(Tempe, AZ) Behind Geli Cyr’s fourth double-double in a row, No. 13 Sun Devil Volleyball earned its sixth win in a row by beating Colorado in straight sets (25-22, 25-16, 25-21) on Friday night in Mullett Arena.
Notable Stats
- Arizona State (18-2, 7-1 Big 12) got its sixth win in a row in the victory over Colorado (10-9, 3-4 Big 12), which was also the third sweep in a row (13th sweep of the year).
- Senior outside hitter Geli Cyr had her fourth-straight double-double with a game-high in both kills (14) and digs (11). It was her ninth double-double of the year and 17th of her career.
- Two second-year Sun Devils had strong serving outings. Sophomore Jillian Neal tied her career high with four, including three in a row in the third set. Redshirt freshman Brynn Covell had three to go along with her seven assists and six digs. ASU had nine aces, compared to Colorado’s two. Nine is tied for the second-highest total the Sun Devils have had this season, which has happened three other times.
- It was another well-rounded outing for graduate setter Argentina Ung. She had 28 assists, nine digs and seven kills, the latter matching her season high.
- The pins brought it in the win as graduate outside hitter Shania Cromartie added nine kills, the second-highest on the team. She also had five digs.
- Leading the defense at the net was graduate middle blocker Savannah Kjolhede with four. She also had four kills.
- Graduate libero Mary Shroll’s double-digit dig streak ended at 21, the longest of her career. She had six digs and three assists.
- Cyr and Shroll were named to the AVCA 2024 Division I Player of the Year Watchlist, as announced earlier on Friday by the AVCA.
- The attendance at tonight’s match was 3,003, which is the fifth time this season that the attendance has been over 3,000 at home this season. The Sun Devils are undefeated at home this season, a perfect 8-0 and having lost just two sets all year at home.
Set One: ASU 25, Colorado 22
Colorado put some pressure on ASU to start things off close after CU took a 11-8 lead. But two kills by Cromartie and an ace by Ung tied the set 11-11. ASU then added on three to go up 14-12 with the help of a block by Cromartie and Jeter and another kill by Cromartie. However, the Buffaloes joined the Sun Devils at 14-14 and quickly took the lead back 15-14. A kill by Cyr and two blocks by Kjolhede and Miller resulted in an 18-15 lead for ASU, forcing Colorado to call its first timeout to quiet things down. After the Buffaloes took back the lead by one, a trio of attacks by the Sun Devils carried them to a 23-19 lead, which preceded a second timeout call by the visitors. The Buffaloes scored three in a row to make it 23-22 and pushed ASU to call its first timeout. With back-to-back kills by Cromartie, for her seventh this set, ASU finalized the battle for a 25-22 set win.
Set Two: ASU 25, Colorado 16
To keep the pattern of the first set, the two teams kept in proximity tied at 6-6, which included three kills by Cyr to keep ASU in it early. After Colorado took a small lead, kills by Miller and Jeter evened it up at 10-10 for Arizona State. The Sun Devils gained a 15-12 lead after a couple of kills by Cyr and a kill by Miller. ASU obtained the biggest lead of the game so far, 20-12, with three aces by Covell and kills by Cyr and Ung. In that run, the Sun Devils pushed the Buffaloes to call two timeouts. Three kills by the ASU offense put the team in match-point position, 24-16. Neal then recorded an ace that won the Sun Devils the set 25-16 for a 2-0 advantage.
Set Three: ASU 25, Colorado 21
Third set started off close yet again, but the Sun Devils took a 15-5 advantage after a nine-point run, resulting in two timeout calls by the Buffaloes. After a pair of kills for Colorado, an attack by Cyr made it 16-8 for ASU. Colorado’s struggle to put some attacks together paired nicely with the three aces by Neal which added to the Sun Devils 22-14 lead. In an attempt to halt Buffaloes four-point rally that made it 22-18, ASU called for a timeout. The Sun Devils did just that with kills by Cyr and Kjolhede that brought them to a clinching opportunity, 24-19. After Colorado tackled a pair in hopes to stay alive, a kill by Ung silenced the opportunity, bringing in the 25-21 ASU win.
Up Next
Arizona State is back home for its third-straight Mullett Arena match on Monday, hosting Grand Canyon for a late-season non-conference match at 6:30 p.m. MST.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Kimberlie Haner
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