TEMPE – A battle between two schools in the Valley, No. 13 Sun Devil Volleyball picked up another in-state win by beating Grand Canyon in a sweep (25-23, 25-20, 27-25) at Mullett Arena on Monday night.
Notable Stats
The Sun Devils had a slow start in this one allowing the Lopes to go on a 4-0 scoring run before a Claire Jeter attack kill to make it 7-5 GCU. The early match woes wouldn't stop there as the Sun Devils were down as much as 6 points in the set. ASU turned the tide with a five-point scoring run that gave the Sun Devils the lead at 15-14, causing a timeout from the Lopes. The Sun Devils broke an 18-18 tie with a Jeter and Bailey Miller block and a 19-19 tie with a Jeter kill. ASU finally found some breathing room, gaining a two-point lead over GCU at 22-20, but the Lopes would not go away, rallying two-straight points to knot the score back up at 22. A GCU serving error and a Cromartie kill put the Sun Devils at the verge of winning the set, 24-22, and an Ung kill sealed it.
Set Two: ASU 25, GCU 20
Arizona State started off slow again in the second set after falling behind 6-2 to open. A three-point GCU scoring run put ASU in a four-point hole, before a Cromartie kill brought energy back to the Sun Devil side. A misplaced attack by the Lopes and another Cromartie kill gave the Sun Devils a three-point scoring run to cut into the Lopes' lead to within one point. Each side would continue to trade points back and forth in a highly contested stretch until back-to-back kills from Cyr gave the Sun Devils a two-point cushion at 14-12. The Sun Devil's ended up on the winning end of a few rallies, going on a four-point scoring run to bring their lead to five, the largest lead at that point. The Lopes would storm back with a steady attack of points, getting the score to 20-17 and causing a Sun Devil timeout. A block by Ung and Savannah Kjolhede gave ASU a 23-18 lead and an error by GCU increased the lead to six, 24-18. Arizona State was able to close out a tightly matched second set with a kill from Ung.
Set Three: ASU 27, GCU 25
The Lopes opened all three sets scoring first, taking a quick 2-0 lead over the Sun Devils in the third frame. Ung had a kill to bring the Sun Devils within one at 7-6, but the Lopes were able to take the point right back with a kill of its own. GCU would build a five point lead at 13-8 prompting a Sun Devil timeout. ASU would end the four-point scoring run with a Roberta Robelo kill. This sparked a five-point scoring run for the Sun Devils capitalized by a Jillian Neal ace, bringing ASU to a one-point deficit at 14-13. A kill by Kjolhede tied the score at 18, Kjolhede adding two more kills to even it at 19 and then at 20. Back-to-back kills by Cromartie gave Arizona State a 22-20 lead, causing GCU to call a timeout and reassess. An ASU service error and a GCU kill evened the score at 23 before Cromartie broke the tie with a kill for the first set point. The set went into extra points, with a pair of challenges delaying the action and keeping the set going. The second challenge by GCU on a Cyr kill was unsuccessful, bringing the Sun Devils to set point, 26-25. Arizona State was able to close out the set after a GCU attack error, winning 27-25.
Up Next
Arizona State will face another in-state opponent on Thursday, facing Arizona in Tucson at 6 p.m. MST on ESPN+.
Quotes:
Arizona State Head Coach JJ Van Niel
Opening thoughts:
"Great crowd for a Monday night. Almost 3,000 people, which is pretty cool to see. I found out today it's the first time we played them (GCU) in 34 years. So, obviously a big draw. We got lots of fans out there, so the energy was really fun. They played really, really scrappy defense, put a lot of pressure on us and I'm happy that we pulled everything out. A little ugly, but we pulled it out."
On growing the game of volleyball in Arizona with matchups against GCU:
"I think it can be really a big deal because you've got all a bunch of their local fans that wanna come out. I was talking with them (GCU staff) right before the match about it and we want this to be recurring because I think it's good for volleyball in Arizona. It's good for the fan base and I think it's fun to have a local team that you know you're gonna play every year."
On Argentina Ung's performance:
"Arge continues to be just a really solid all around player. She scores offensively, she defends well, she blocks well. She's doing a nice job…We were a little too left-side heavy and then we got back into more of the groove. Once we started spreading it out, it opened up our offense and she did a good job of loosening things up."
