be viewed on the Pac-12 Network and Sunday's match can be viewed on the ASU Live Stream.

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