Buffs Outblock Sun Devils But Fall In Four
TEMPE, Ariz. - The University of Colorado volleyball team took the first set against Arizona State at Wells Fargo Arena but was unable to complete the match and fell 23-25, 25-22, 25-16, 25-19.
The Buffs recorded 9.0 blocks compared to ASU's 7.0 blocks on Friday night. Nikki Lindow led the Buffs with five blocks, one solo and four assists. Kerra Schroeder had two block solos in the effort and added a block assist while Kelsey English had three block assists.
"Our blocking was a brighter spot tonight, and we need to take that and build on it for tomorrow's match," coach Liz Kritza said. "We have to take what we can use as positives to get ourselves in a good spot to compete because of the fast turnaround."
Schroeder led CU with 13 kills and Neira Ortiz Ruiz had a career-high nine kills in the match. English and Lindow each added eight kills and Alyssa Valentine had seven kills while recording a .417 hitting percentage with just two errors on 12 attacks.
"Another bright spot was Valentine's attacking, she was more aggressive with her attacking and it proved positive for us," Kritza said.
Megan Beckwith had 18 digs for the Buffs while Elysse Richardson and Schroeder each recorded eight digs.
ASU had two player record double-digit kills. Ashley Kastl hit a match-best 18 kills and Nora Tuioti-Mariner had 17 kills. Stephanie Preach lead the Sun Devils with 26 digs.
The first set was very close with had nine ties and three lead changes. CU took a 22-20 lead in the first set, forcing the Sun Devils to use their first timeout of the match. Schroeder recorded a kill for the Buffs to give them a three-point lead at 23-20. ASU answered back with a kill, but once again Schroeder fired back to bring CU to game point (24-21). The Sun Devils fought off the first two set points, but CU came back to finish the set 25-23 after an ASU attack error.
CU and ASU played another close set in the second game of the match. The Sun Devils took a four-point lead, the largest of the set, at 20-16. The Buffs got back within two points at 20-18, but ASU used a 4-2 run to bring the score to 24-20. The Buffs fought off the first two set points with kills from Ortiz Ruiz and English, but ASU finished it with a kill on the next point (25-22).
The Sun Devils took an 11-4 lead to start the third set. Despite the effort from the Buffs, ASU continued to lead the set and went up 21-11. CU took five of the next eight points but wasn't able to hold off the Sun Devils as they finished the frame 25-16.
Arizona State started the fourth set with a 9-5 lead and increased it to 14-6. The Buffs battled back and got within three points at 17-14. The Sun Devils were able to hold off CU's rally and finished the set 25-19.
Colorado is now 5-21 overall, 0-18 in the Pac-12; ASU improved to 7-19, 3-14 in the league. The Buffs will face Arizona (16-10, 8-9 Pac-12) on Saturday, Nov. 12 in Tucson, Ariz. at 7 p.m.
"We will harden our resolve and will continue to comeback and fight to put together a complete performance," Kritza said. "The one thing about this team is that we simply refuse to give up. We will continue to work hard and to expect progress and we will not stop until we find success."
And don't forget to check out the latest news and highlights with coach Kritza on 'This Week in Colorado Volleyball,' exclusively on BuffsTV at CUBuffs.com/volleyball. New shows air every Tuesday.