Graduate Setter Argentina Ung
On adjustments after the first set:
"This is an older team and we have a lot of composure. We talk about how if some things don't go our way, we don't get frustrated, we don't get super rowdy. We keep our composure, talk about it with the mentality of next play, next point, and learn from the play before and just keep going."
On the connection with Shania Cromartie and other passers:
"Everything starts in the serve and pass. I wouldn't be able to run that tempo if I didn't have passers like Shania, Geli, Mary, and Jill. They're all amazing passers. We wouldn't be able to run that offense without the passers that we have in the gym. The fast tempo we run makes communication a big thing. We've been working since the spring and we knew it was not going to come up right away. It was frustrating when we just started, but it's just so fun to be able to have so many open spaces for hitters when we are in the system. The tempo is so fast that once we get going, nobody can stop it."
Graduate Libero Mary Shroll
On defensive mindset:
"We've talked about this a lot, how digging balls puts so much pressure on the other team. It puts pressure on them to score and sometimes it can result in other teams erroring because they just wanna put the ball down. But again, what Argentina was saying, we talk about that so much in our gym. Having that grit, having that gas on defense, it really just extends the rallies, puts pressure and gives us the opportunity when it's there as we keep digging balls, and finally seeing our opening, that's when we put it away. I think we're also a very patient team. That's something we talk about a lot. If your shot's not there, put them on the floor or take out the setter. So I think defense is always gonna help with that."
On changes after slow starts:
"Serve and pass is our bread and butter. They were hitting that one seam a lot tonight. It was, 'just keep being patient, eyes on the ball early.' I think we kind of knew that no matter what, we were gonna settle into it and get it going."
Notable Stats
- Arizona State (19-2, 7-1 Big 12) won its seventh-straight match by beating Grand Canyon (13-7, 6-2 WAC). It also was the fourth-straight sweep (14th of the season).
- Graduate outside hitter Shania Cromartie led all players in kills with 13, tying her season high. It was her eighth time this season with double-digit kills. She also had six digs.
- For the fifth match in a row, senior outside hitter Geli Cyr notched a double-double, tonight having 12 kills and 12 digs. This is her seventh match this year with a double-double and 15th time with double-digit kills.
- Leading all players in digs was graduate libero Mary Shroll, who had 15 in the win. She's reached double figures in all but one match this season. She also had five assists and an ace.
- Graduate setter Argentina Ung paced the offense with 33 assists, having five of her hitters with five or more kills. She herself added five kills in addition to her seven digs and three blocks.
- Redshirt freshman Brynn Covell had 11 digs, her fourth time this season in double figures. She also had six assists and an ace.
Set One: ASU 25, GCU 234??th sweep in a row ????????#ForksUp pic.twitter.com/xX7Ee22ELC
— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) October 22, 2024
The Sun Devils had a slow start in this one allowing the Lopes to go on a 4-0 scoring run before a Claire Jeter attack kill to make it 7-5 GCU. The early match woes wouldn't stop there as the Sun Devils were down as much as 6 points in the set. ASU turned the tide with a five-point scoring run that gave the Sun Devils the lead at 15-14, causing a timeout from the Lopes. The Sun Devils broke an 18-18 tie with a Jeter and Bailey Miller block and a 19-19 tie with a Jeter kill. ASU finally found some breathing room, gaining a two-point lead over GCU at 22-20, but the Lopes would not go away, rallying two-straight points to knot the score back up at 22. A GCU serving error and a Cromartie kill put the Sun Devils at the verge of winning the set, 24-22, and an Ung kill sealed it.
Set Two: ASU 25, GCU 20
Arizona State started off slow again in the second set after falling behind 6-2 to open. A three-point GCU scoring run put ASU in a four-point hole, before a Cromartie kill brought energy back to the Sun Devil side. A misplaced attack by the Lopes and another Cromartie kill gave the Sun Devils a three-point scoring run to cut into the Lopes' lead to within one point. Each side would continue to trade points back and forth in a highly contested stretch until back-to-back kills from Cyr gave the Sun Devils a two-point cushion at 14-12. The Sun Devil's ended up on the winning end of a few rallies, going on a four-point scoring run to bring their lead to five, the largest lead at that point. The Lopes would storm back with a steady attack of points, getting the score to 20-17 and causing a Sun Devil timeout. A block by Ung and Savannah Kjolhede gave ASU a 23-18 lead and an error by GCU increased the lead to six, 24-18. Arizona State was able to close out a tightly matched second set with a kill from Ung.
