Triathlon
The Sun Devils put on a dominant performance in Colorado during the first triathlon event of the season on Sept. 24 and 25.
On Sept. 24, the Sun Devils competed in the Oktoberfest Triathlon. ASU had five athletes place in the top 10, with two finishing on the podium.
Freshman Naomi Ruff won her first-ever collegiate triathlon with a time of 1:01:57 and sophomore Alexe Coursol grabbed another podium step for the Sun Devils with a third-place finish in a time of 1:02:06.
The Sun Devils won the team competition finishing with 233 points, 21 points ahead of second-place University of Denver.
The next day, Sept. 25, ASU continued its performance in the inaugural Mile High Relay at the University of Denver, which featured teams of three competing in a 200-meter swim and 1,000-meter run.
The Sun Devil’s A relay team consisting of Ruff, senior Liberty Ricca and junior Amber Schlebusch won the event.
The B relay team with Coursol, freshman Heidi Jurankova and sophomore Camille Buchanan finished in second place, just under 40 seconds behind the A team.
Individually Ricca set the fastest time of the relay, finishing in 5:59. ASU won team points again, 30 to 16 against Denver.
The next triathlon event is the NCAA West National Qualifier in Stockton, Mo. on Oct. 15.
Soccer
The Sun Devils opened up Pac-12 play against the University of Colorado-Boulder on Sept. 23 with a 3-2 win in a close matchup.
ASU opened up scoring for the game, taking a 1-0 lead 29 minutes in, on a goal from graduate student midfielder and team captain Alexia Delgado. Delgado's was the only goal during the first half.
In the second half, graduate student midfielder Eva van Deursen doubled the Sun Devils' lead at the 58 minute mark of the game.
In the span of two minutes, the Buffalos managed to tie the game with goals by freshman midfielder Juliauna Hayward and senior forward Civana Kuhlmann.
In the final seconds of the game, van Deursen managed to hit a rocket into the back of the net, sending the Sun Devils into a celebratory frenzy for their first Pac-12 win.
ASU will play its first home game of the Pac-12 season against UC Berkeley on Thursday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. MST.
Swim and Dive
On Friday, Sept. 23, ASU swim had its annual Maroon and Gold Scrimmage at Mona Plummer Aquatic Center. Sophomores Léon Marchand and Charli Brown took first in the men's and women's combined events.
“I’m really happy with how I did overall," Brown said. "I have a lot of improvements and each race there is definitely something I can do better."
Brown swam the 100 butterfly in 54.36, the 100 backstroke in 53.90, the 100 breaststroke in 1:02.24, the 100 freestyle in 49.84 and the 100 individual medley in 55.19.
Marchand swam the 100 butterfly in 45.68, the 100 backstroke in 46.47, the 100 breaststroke in 52.00, the 100 freestyle in 42.53 and the 100 individual medley in 46.63.
“He is one of the best breaststrokers in the world," coach Bob Bowman said.
Freshmen Zoe Summar had a successful first outing as a Sun Devil. Summar swam the 100 butterfly in 55.24, the 100 backstroke in 55.01, the 100 breaststroke in 1:02.54, the 100 freestyle in 52.63 and the 100 individual medley in 56.74.
Upperclassmen also showed out at the meet as graduate student Grant House placed second overall in the combined events. He swam the 100 butterfly in 45.71, the 100 backstroke in 47.40, the 100 breaststroke in 52.80, the 100 freestyle in 42.19 and the 100 individual medley in 47.42.
The ASU swim and dive team goes on the road to Athens, Ga. this week and will compete on Friday, Sept. 30.
Volleyball
The ASU women’s volleyball started the first games of the Pac-12 season against UA and the University of Colorado Boulder this past week, and ended with a 3-1 win over Arizona and a 3-0 loss against Colorado.
The Sun Devils first traveled to Tucson to take on the Wildcats on Sept. 21 and came away with a 3-1 win.
The first set of the big match-up was slow at the beginning for the Sun Devils. The Wildcats had a six-point lead but allowed the Sun Devils to equalize the points by making a service error.
Through kills from sophomore outside hitter Geli Cyr and senior outside hitter Iman Isanovic, the Sun Devils gained momentum which pulled them closer to a tie. The Wildcats took another lead within the set which was answered by the attacks of Cyr, Isanovic and junior outside hitter Marta Levinska. The Sun Devils played a tight set but the match went in the Wildcats' favor, 25-23.
The second set was another battle for the Sun Devils. The majority of the set was tied, but at 13-13, the Sun Devils bombarded the Wildcats with serves and strong attacks, most notably seen through senior libero Annika Larson-Nummer’s three-ace streak. ASU won the set 25-20.
The third set was the toughest for the Sun Devils. ASU began the set strong with a 6-1 lead over the Wildcats. The Sun Devils kept the lead with a score of 12-4 with additional kills from Levinska and Isanovic. Both teams had strong offenses for the rest of the set which led to UA eventually tying with ASU at 20-20. The Sun Devils barely edged out a win over the Wildcats, 26-24.
The fourth set started off with many attack errors from the Wildcats, allowing the Sun Devils to lead 6-0. UA eventually got back into the game, but another run of six points for the Sun Devils put them in control. ASU took the set 25-20. Overall, Sun Devils won the match 3-1.
The win over UA prepared the Sun Devils to take on CU Boulder in Boulder, Colorado on Sept. 25 at 12 p.m.
The Sun Devils were neck-in-neck for the first 15 points of the game. The Buffs eventually took over and came away with the 25-18 win.
The second set started off with a bit of back and forth but the Buffs' offense went on a streak of four points to take the lead. ASU attempted to regain the lead with a kill from Isanovic and a block from junior middle blocker Claire Jeter. The Buffs went on another four-point streak and the Sun Devils could not come back from the lead, losing 25-15.
The third set of the match was built upon attack errors from both sides. The Sun Devils started strong off strong but again were overtaken through an offensive lead by the Buffs. The game ended in a loss for ASU, 25-17. Overall, ASU lost 3-0.
The Sun Devils will hit the road to play the University of Oregon this Friday, Sept. 30 at 6 p.m in Eugene, Ore.
Edited by Kathryn Field, Logan Stanley and Kristen Apolline Castillo.
Reach the reporters at lboykins@asu.edu, sstaple5@asu.edu and bsilvyn@asu.edu and follow them @BoykinsLauren and @BSilvyn on Twitter.
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Bennett Silvyn is a reporter for the sports desk at The State Press. He has previously worked for Walter Cronkite Sports Network and FC Tucson.
