ASU volleyball returned to their winning ways on Friday morning, defeating Cal-State Bakersfield in three sets (25-17, 25-18, 25-20) to kick off the Northern Arizona Tournament.
Oluoma Okaro continued to lead the charge of the offense, recording 18 kills on a .394 hitting percentage. Freshman Griere Hughes added 10 more kills, while sophomore setter Nicole Peterson added 33 assists in her first start at setter this season.
After an impressive first set, the Devils opened up set two by arguably showcasing their best performance of the young season, showcasing a healthy distribution of their offensive weapons.
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In the midst of a 6-1 scoring run that was followed by two more 3-0 runs later in the set, Peterson was able to find Okaro, Hughes, and junior Peyton Grahovac at will, as the spearheaded attack of the three accumulated 23/30 of the Sun Devil kills at that point in the match.
Although the Devils utilized a 6-0 run to put them up 10-4 early in set three, the Roadrunners showed that they had no quit. They used an 11-5 scoring run to tie the game at 20, where the Devils were once again pressured to close out a match in their advantage.
Despite the tension, Nicole Peterson was able to utilize the leadership of Okaro and Hughes, setting up the pair to tally three of the final five points in the match.
With the victory, the Devils ended a two-game skid to bring their overall record on the season to 5-2.
Next up, the Sun Devils take on tournament host and interstate rival Northern Arizona tonight at 6:30 PM.