ASU volleyball gave Colorado a proper welcome to the Pac-12.
The ASU volleyball team (5-14, 1-9 Pac-12) broke their 11-game losing streak this weekend when the team defeated the Colorado Buffaloes (5-14, 0-11).
After a rough couple of weeks in the Pac-12 the Sun Devils were excited to get the win. Coach Jason Watson said the team’s morale was up after the trip.
“It’s nice to see them smile,” Watson said. “They battled and stayed on task, so that enabled us to be successful. They really worked hard and I’m happy for them.”
ASU came into the match looking for its first Pac-12 victory, but the Buffaloes were not going to give up anything easy. The Sun Devils had to battle close every set of the match.
ASU and CU traded points all night. The score was tied 25 times and featured eight lead changes.
The Sun Devils held on to win the first set by two points.
The next two sets were similar. The Sun Devils and Buffaloes battled hard each set and it came down to the last few points.
ASU proved to be the better team and swept CU, winning all three sets 25-23.
The last point of the match came from a hard spike by junior middle blocker Erica Wilson.
The upperclassman had 15 kills and only one error to record an impressive .609 hitting percentage.
Watson said that the offense’s passing helped Wilson be a factor in the match. Wilson’s teammates set her up with 23 attacking attempts, which is a good amount for a blocker.
“Credit goes to her for continuing to put in the time and put in the effort,” Watson said.
For entire year, Watson has said that the team needed to play consistently the whole match. After a three close matches against the Buffaloes, the Sun Devils showed that they could play consistently for the duration of the entire match.
“We certainly were a lot more consistent,” Watson said. “It wasn’t the best that we played, but it certainly was nice.”
Utes top Devils
The Sun Devils traveled to Utah last Friday to take on another new Pac-12 opponent.
But unlike the Buffaloes, the Utes let the Sun Devils know that they should not be taken lightly in their new conference.
The Sun Devils lost to the Utes in straight sets.
The ASU offense seemed out of sync in the match. It wasn’t until the third set that the team broke a .100 hitting percentage.
Watson said the team had trouble responding to the opponent’s serve.
“(Against Utah) we were really flat,” Watson said. “We struggled receiving serves and we couldn’t get anything going offensively, and that was the story of the match.”
Sophomore outside hitter Danica Mendivil and freshman outside hitter Nora Tuioti-Mariner led the Sun Devils with eight kills in the match.
The last couple matches have been bounce-back matches for Mendivil. In the beginning of the season she was putting big numbers offensively. Then during the middle of the season her numbers started to dip down.
Watson said that she moved in the rotation and that has helped her to get back on track.
“I think she is becoming more and more comfortable,” Watson said. “She developing some range and certainly has become a lot more consistent than she was earlier in the year.”
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