The No. 8 Arizona State Sun Devils are on a five-game win streak in the Big 12 conference, securing a win against the No. 24 Colorado Buffaloes tonight. 

Coach JJ Van Niel said that before the BYU match-up next Thursday, his girls will get some time off. 

“I don’t really look at if they are ranked or not. We are going to prepare the same way.” Van Neil said. “You have to be consistent with your team.”

ASU started the match with high energy thanks to sophomore libero Piper Rama. 

She performed her signature dance move, the worm, during a challenge within the first 4 points of the match. Afterwards, she began to do cartwheels across the back line of the court, getting the crowd and her teammates energized. 

“Piper definitely is one of our game changers with her energy; it is very contagious,” senior setter Sydney Henry said. “She is definitely a special person that she can bring that for us.”

The connection between Henry and her two middle blockers, Neal and junior Ella Lomigora, was electric in this match. The quick set to the middle was almost impossible to dig up on the Buffaloes' side of the court. 

Neal finished the night off with six total kills and five blocks, and Lomigora with five kills and four blocks. 

Colorado freshman pin hitter Inés Losada executed an intense top-spin serve that did not faze the Sun Devils. They were able to get every one of her serves up in the first two sets of the match. 

ASU played a smart tipping game that left the Buffaloes diving across their court. Several tips over the blockers scored them multiple points in the second set. 

Towards the end of this set, Colorado had the Sun Devils scrambling up and down the court. 

A pancake from senior outside hitter Bailey Miller to an up from Henry allowed sophomore libero Faith Frame to pass the ball over to the Buffaloes' court, ending the rally in ASU's favor. 

Colorado’s junior pin hitter Ana Burilović had 19 kills against the Sun Devils. Burilović came into this match in first place for kills in the Big 12 conference. 

“Putting pressure on her repeatedly was really helpful,” junior opposite hitter Noemie Glover said. 

ASU was able to maneuver around her well by having a huge block up on her throughout the night. 

A change in the rotation within the third set, according to head coach Van Niel, had the Sun Devils trailing behind the Buffaloes, costing them a set. 

“We just started making some kind of silly plays.” Head Coach Van Niel said. “A ton of bad errors.” 

Miller started set four with a bang, a strong swing down the right side of the court, leaving no touches on the ball. A five-point lead was set up for ASU. 

Colorado started to play more confidently throughout the fourth set, filling the point gap against the Sun Devils. A blocking error by Miller tied the match up to 20-20. 

In the last few points of the match, a triple block made up of redshirt freshman outside hitter Kiylah Presley, Miller and Neal got ASU prepared to end the match just before Neal could swing from the middle and finish the game out with a win. 

“She’s a veteran. She’s very mature. But Colby’s always killing it for us,” Van Niel expressed.