If there was any team in Pac-12 women's volleyball as cold as ASU, it was their opponent Wednesday night.
The Colorado Buffaloes had once been a nationally-ranked team, boasting wins over prominent teams like Penn State, Illinois and UCLA, but entered Tempe having lost eight of their last nine contests.
On the flip side, the Sun Devils came in having just broken their six-game losing streak, and picked up their first home win of the season over Cal.
In a match of sharp momentum shifts, ASU overcame multiple Colorado leads and a first-set loss to notch their second straight home win, taking it in four sets Wednesday at Wells Fargo Arena.
"I think it was a great group effort by everyone," head coach Stevie Mussie said. "Offensively, defensively...it was a great night for everybody. It's fabulous, it feels great."
The Buffaloes started with the early lead in the first set, opening up an 8-3 advantage to force a timeout from Mussie. After the timeout, Colorado remained in the driver's seat, taking the set 25-21.
Colorado takes set one 25-21 here in Tempe. Okaro and McClendon with four kills each! #NewOrder
— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) November 24, 2016
By that point, it seemed like the Buffaloes had all the control, hitting impeccably well with a .441 hit percentage and just one error in the first, but the Sun Devils weren't about to go down lightly.
ASU responded in the second and third sets, opening up a quick lead in each. The Sun Devils closed the second set on a 13-4 tear to win 25-16 and enter the break knotted at one, then used that momentum to take an early lead in the third.
Colorado clawed back to take a six-point advantage, but ASU found a way to overcome that as well and eek out the set, 26-24, on clutch kills by junior middle blocker Oluoma Okaro and senior outside hitter Lexi Maclean.
"(Coming back after losing the first set) is 100 percent a maturity thing," Mussie said. "Our young kids are getting better, and they're getting better at the right time. Sad to say they don't get to go a bit longer after Saturday, but they're peaking at the right time."
Riding the energy provided by the tight victory, the Sun Devils closed out the match with a strong fourth set, which they took, 25-18.
"I think mentally, we were all there," Maclean said. "We were all focused and all had confidence and believed that we could win across the board, so that helped out a lot."
Turning in another strong performance for the Sun Devils with 17 kills was Okaro, who hit an outstanding .565. Freshman outside hitter Ivana Jeremic and sophomore setter Kylie Pickrell also added double-doubles – Jeremic with a team-high 18 kills and 14 digs and Pickrell with 47 assists and 14 digs – for a Sun Devil team that hit .314 on the night.
ASU has just one game left this season, in which several of these women will play together for the last time. The match has some extra meaning to it as it will not only be their senior day, but a half-point in the Territorial Cup series will also be on the line – the Sun Devils host bitter rival Arizona on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.
"I hate U of A, I love my sister," Pickrell, whose older sister Cassidy Pickrell will play her final match against Arizona. "It's her last game in a Sun Devil jersey. I'm 100 percent doing it for that girl."
Seniors ringing the victory bell! Season finale on Saturday at 3 against that team from down south! #NewOrder pic.twitter.com/NGv96FDNcW
— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) November 24, 2016
Related Links
No. 12 Stanford too much for ASU women's volleyball in sixth straight loss
ASU volleyball falls short of No. 9 UCLA in straight sets
Reach the reporter at jeff.griffith21@asu.edu or follow @Jeff_Griffith21 on Twitter.
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