Volleyball to take on some of the best in the Bay Area

The Arizona State Sun Devil Women’s Volleyball Team (10-6 overall, 1-2 Pac-10) will head to the Bay Area this weekend to take on a pair of lethal opponents in the fifth-ranked Cal Golden Bears (14-1 overall, 4-0 Pac-10) and the fourth-ranked  Stanford Cardinal (13-2 overall, 4-0 Pac-10) in their home arenas this Friday and Sunday, October 10 & 12. The Sun Devils face Cal on Friday night at 7 p.m. in Haas Pavilion in Berkeley then look to wrap-up the weekend on Sunday afternoon as they kick-off a 2 p.m. affair against Stanford in the Maples Pavilion in Stanford, Calif.

Recapping Last Weekend:

Against Arizona:

The Sun Devils jumped ahead to lead their in-state rival in the first set, as well as out-hitting them through the set, but the effort wasn’t enough as the ‘Cats stormed back and capitalized on costly ASU errors to take the 25-23 win. The situation remained the same in the second set, with ASU cruising ahead of Arizona, but stumbling yet again in the end only have UA edge them 25-20. The third set saw ASU’s composure crumble as they were blasted away by Arizona’s .375 attack percentage and suffered a 25-10 loss, for their first defeat at the hands of Arizona in over two years.

Scouting This Weekend’s Competition/Series History:

#5 California 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.

Names to note on the court for Cal are Hana Cutura who leads the offensive assault with 209 kills with a .374 attack percentage. Guiding her along is Carli Lloyd, who’s set up 578 successful attacks this season and looking for more.

Last weekend against the Washington schools, the Bears dominated, sweeping away tenth-ranked Washington and Washington State to remain an untouched 4-0 in Pac-10 play and riding a nine match winning streak.

All-time against the Bears is a tight one, with ASU leading 24-20, and tied 11-11 all-time at Cal.

#4 Stanford Cardinal:

The Cardinal boast a similar nine-match winning streak as their Bay Area counterparts after dominating the Washington schools with two straight sweeps as well. A 2007 Final Four participant as well, 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 a libero, all close to All-American caliber.

All time against the powerhouse of Stanford is a tough one for ASU as Stanford leads 42-2 with a perfect 22-0 record against ASU at home.