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ASU women's volleyball loses all three sets against Colorado

Following Friday's loss, the Sun Devils have lost seven-straight games in Pac-12 play

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The ASU women's volleyball team practices at the Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, Arizona on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017.


The ASU women’s volleyball team (10-9, 0-7 Pac-12) took on the University of Colorado Buffaloes (13-5, 3-4 Pac-12) in an attempt to earn its first win in Pac-12 play. However, the Sun Devils' attempt fell short, losing to Colorado in three sets. 

The opening period began with dominance on the offensive end once again by senior middle blocker Oluoma Okaro, who scored three of the four first kills for the Sun Devils. However, even with Okaro’s performance, ASU was unable to lead in the match.

At one point, ASU was able to notch four unanswered points with blocks by Okaro, junior middle blocker Carmen Unzue and senior outside hitter Isabel Miller

The Sun Devils were able to tie things up multiple times, but it was not enough, and they fell to Colorado 25-21 in the first set.

Heading into the second set, the match started out rough for the Sun Devils who found themselves behind early once again. It wasn't until a short run early in the period with kills by Okaro and freshman outside hitter Griere Hughes that they found themselves close to overcoming the Buffaloes' lead. 

Five kills by Colorado, including two aces by sophomore outside hitter Justine Spann, were a major knock for the Sun Devils' energy. While Okaro and Hughes helped the Sun Devils late in the set with kills of their own, the lead was too much for them to overcome, and they fell to the Buffaloes 25-16.

After the break, ASU went into the third set showing increased energy. With back-to-back blocks by Unzue and a kill by Hughes, they were able to tie things up once again at 19. 

With every play, the Buffaloes seemed to have the upper hand, but the Sun Devils showed immense hustle in the final moments.

In the final minutes, the Sun Devils were able to tie with Colorado at 24 a piece. Back-to-back kills by junior outside hitter Alexa Smith and junior outside hitter Frankie Shebby allowed the Buffaloes to pull away 26-24.

The loss on Friday was ASU's seventh in a row — keeping its Pac-12 wins at zero. Head coach Sanja Tomasevic spoke about the team's performance after the game.

“They did exactly what we thought they would do, and we talked about it all week – we prepared for it all week, but we didn't execute," Tomasevic said. "I can't believe that teams would come into our gym and serve better than we're serving."

Tomasevic noted that while Okaro led the team in kills with 18, she needed to do more.

"She can't miss a serve. She can't miss five serves. She should be getting 18 kills — that shouldn't be a surprise," Tomasevic said. "I look at the bench and I want to put somebody in to serve for Oly and we've tried them all already and no change happens." 

Senior libero Halle Harker noted that each match is a learning experience.

"There's still so much room for improvement," Harker said.

Okaro added on to Harker's point.

"I think a positive to take away from this is that we lost knowing we didn't play our best," Okaro said. "So at least we know if we do play our best — it can be a completely different outcome."

The Sun Devils have the opportunity to turn things around on Sunday when they will take on No. 13 Utah at 1 p.m. 


Reach the reporter at klbroder@asu.edu or follow @KellyB1459 on Twitter. 

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