UCLA Hosts ASU in Top-Five Matchup
April 14, 2016 | Women's Water Polo
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The second-ranked UCLA women's water polo team returns to action when it hosts fourth-ranked Arizona State on Friday afternoon. The conference clash takes place at 3:30 pm PDT at Spieker Aquatics Center and will be televised live on Pac-12 Networks.
Last time out, UCLA (20-3, 3-1 MPSF) suffered its third loss of the season to top-ranked crosstown rival USC. With the 8-5 win, the Trojans snapped the Bruins' nine-game win streak. UCLA was firing on all cylinders throughout the game, outshooting USC 24-18. But this Bruin firepower was not enough to overcome USC's formidable Amanda Longan in the cage. Longan, this week's MPSF/Kap7 Newcomer of the Week, posted 13 saves and tallied two steals in the win.
Offensively, the Bruins are led by India Forster and Mackenzie Barr with 33 goals apiece. Devin Grab and Lizette Rozeboom have netted 32 and 30, respectively. Six more Bruins are in double digits, led by Alexa Tielmann with 25 and Ashley Zwirner with 23. Showcasing a team-style attack, UCLA has assisted on 155 of its 277 goals this season. Grab and Barr lead the pack with 21 dishes each, while Kelsey O'Brien has 15, and Zwirner and Charlotte Pratt have tallied 14 apiece.
On the defensive end, the Bruins are the second-ranked defense in the conference. Amassing 211 steals throughout the season so far, the squad is led by O'Brien with 33 and Barr with 27. In the cage, freshman Carlee Kapana and senior Alex Musselman rank third and fourth in the MPSF, respectively, in saves per game. The rookie is averaging 9.39 saves and the veteran averaging 8.65.
Scouting the Sun Devils
Arizona State (17-5, 3-2 MPSF) is on a three-game win streak. To kick off the streak, the Sun Devils edged then No. 7 Cal, 7-6, in double overtime in their last home game of the season. From there, ASU picked up two road wins at a doubleheader in the Bay Area. The Devils knocked off then 11th-ranked San Jose State, 13-8, before easily taking care of business in a 15-3 victory over CSU Monterey Bay.
Freshman Maud Koopman leads the Sun Devils in scoring with 29 goals. Daisy Carter (27), Katie Sverchek (25), and Abbey Kerth (23) round out ASU's top scoring threats. In the cage, sophomore Mia Rycraw ranks second in the conference in saves per game (11.26), tallying 214 saves in 19 appearances.
Although UCLA leads ASU 17-1 all-time, Friday's game looks to be fairly evenly matched. The Bruins are third in the conference (3-1) with the Sun Devils close behind in fourth (3-2). UCLA is the third-ranked team offense and second-ranked team defense, while ASU ranks fifth and fourth in those categories, respectively.
For live updates during Friday's game, follow UCLA women's water polo on Twitter.