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

October 08, 2008

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.<separator></separator> <separator></separator>Recapping Last Weekend:<separator></separator>Against Arizona:<separator></separator> 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.<separator></separator> <separator></separator>Scouting This Weekend’s Competition/Series History:<separator></separator>#5 California Golden Bears:<separator></separator>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.<separator></separator>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.<separator></separator>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.<separator></separator>All-time against the Bears is a tight one, with ASU leading 24-20, and tied 11-11 all-time at Cal.<separator></separator>#4 Stanford Cardinal:<separator></separator>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.<separator></separator>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.