Volleyball hits the homecourt against Stanford and Cal

Coming Soon: The Arizona State Sun Devil Women’s Volleyball Team (12-11 overall, 3-7 Pac-10) return to the home parquet this weekend to host the Pac-10 powerhouses, the second-ranked Stanford Cardinal (19-3 overall, 10-1 Pac-10) and sixth-ranked Cal Golden Bears (19-3 overall, 9-2 conference) as their Pac-10 home slate continues on. The Sun Devils will face Stanford on Friday, November 7 and Cal Saturday, Nov. 8. Both matches will start at 7 p.m. MT and will be held at ASU’s Wells Fargo Arena.

Follow The Sun Devils Live!:
All of ASU’s fans can follow all of ASU’s home matches, and some road matches, via the free statistical GameTracker at www.thesundevils.com.

Recapping Last Weekend Against Arizona:
A State came out for quite possibly their best outing in the entire 2008 campaign as they stormed their home court to topple their in-state rival Arizona in a perfect 25-22, 25-17 and 25-23 sweep of the ‘Cats for their third consecutive home win over UA in three years. The stars of the show proved to be Margie Giordano and Sarah Reaves on offense and Sonja Markanovich and Sarah Reaves on the Devil D. A phenomenal team attack percentage of .307 also spelled the story as the team clicked into high gear on the ‘Cats to collect their third Kachina in as many years.

Competition and History Against Stanford Cardinal:
The Cardinal boast a four-match winning streak after dominating the Washington schools with two straight sweeps as well. A 2007 Final Four participant as well their Bay Area counterparts Cal, Stanford went 32-3 last year only to finish as the NCAA Runner-Up to the National Championship and this year look to do one better as they return five starters and alibero, all close to All-American caliber.

All time against the powerhouse of Stanford is a tough one for ASU as Stanford leads 43-2 with a perfect 20-2 record against ASU in Tempe.

Competition and History Against Cal Golden Bears:
The Golden Bears entered the 2008 season with a full arsenal of weapons, returning five starters and a libero from the 2007 season which saw them go 26-8 overall and finish their season ranked fourth in the nation and make it as far as the NCAA Semifinal match where they lost to 2007 National Champion, Penn State.

Last weekend against the Washington schools, the Bears dominated Washington State 3-1, before being sweeping by away tenth-ranked Washington.

All-time against the Bears is a tight one, with ASU leading 24-21, and ASU holding a 13-9 lead on their home court.