Set Three: ASU 27, GCU 25
The Lopes opened all three sets scoring first, taking a quick 2-0 lead over the Sun Devils in the third frame. Ung had a kill to bring the Sun Devils within one at 7-6, but the Lopes were able to take the point right back with a kill of its own. GCU would build a five point lead at 13-8 prompting a Sun Devil timeout. ASU would end the four-point scoring run with a Roberta Robelo kill. This sparked a five-point scoring run for the Sun Devils capitalized by a Jillian Neal ace, bringing ASU to a one-point deficit at 14-13. A kill by Kjolhede tied the score at 18, Kjolhede adding two more kills to even it at 19 and then at 20. Back-to-back kills by Cromartie gave Arizona State a 22-20 lead, causing GCU to call a timeout and reassess. An ASU service error and a GCU kill evened the score at 23 before Cromartie broke the tie with a kill for the first set point. The set went into extra points, with a pair of challenges delaying the action and keeping the set going. The second challenge by GCU on a Cyr kill was unsuccessful, bringing the Sun Devils to set point, 26-25. Arizona State was able to close out the set after a GCU attack error, winning 27-25.
Up Next
Arizona State will face another in-state opponent on Thursday, facing Arizona in Tucson at 6 p.m. MST on ESPN+.
Quotes:
Arizona State Head Coach JJ Van Niel
Opening thoughts:
"Great crowd for a Monday night. Almost 3,000 people, which is pretty cool to see. I found out today it's the first time we played them (GCU) in 34 years. So, obviously a big draw. We got lots of fans out there, so the energy was really fun. They played really, really scrappy defense, put a lot of pressure on us and I'm happy that we pulled everything out. A little ugly, but we pulled it out."
On growing the game of volleyball in Arizona with matchups against GCU:
"I think it can be really a big deal because you've got all a bunch of their local fans that wanna come out. I was talking with them (GCU staff) right before the match about it and we want this to be recurring because I think it's good for volleyball in Arizona. It's good for the fan base and I think it's fun to have a local team that you know you're gonna play every year."
On Argentina Ung's performance:
"Arge continues to be just a really solid all around player. She scores offensively, she defends well, she blocks well. She's doing a nice job…We were a little too left-side heavy and then we got back into more of the groove. Once we started spreading it out, it opened up our offense and she did a good job of loosening things up."
Graduate Setter Argentina Ung
On adjustments after the first set:
"This is an older team and we have a lot of composure. We talk about how if some things don't go our way, we don't get frustrated, we don't get super rowdy. We keep our composure, talk about it with the mentality of next play, next point, and learn from the play before and just keep going."
On the connection with Shania Cromartie and other passers:
"Everything starts in the serve and pass. I wouldn't be able to run that tempo if I didn't have passers like Shania, Geli, Mary, and Jill. They're all amazing passers. We wouldn't be able to run that offense without the passers that we have in the gym. The fast tempo we run makes communication a big thing. We've been working since the spring and we knew it was not going to come up right away. It was frustrating when we just started, but it's just so fun to be able to have so many open spaces for hitters when we are in the system. The tempo is so fast that once we get going, nobody can stop it."
Graduate Libero Mary Shroll
On defensive mindset:
"We've talked about this a lot, how digging balls puts so much pressure on the other team. It puts pressure on them to score and sometimes it can result in other teams erroring because they just wanna put the ball down. But again, what Argentina was saying, we talk about that so much in our gym. Having that grit, having that gas on defense, it really just extends the rallies, puts pressure and gives us the opportunity when it's there as we keep digging balls, and finally seeing our opening, that's when we put it away. I think we're also a very patient team. That's something we talk about a lot. If your shot's not there, put them on the floor or take out the setter. So I think defense is always gonna help with that."
On changes after slow starts:
"Serve and pass is our bread and butter. They were hitting that one seam a lot tonight. It was, 'just keep being patient, eyes on the ball early.' I think we kind of knew that no matter what, we were gonna settle into it and get it going."