AUSTIN, Texas – No. 9 Sun Devil Volleyball fell in straight sets (25-18, 30-28, 25-15) at No. 2 Texas on Sunday afternoon, closing out the weekend road trip in Texas.
Notable stats
- With Arizona State (6-2) dropping the match at Texas (6-0), ASU is now 1-2 against ranked teams this season. For head coach JJ Van Niel, this is just the third non-conference loss in his tenure, all against ranked opponents.
- Senior outside hitter Bailey Miller led the team in kills with 15 on a .333 clip. She also had four digs. This was her fifth-straight match with double-digit kills.
- The other Sun Devil in double figures was senior outside hitter Tatum Parrott with 12 kills, her fifth match in a row in double-digits.
- Redshirt sophomore setter Brynn Covell ran a 5-1 in the match, earning a career-high 36 assists. She also had an ace.
- Junior middle blocker Ella Lomigora led the blocking effort with six. She also had four kills.
- Hitting .417, junior pin hitter Jillian Neal had six kills, four blocks and an ace.
- Due to injuries, redshirt freshman Kiylah Presley moved from the right side to the middle, a position she had not played since high school. Despite the new position, Presley had three blocks and three kills.
Set one: Texas 25, ASU 18
The teams battled close to start, a tool off the block by Parrott putting ASU up 5-4. Texas scored a few in a row to go up 9-7, but Miller’s kill put ASU back within one. A run of five for the Longhorns pushed their lead to 15-10, with Parrott’s third kill stopping the streak. Coming out of ASU’s second timeout, Miller notched another kill to get the sideout, down 21-16. Texas would hold on to win 25-18.
Set two: Texas 30, ASU 28
The block started strong in the second frame for the Sun Devils, with Lomigora earning two in the early stages to go up 3-1. Miller’s kill kept the lead for ASU, ahead 9-7, but Texas evened the set at 9-9. The teams traded points, a shot from Parrott rolled down the line to make it a 15-13 lead for Arizona State heading into the media timeout. The Longhorns were able to tie it up again at 17-17 and the back-and-forth play continued from there until the home team went on a 4-0 run to take the 22-19 lead. A block from Presley and Neal stopped the run to make it a two-point set, and a kill from Miller put ASU within one, 23-22, forcing a Texas timeout. Another Miller kill tied it up at 23 all. A Longhorn error gave the Sun Devils set point at 25-24. Texas was able to fight off two set points and get its second set point at 27-26, but Lomigora’s kill evened it again. Following more back and forth, the Longhorns were able to take the set, 30-28.
Set three: Texas 25, ASU 15
Texas opened up the third frame with a 6-1 lead, forcing an early Arizona State timeout. A kill from Neal snapped a 3-0 Texas run and then served an ace to make it an 11-6 deficit. A block from Lomigora and an ace from Covell scored a few in a row for ASU, down 16-10. Another run of three for the home team made it 20-11, bringing the Sun Devils’ second timeout. Despite a few more kills from Presley and Parrott, Texas would win 25-15.
Up next
Non-conference play will conclude at home next weekend as Arizona State hosts the Sun Devil Classic from September 19-21. ASU will bring in Pepperdine, Grand Canyon and Milwaukee.