TEMPE – In front of the fifth-biggest crowd in program history, the No. 14 Sun Devil Volleyball team picked up its second-straight home win of the season with a sweep against Memphis (25-19, 25-19, 25-9) in Desert Financial Arena as part of the Webb-Burbridge Classic on Friday night.
Notable Stats
Set One: ASU 25, Memphis 19
The Sun Devils set the tone early in the opening set with a 10-5 lead over the Tigers. Following that, ASU and Memphis traded points to give ASU a 15-10 lead heading into Memphis' first timeout. The Sun Devils maintained a 19-14 lead over the Tigers heading into Mephis's second timeout of the set. ASU managed to take the first set of the night 25-19 behind six kills from Cyr, four kills from Miller, and a staggering 10 digs by Shroll.
Set Two: ASU 25, Memphis 19
Despite being down 2-0 at the jump, the Sun Devils battled back-and-forth with the Tigers and eventually gained a 10-6 lead. ASU put together a 5-1 run with aces from Ung and Roberta Rabelo to push the lead to 22-16. The Sun Devils were able to pull away and captured their second set of the night 25-19.
Set Three: ASU 25, Memphis 9
With the help of Ung and Savannah Kjolhede setting the tone with a block, the Sun Devils came out hot with a 12-3 lead, forcing the Tigers into a timeout. A pair of kills from Jeter increased ASU's lead to 16-6 heading into Memphis' last timeout of the set. The Sun Devils kept their foot on the gas and swept the Tigers 3-0 with a 25-9 win to end the night.
Up Next
The Webb-Burbridge Classic will finish on Saturday with a matchup between Arizona State and Montana State at noon MST in Desert Financial Arena. It will be live on ESPN+.
Quotes:
Head Coach JJ Van Niel
Opening statement
"Love the environment. It was awesome. We had the 942 Crew, and they just killed it tonight. It was really fun and we had a pretty nice crowd. That was awesome. It's always fun to play in front of a big crowd. So I think it was really special that everyone came out and we really appreciate that. And we performed pretty well."
On applying pressure on Memphis in the third set
"When I talk about applying pressure, it's from the service line. I thought we were serving a lot of balls right at the players, which is certainly not part of our plan. We want to hit seams. I thought in the last set we finally started pushing them back. Serving deep, serving shorter and hitting some seams, making passers have to make decisions on who passes the ball. When you can get them in trouble, it makes it a lot easier to defend. So that's the key."
On the vibe of the team
"It's a special group. Since I walked in the door, I've been feeling really fortunate. It's just a group that I think loves to be around each other. We call them (the people on the bench) game changers, but the game changers are just killing it over there. I mean, Piper's (Rama) firing up the crowd and doing her flips, and that stuff matters a lot to us as a program. I know our players when they're on the court vibe off that, and I know us as a staff, we love it. I think it's awesome. It's a really, really fun group to be around."
On Geli Cyr's impact
"Geli finished the season really, really strong last year when we kind of reinvested in the speed, and she worked really, really hard this spring. She set some goals for herself, and I'm really proud of her. She's continued to just elevate her game every day. She was killing it in spring; down when we were in Brazil, she was one of our most efficient attackers. Obviously she's a great passer, but for her to be able to kind of put up these numbers is pretty awesome. She's done a really nice job."
Senior Outside Hitter Geli Cyr
On the student section turnout tonight
"That was awesome. I have not seen that many people at a home opener kind of game in my four years of being here. And they stayed! Sometimes we had last year where they would stay for a set and then leave. This time they stayed the whole time and they were loud and they were locked in. I love the 942 Crew and the environment they bring."
On if this turnout was a carry over from last season or the growth of the sport
"Yeah, we were saying "Ignite the Valley." The Valley is starting to care about volleyball more and I think that's really, really cool. I feel very honored to be a part of a group of girls who's bringing more attention to it because you could just tell the fans were there to watch this tonight. That's really something that I haven't seen in Arizona. We were up in Nebraska last week and Graham, our Athletics Director, said that this can be us. The Nebraska environment is insane and he said we can do this in Tempe. So I think that's our ultimate goal here."
On the encouragement from the bench throughout the game
"Something I've seen on our team that has been very special, and I think it's a testament to our culture, is that everyone does their best in their role no matter where it is. You see the girls on the end of the bench to the starters. They want to be the best at what they do. I think that's something that JJ has implemented and done really well here at the program."
Graduate Setter Argentina Ung
On what her experience playing at home has been
"I've played here before and I've never seen this game as packed as I saw it tonight. So I'm just so blessed and happy to be part of this team now and that we brought such a good crowd in. The 942 Crew did a great job today."
On what the connection has been between her and Geli
"I feel like we have good communication. Whatever it is, when we communicate good or bad, we are not afraid to speak up with each other. That's a big thing. I really think Geli is a great attacker. Her volleyball IQ is out of the gym. She knows what shots to take and I'm just so happy to be on her same side of the net this year round."
Notable Stats
- Arizona State (10-1) picked up its seventh sweep of the year, third in a row, by beating Memphis (6-6).
- Senior outside hitter Geli Cyr hit a career-best .650, collecting 13 kills with no errors. She also had eight digs. This was her sixth match of the year with double-digit kills.
