After an unexpected loss at Oregon State on Friday, No. 19 Arizona State responded on Sunday afternoon with an upset over the No. 5 Oregon Ducks. The Sun Devils swept their hosts 27-25, 25-18, 25-19.
The win marked the first time Arizona State beat Oregon on the road since 2019. It was also the first time the Sun Devils swept the Ducks since a 2018 matchup in Eugene.
The Ducks burst out to a 4-1 lead in the first set, before the Sun Devils went on a 14-7 run to take a 15-11 lead at the media timeout.
The Ducks equalized at 19, but the Sun Devils would jump back into the lead and had two opportunities to take the match lead. However, Oregon forced side-outs on each set point.
The third time was the charm for the Sun Devils. They won the opening set 27-25 off an ace from their serving specialist, freshman outside hitter Jillian Neal.
The 27-25 win was the Sun Devils’ sixth set decided by two points this season, and the third time they had won a set by that margin.
Arizona State diversified its attack in the first set, with six players logging a kill.
The star of that group was graduate setter Shannon Shields. She had three kills in the opening frame, and five on the day, which tied her career high.
After the Ducks opened the first set with a lead, the Sun Devils jumped to a 5-1 advantage in the second set. Oregon followed with a 4-0 run to tie it.
The Ducks eventually led 10-9, but ASU conjured up a 15-7 run to take the set 25-18 and double the match lead.
Senior outside hitter Roberta Rabelo had five of her eight kills in the second set and also registered a block.
While Oregon sophomore outside hitter Mimi Colyer’s kills increased, so did the errors on both sides. The Sun Devils made five errors, but the Ducks made nine in that third set, including on the last three points. This caused Arizona State to finish off Oregon on a 4-0 run, winning the final set 25-19.
Colyer had 11 kills for the Ducks, registering double-digit kills for the seventh consecutive game. She only got five kills in the first two sets. But she had six in the third set, including two early in the frame that gave Oregon the lead.
In the victory, senior outside hitter Marta Levinska led the Sun Devils in kills with 12 and Shields led in assists with 29. Shields also shared the lead in digs with 10 alongside junior outside hitter Geli Cyr and graduate libero Mary Shroll. Cyr added six kills as well.
The Sun Devils had several statistical victories which aided in the upset bid. They only had 24 errors compared to the Ducks’ 30. They also out-aced Oregon six to one and had a .228% hitting percentage compared to the Ducks’ .127%.
The victory moves Arizona State to 18-2 overall and 6-2 in conference play. The team also moves to third in the Pac-12 standings, only behind No. 3 Stanford and No. 4 Washington State.
The Sun Devils will look to continue their winning ways this Friday as they head to Salt Lake City to take on the Utah Utes (8-10 overall, 3-5 in Pac-12) at 5 p.m.
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