Devils in Detail
Fansided

ASU Volleyball: Sun Devils struggle in loss to Colorado

By Adam Noel

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 09: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky the Sun Devil performs during the team's quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament against the Oregon Ducks T-Mobile Arena on March 9, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Oregon won 80-57. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 09: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky the Sun Devil performs during the team's quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament against the Oregon Ducks T-Mobile Arena on March 9, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Oregon won 80-57. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Alyse Ford and Megan Beedie shined in a three-set loss to the Buffaloes, but ASU volleyball dropped its ninth straight conference game.

The defense played well, but it was a lack of offensive execution that stymied the Sun Devils against Colorado Friday night.

ASU continued its drop in the Pac-12 standings with a straight set loss  (21-25, 19-25, 22-25) to Colorado.

The Buffaloes improved to 15-11 (7-8 Pac-12) with the victory. Colorado came into the game after a decisive five-set loss to second-ranked Stanford.

They were led by the duo of Alexis and Anyse Smit, who combined for 27 kills and troubled the Sun Devils throughout the match.

ASU fell to 13-14 (4-11 Pac-12) and have now lost 27 of their last 32 sets during a nine-match losing streak.

After recording a career-high 29 kills on Colorado earlier this season, Alyse Ford finished with a team-leading 15 kills on the night. She managed an outstanding .407 hitting percentage and led the way along with the help of middle blocker Megan Beedie.

Beedie had her best match in couple weeks with five kills on seven attempts. The Canadian sophomore started the season strong, but has since been lost in the shuffle deeper in conference play.

More from Devils in Detail

Although it was a loss, the second matchup of the season with the Buffaloes showed a strong defensive performance from ASU.

The team forced 17 attack errors from Colorado and limited the Buffaloes to only four more kills on the match.

Instead, it was a lack of execution that plagued the Sun Devils in the loss.

ASU pushed the ball too tight throughout the match and overshot many kill attempts. The Buffaloes took advantage, limiting the Sun Devils to a .227 hitting percentage and outhitting the team in all three sets.

The Sun Devils also struggled with seven service errors, each of which seemed to come right when they were building momentum.

Size also contributed in the loss for the Sun Devils.

Colorado recorded 10 blocks against ASU, including three in the first set of the match.

ASU star setter Courtney Leffel had her 11-game double-digit dig streak snapped in the loss. She finished with six digs, one of three ASU players to lead the team with that total.

dark. Next. ASU Volleyball: Devils travel to mountain schools looking to snap losing streak

The Sun Devils finish off this weekend’s road trip against Utah on Sunday at 1 p.m.