- With a game-high 14 digs, graduate libero Mary Shroll had her 13th-straight match with double digit digs (dating back to last season), which is the longest streak of her career.
- Graduate setter Argentina Ung notched 37 assists to pace the offense. She also had five digs, two aces, two blocks and two kills.
- Two Sun Devils neared double figures with nine kills each: junior opposite Bailey Miller and graduate middle blocker Claire Jeter. Jeter also added two blocks.
- The attendance was 4,193, which is the fifth-best in Sun Devil history.
Set One: ASU 25, Memphis 19
The Sun Devils set the tone early in the opening set with a 10-5 lead over the Tigers. Following that, ASU and Memphis traded points to give ASU a 15-10 lead heading into Memphis' first timeout. The Sun Devils maintained a 19-14 lead over the Tigers heading into Mephis's second timeout of the set. ASU managed to take the first set of the night 25-19 behind six kills from Cyr, four kills from Miller, and a staggering 10 digs by Shroll.
Set Two: ASU 25, Memphis 19
Despite being down 2-0 at the jump, the Sun Devils battled back-and-forth with the Tigers and eventually gained a 10-6 lead. ASU put together a 5-1 run with aces from Ung and Roberta Rabelo to push the lead to 22-16. The Sun Devils were able to pull away and captured their second set of the night 25-19.
Set Three: ASU 25, Memphis 9
With the help of Ung and Savannah Kjolhede setting the tone with a block, the Sun Devils came out hot with a 12-3 lead, forcing the Tigers into a timeout. A pair of kills from Jeter increased ASU's lead to 16-6 heading into Memphis' last timeout of the set. The Sun Devils kept their foot on the gas and swept the Tigers 3-0 with a 25-9 win to end the night.
S3 | THIS RALLY IS BONKERS!!!!!!!!
— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) September 21, 2024
???: ESPN+#ForksUp pic.twitter.com/cd2Zj4F5jj
Up Next
The Webb-Burbridge Classic will finish on Saturday with a matchup between Arizona State and Montana State at noon MST in Desert Financial Arena. It will be live on ESPN+.
Quotes:
Head Coach JJ Van Niel
Opening statement
"Love the environment. It was awesome. We had the 942 Crew, and they just killed it tonight. It was really fun and we had a pretty nice crowd. That was awesome. It's always fun to play in front of a big crowd. So I think it was really special that everyone came out and we really appreciate that. And we performed pretty well."
On applying pressure on Memphis in the third set
"When I talk about applying pressure, it's from the service line. I thought we were serving a lot of balls right at the players, which is certainly not part of our plan. We want to hit seams. I thought in the last set we finally started pushing them back. Serving deep, serving shorter and hitting some seams, making passers have to make decisions on who passes the ball. When you can get them in trouble, it makes it a lot easier to defend. So that's the key."
On the vibe of the team
"It's a special group. Since I walked in the door, I've been feeling really fortunate. It's just a group that I think loves to be around each other. We call them (the people on the bench) game changers, but the game changers are just killing it over there. I mean, Piper's (Rama) firing up the crowd and doing her flips, and that stuff matters a lot to us as a program. I know our players when they're on the court vibe off that, and I know us as a staff, we love it. I think it's awesome. It's a really, really fun group to be around."
On Geli Cyr's impact
"Geli finished the season really, really strong last year when we kind of reinvested in the speed, and she worked really, really hard this spring. She set some goals for herself, and I'm really proud of her. She's continued to just elevate her game every day. She was killing it in spring; down when we were in Brazil, she was one of our most efficient attackers. Obviously she's a great passer, but for her to be able to kind of put up these numbers is pretty awesome. She's done a really nice job."
Senior Outside Hitter Geli Cyr
On the student section turnout tonight
"That was awesome. I have not seen that many people at a home opener kind of game in my four years of being here. And they stayed! Sometimes we had last year where they would stay for a set and then leave. This time they stayed the whole time and they were loud and they were locked in. I love the 942 Crew and the environment they bring."
On if this turnout was a carry over from last season or the growth of the sport
"Yeah, we were saying "Ignite the Valley." The Valley is starting to care about volleyball more and I think that's really, really cool. I feel very honored to be a part of a group of girls who's bringing more attention to it because you could just tell the fans were there to watch this tonight. That's really something that I haven't seen in Arizona. We were up in Nebraska last week and Graham, our Athletics Director, said that this can be us. The Nebraska environment is insane and he said we can do this in Tempe. So I think that's our ultimate goal here."
On the encouragement from the bench throughout the game
"Something I've seen on our team that has been very special, and I think it's a testament to our culture, is that everyone does their best in their role no matter where it is. You see the girls on the end of the bench to the starters. They want to be the best at what they do. I think that's something that JJ has implemented and done really well here at the program."
Graduate Setter Argentina Ung
On what her experience playing at home has been
"I've played here before and I've never seen this game as packed as I saw it tonight. So I'm just so blessed and happy to be part of this team now and that we brought such a good crowd in. The 942 Crew did a great job today."
On what the connection has been between her and Geli
"I feel like we have good communication. Whatever it is, when we communicate good or bad, we are not afraid to speak up with each other. That's a big thing. I really think Geli is a great attacker. Her volleyball IQ is out of the gym. She knows what shots to take and I'm just so happy to be on her same side of the net this year round."