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For the second match in a row Arizona State came back from a 2-1 deficit, beating Oregon in five sets (25-19, 25-27, 25-27, 25-22, 18-16) at Matthew Knight Arena on Sunday.
The Sun Devils (15-12, 7-9 Pac-12) are undefeated in 2019 against the Oregon schools, after beating Oregon (7-18, 3-13 Pac-12) for the second time this season. This was the third match in a row that went to five sets for ASU. The last time that happened for ASU was in 2014.
“I’m glad we finished with two wins in tough games on the road,” head coach Sanja Tomasevic said. “I’m proud of my team and how relentless we were. We never quit. I love how everyone was ready to play.”
The offense showed up for the second game in a row. The return of middle blocker Megan Beddie proved clutch for the Devils, as she had 6 kills and four block assists.. Freshman Iman Isanovic also played well, as she seems to turn up the notch in big situations. The freshman finished with a team high 19 kills. She also had two aces and three blocks.
After earning her second-straight double-double with 16 kills and 14 digs, senior outside hitter Ivana Jeremic surpassed the 1,000 career kills mark in the match. She is just the 17th player in ASU to reach that milestone as a Sun Devil. In both games the senior has seen to earn more trust from the coaching staff.
Senior setter Callie Jones seemed to get more playing time than another other setter tonight. Tomasevic has been using a rotation but Jones is starting to take a more prominent role. The senior had a team-high 29 assists and 12 digs for her fifth double-double of the season.
The defense played well again tonight. Another freshman lead the way for the Devils, as freshman middle blocker Kennedi Boyd had a team-high six blocks. Senior libero Courtney Leffel had her third match in a row with 20-plus digs after earning 27.
“Courtney’s 27 digs also can’t go unnoticed,” Tomasevic said of her senior. “It’s impressive that she is moving up in the record books the way that she is.”
Arizona State is back in Tempe this weekend. The Devils are to host Washington State and Washington on Thursday and Sunday, respectively. Thursday’s match is Senior Night for the Arizona State’s seniors.