No. 13 Arizona State Holds Off Surging Buffs

TEMPE, Ariz. — The Buffaloes were unable to keep the magic going on Saturday night as No. 13 Arizona State ended the University of Colorado's three-match win streak by defeating CU 3-1 (25-21, 8-25, 25-12, 25-23) at Wells Fargo Arena.

The Buffs are now 13-9 overall, 5-5 in Pac-12 play, while ASU improved to 17-4 overall, 6-4 in the league.

Senior Alexis Austin led CU with 15 kills and sophomore Gabby Simpson had nine kills. Sophomore Anna Pfefferle also added seven kills for the Buffs.

CU hit .200 in the match with 42 kills and 21 errors on 105 attacks. Senior Nicole Edelman handed out 37 of CU's 40 assists.

The Sun Devils hit just .162 with 43 kills and 24 errors on 117 attacks. BreElle Bailey had a match-high 16 kills.  

CU out-dug ASU 41-35. Junior Cierra Simpson recorded 16 digs, while Gabby Simpson added 10 digs.

Both teams had 13.0 team blocks. Freshman Naghede Abu posted seven blocks, five solo and two assists, while Austin had three blocks, two solo and one assist. Gabby Simpson also had two block solos and one block assist.

The Buffs owned a 13-10 lead to start the match before the Sun Devils recorded a 4-0 run to take a 14-13 advantage. CU sided-out to even the set, but then ASU added another three points to its score (17-14), forcing CU to use a timeout. The Sun Devils did not slow down out of the break, taking the following three points, causing the Buffs to take another timeout (20-14).

Pfefferle recorded a kill out of the break and the two sides exchanged points. ASU would eventually go up 24-19. The Buffs fought off the first two set points with a kill from Gabby Simpson and a block by Joselyn Hayes, but the Sun Devils finished the set with a kill from Lexi MacLean (25-21).

Edelman started serving in the second set for the Buffs and helped them take the first nine points in the match. ASU finally sided-out, but only took one point before the Buffs answered back (10-1). CU continued to attack, taking a 10-point lead at 12-2. The Buffs went up 15-3 a short time later, with a pair of kills from Hayes and one kill from Gabby Simpson.

The Sun Devils took their final timeout of the set with the Buffs leading 17-4. CU did not let up and finished the frame 25-8. The Buffs hit a scorching .579 with 12 kills and just one error on 19 attacks and held ASU to -.115 with just five kills and eight errors on 26 swings.  

The Buffs trailed the third set 11-7 when they took their first timeout. ASU took the first point off the break and continued to extend their lead, going up 20-11 before CU took its last timeout of the set. The Buffs were unable to get much going and ASU took the set 25-12.

CU had a 12-8 lead in the fourth set when ASU rallied back within one point, forcing the Buffs to take a timeout (12-11). A kill by BreElle Bailey evened the frame and ASU went ahead on the next point (13-12). The Buffs came back to tie the set again at 15-15 after Pfefferle tallied a pair of kills.

The frame was tied seven more times before ASU had a 23-22 lead, forcing CU to call timeout. Pfefferle answered with a kill for CU out of the break, but ASU recorded a kill to follow, reaching set point (24-23). The Sun Devils won the set and match on the following point (25-23).

The Buffs return home to the Coors Events Center next weekend for matches against Oregon State and No. 25 Oregon, Oct. 30 and 31, respectively.