(Photo: ASU Athletics)
No. 15 Arizona State played its first ranked opponent, No. 9 Colorado State, on Friday and handled the Rams in straight sets 25-17, 25-21, 25-20.
Things got off to a rocky start for Arizona State in the first set, as it struggled offensively but were able to keep it close. The Sun Devils scraped their way to the first 10 points while hitting in the negative percentile. However, the Rams were never able to pull away and found themselves down by four, unable to comeback. Senior middle blocker Mercedes Binns was the bright spot for ASU while putting up three kills and no errors giving the Sun Devils the first set 25-17.
The second set was no different. The score was tied at 10 but did not phase the Sun Devils. ASU was the better team, hovering around a .200 hitting percentage and forcing the Rams to make mistakes. CSU, being down 18-12, came within three points but were too late as the Sun Devils fought it out to win 25-21.
Going into the third set, seniors Binns, Macey Gardner and Whitney Follette had a combined 17 kills with only four errors, and were not done there.
The Sun Devils won the first point in all three sets, propelling them to a 6-point lead to start the third. The Rams’ defense had no answers against the powerful Sun Devil swings and their 6-2 offense that showed no signs of weakness.
The Colorado State fans packed Moby Arena and stayed loud throughout the entire match giving the Rams a small spark of life late in the set. However, the spark was eventually extinguished as ASU finalized the upset, taking 25-20 third set.
Binns pounded away eight kills on 11 swings, leading the Sun Devils to take their first and biggest match of the weekend. Staying undefeated, Arizona State will take on Western Michigan at 11:00 a.m. and Northern Colorado at 7:00 p.m. September, 5 before heading back to Tempe.
You can follow Troy on Twitter (@mrtroylynch) or Linkedin or reach him at troylynch@cox.net.
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