TEMPE – Noemie Glover and Bailey Miller both reached double figures in kills as No. 8 Sun Devil Volleyball beat Pepperdine in three sets (25-21, 27-25, 25-15) on Friday night as part of the Sun Devil Classic.
Notable stats
- Arizona State (7-2) started off the weekend with a win over Pepperdine (5-5), holding the Waves to a .131 clip in the win. This is the sixth time this season that ASU has held its opponent to a sub-.200 hitting percentage.
- Junior opposite Noemie Glover played in her first match since the first weekend of the season, leading all players in kills with 14. She also had five blocks, tied for the team best. Glover has reached double figures in kills in every match she has played this season.
- The other Sun Devil in double figures was senior outside hitter Bailey Miller with 10 kills. She also had a match-high 13 digs for her fourth double-double of the year. She has had double-digit kills in six-straight matches.
- Also in double figures in digs was sophomore libero Faith Frame with 12. This was her sixth match of the year with double-digit digs.
- Senior setter Sydney Henry had a match-high 28 assists, adding an ace as well.
- The serving effort was strong in the win, with redshirt sophomore setter Brynn Covell and freshman defensive specialist Ella Lewis leading the way with two aces each.
SUPER hype night here in Desert Financial Arena 🗣️😤#ForksUp pic.twitter.com/SdbhHfUYf3
— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) September 20, 2025
Set one: ASU 25, Pepperdine 21
Pepperdine and ASU went back and forth in the beginning of the set, with the Waves taking an early 5-4 lead. Pepperdine went on a 4-0 run, making the score 9-5. The Sun Devils tied the set at 11-11 following a kill by Miller. The Waves used their first timeout after trailing 13-11 in hopes of changing the momentum. ASU went on a six-point run, going up 20-15, which caused Pepperdine to use its second timeout. The Waves were able to sideout and score two points. ASU responded with an ace by Lewis to go up 22-16. The Sun Devils took the first set 25-21 after a kill by Glover.
Set two: ASU 27, Pepperdine 25
To start the second frame, points went back and forth before the Waves took an early lead of 6-4. Close play continued with Pepperdine and ASU trading points. Following a kill by Jillian Neal, the Sun Devils went on a 3-0 run, going up 15-13 and forcing the Waves to use their first timeout. ASU continued to build the lead to 17-13 with an ace from Colby Neal and a kill from Glover. Pepperdine scored three unanswered points, causing ASU to use its first timeout at 20-19. The Sun Devils were able to sideout with a kill from Miller, going up 21-19. The Waves tied the set at 22-22 after a two-point run. Pepperdine pulled ahead, but ASU tied at 23-23 with a kill from Glover. ASU again forced a tie at 24-24 with Ella Lomigora’s first kill of the night, causing Pepperdine to use a timeout. Another kill from Lomigora put her team at set point and an ace from Jillian Neal pushed the Sun Devils to win the second set 27-25.
Set three: ASU 25, Pepperdine 15
The Sun Devils took an early 5-0 lead in the third set with an ace from Lewis and two kills from Miller. ASU continued to build a lead with a kill from both Colby Neal and Glover, going up 10-1. After an unsuccessful coach’s challenge for ASU, Pepperdine went on a three-point run, closing the gap to 15-9 and trying to gain some momentum. Kiylah Presley ended the Waves’ point streak with a kill, putting the Sun Devils up 16-9. Pepperdine used its second timeout of the set after ASU went on a two-point run, pulling ahead 21-13. Covell scored two-consecutive aces pushing the Sun Devils to match point at 24-14. A kill from Presley sealed the deal, and the Sun Devils won the third set 25-15.
Up next
Arizona State will face crosstown rival Grand Canyon on Saturday at 5 p.m. MST in Desert Financial Arena. That match will be live on ESPN+.
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Quotes
Head Coach JJ Van Niel
Opening Statement:
“We started a little slow. We opened up and down a lot, but we came back in the first set, took care of business and started to clean things up. In the second set, we played pretty well throughout but then let them back in. I was proud of the kids dealing with adversity because they got tied up. We went over the score, 27-25, and we had some big plays at the right moment. Those are the things you look for in every match because hopefully that builds confidence for later in the season. The third set, (Ella Lewis) came out and opened with a 5-0 run, burying them at the service line. We served them very well and put a lot of pressure on them, and we did a nice job defending. It was good to get a win in the big crowd. It was fun”
On Ella Lewis’ and the team’s serving execution:
“They got more comfortable and started hitting the serves we see everyday at the gym. Lewis is one of the best servers in our practice gym. She’s a freshman, I'm sure there are some nerves, but I was proud of her because of the first one. She’s serving decent serves, she might have missed one in the second, but in the third set she showed us what we normally see out of her. In general all of our team did well. Colby (Neal) had more service runs again, Bailey (Miller) had a couple of good ones. You can’t win volleyball matches without getting some service runs. We think about serving a lot and try to put pressure on them. This might have been our best serving match with seven aces and 10 errors, that is a good ratio for us.”
On senior outside hitter Bailey Miller’s recent standout performances:
“(She’s) been great. It’s nice to see her get the numbers from the fruits of all her labor. I’ve said it multiple times, but I've never seen someone so invested in getting better. From the end of last season, it was a one-track mind in the weight room and she played as much as she possibly could working on all things we were asking. Against Texas, she was unbelievable. They were double-blocking her the whole time, it was nice to see her turn….She’s done a nice job and she works hard.”
Senior Setter Sydney Henry
On setting her team up for success
“It's quite easy when I have amazing hitters who literally can do anything with any set. First the passers do an amazing job to get me in a good position and then the hitters are all so unique and so diverse in their own way, so it's really fun to be creative with them. And for them to just be able to put balls down, like we can do the inside sets, we can do reds. There's a lot of creativity in that and then I think that leads to a lot of new things that we could do with it.”
On working with different lineups and combinations
“It has been challenging to go through a little bit of adversity, but I think that just shows the character of our team and how we can compete with anything thrown at us. I also think it represents how unified we are as a team, and I think it has been fun just to see other people rise to the occasion and be able to get their opportunities, and everyone does an amazing job.”
Opposite Hitter Noemie Glover
On coming back and playing with the team after missing games:
“It felt amazing. I think that we've been talking a lot, just during rehab and everything about getting back, and everyone did a great job. So it's just fun to be back on the court and supporting everyone. I've been thinking about playing since I was injured, so just being able to come back and give what the team needs, I think it's just amazing to step out and just say, ‘OK, this is my time, I gotta make the most of it.’”
On mentally preparing to play aggressive teams during Big 12 play:
“I think it's a lot of scouting, a lot of watching the competitions that are going on. Obviously on our side, just how we can up our communication, find creative ways to score, having a bunch of options open I think is how we can be the most aggressive. How we can transition hard and find the court, get us some good spots.”