Last season, now-No. 21 ASU played in 14 five-set matches.
Leading into the match against Colorado, it had only played one in 2015. Its second resulted in a comeback from the Buffalo (25-27, 25-13, 25-21, 17-25, 12-15).
A lot went right for ASU this match. One of the concerns coming in was the thin air, and how it would affect the serving and passing game from the Sun Devils.
The air makes the ball fly a little further. Last weekend, ASU had 18 service errors. On Thursday, it only had three.
Blocking hasn't been an issue for ASU this year, but the net defense shone against Colorado. Every player who played at the net had at least three blocks. Junior outside hitter Cassidy Pickrell and senior middle blocker Whitney Follette each had seven, and senior middle blocker Mercedes Binns had nine.
Despite this, sophomore middle blocker Anna Pfefferle and senior outside hitter Alexis Austin combined for 36 kills and a .375 hitting percentage.
Senior setter Nicole Edelman's passing carried the team; she had 63 assists, and the team had 69 kills. She wasn't just passing, though.
With the score tied at 14 in the fourth set, ASU’s Follette got the pass on the left side. Edelman sprinted over from the middle and managed to block her hit.
She had two blocks in the match.
She had several attacking attempts as well and had two kills, the final one coming in the clutch. She placed a well-timed server attack down the middle to pick up the match-clinching point in the fifth set.
This came after Colorado went on a 5-0 run to grab the 12-10 lead.
Before this, ASU had been playing well in the set. Binns got consecutive kills early in it; she and freshman setter Kylie Pickrell have improved their connection dramatically, and more sets hit Binns right in her window. Typically, the big has to reach at awkward angles to snag an off-target pass, but it looked better on Thursday.
Binns finished with seven kills on 13 attempts and only one error.
Pickrell got 21 assists after only getting two in the first set. Senior setter Bianca Arellano had 22 to go along with 12 digs.
ASU led late in almost every set. In the first, it took a 23-21 lead, but three attack errors allowed Colorado to get back in the set. Edelman finished the set with a kill.
ASU took set two 25-13 by hitting .400. Pickrell led the way with four kills and no errors on six attempts.
The Sun Devils also blocked Colorado five times and forced the Buffalos into hitting 11 attack errors.
ASU maintained a small lead throughout the majority of the third, but a three-point Colorado run cut the set close. ASU scored four of the final five points and won by forcing Pfefferle into an attack error.
ASU trailed 18-16 in set four before Colorado finished on a 7-1 run. It ended with three consecutive attack errors from junior outside hitter BreElle Bailey.
ASU led the fifth set 10-7 and was looking unstoppable. It relinquished the lead and only scored two more times as Austin picked up three of her 22 kills and Colorado eked out a 15-12 victory.
Overall, ASU played a strong match; Colorado just took advantage of its opportunities and had 26 more hits than ASU (170-144).
The Sun Devils stand at 18 wins. They'll try to get closer to the 20 mark against Utah on Saturday.
Head coach Jason Watson was unavailable for comment.
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