No. 17 Arizona State (23-4, 11-4 in Pac-12) looked to start its final homestand of the season with a win against Colorado on Thursday night.
The Sun Devils were able to do just that, securing the win in four sets (21-25, 25-21, 25-21, 25-16).
The win pushed ASU’s record in Mullet Arena to 5-0 and improved the Sun Devils’ perfect home record to 7-0 on the season.
Arizona State looked to be in control early, gaining a 16-13 lead.
This did not last long as Colorado was able to turn things around after a timeout going on to score twelve of the next seventeen points taking the first set 25-21.
“I thought we weren’t really playing up to some of our standards and we finally started to put some stuff together at the end,” head coach JJ Van Neil said.
The game was starting to look like a repeat of the match a couple of weeks ago in Colorado that saw the Buffaloes blank ASU in three sets.
“I think after these practices that we had we knew that it was our time to win against them and show them what we’re really about and how we play because they didn’t get to see that,” senior middle blocker Claire Jeter said.
Arizona State quickly changed the narrative in the second set as they once again jumped out to an early 16-12 lead and had all the momentum.
“We changed some matchups I think that helped for us after that first set and got a few different matchups in serving situations that we liked,” Neil said.
Offensively, the Sun Devils were led by senior opposite hitter Marta Levinska. She tallied 25 kills along with junior outside hitter Geli Cyr and senior outside hitter Roberta Rabelo who both added nine.
ASU held on to take the second set 25-21 evening the match at 1-1.
Graduate student setter Shannon Shields helped quarterback the offense with 46 assists on the night.
Colorado started to bring the intensity back in the third set going up 10-5 led by senior outside hitter Maya Tabron who tallied 14 kills.
ASU was, however, able to battle hard going ahead 21-20 before winning four of the next five points to take the third set 25-21.
“I think a big thing for us is defending our home court because we haven’t lost here yet and it’s a really really great environment to play in and is a huge advantage for us,” Cyr said.
Defensively, ASU was led by Jeter who had four blocks. Graduate student middle blocker Maddie McLaughlin and Levinska each had three as well.
The defense played a big role in the win. The Sun Devils were able to turn defense into offense, which allowed them to take a stranglehold of the game.
The fourth set saw both teams exchange points back and forth as the Buffaloes tried desperately to create some momentum to take a must-win set.
However, it was the Sun Devils offense that carried them to a fourth-set victory 25-16.
ASU generated a 52% hitting percentage in the fourth set with only one attacking error compared to Colorado’s 30% and five hitting errors.
“I thought we served a lot better than last time we played them,” Neil said. “We didn’t feel like we got them in nearly enough trouble in serve receive the last time we played them.”
The Sun Devils’ efficiency was evident all night in all facets of the game including attacking, serving, and defense.
It didn’t matter if there was a mistake made because the next play ASU would score the point.
Arizona State will look to continue its dominance at home this Saturday, as the team will host the Utah Utes at 6:30 p.m. at Desert Financial Arena in the Salute to Service Game.
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