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Gritty five-set match sees #7 Volleyball beat #19 BYU in Provo

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Bailey Miller serving the ball.Bailey Miller serving the ball.
BYU Photo
by Kimberlie Haner
Box Score

PROVO, Utah – Despite being down 2-1 in the match, No. 7 Sun Devil Volleyball came back to beat No. 19 BYU in five sets (25-22, 19-25, 17-25, 25-23, 15-13) on Thursday night in the Smith Fieldhouse to improve the winning streak to nine in a row.

Notable stats

  • Arizona State (15-2, 6-0 Big 12) has now won four in a row against BYU (15-3, 3-3 Big 12), three of which are road wins. 
  • ASU extended its winning streak to nine in a row. The winning streak is tied for the sixth-longest in team history. It is the third winning streak of nine or more under head coach JJ Van Niel in his third season (2023-25). The team also extended their conference winning streak to 22 in a row, the fourth-longest in the country. 
  • ASU improves to 5-2 against ranked teams this season, this being the third ranked win in a row. The Sun Devils have 13 wins against ranked teams under head coach JJ Van Niel; it had 12 in the previous seven full seasons (2016-22). 
  • Van Niel is 5-2 in five-set matches in his career, 3-0 this season.
  • This was Arizona State’s ninth match with double-digit blocks this season, earning a season high of 16, led by a career high of 10 from Colby Neal. The Sun Devils have had double-digit blocks in four of the six Big 12 matches so far.
  • Senior outside hitter Bailey Miller notched her second-straight double-double (sixth this year) with 16 kills and a team-high 14 digs. She hit .361 in the win.
  • Leading the team in kills was junior opposite Noemie Glover with 19 on a .308 clip. It was her sixth match in a row with double-digit kills, the longest streak of her career. She also had seven blocks.
  • Earning a new career high in blocks, graduate middle blocker Colby Neal led all players in blocks with 10. This passes her previous best of nine and her former season high of eight. She had seven kills on a .600 clip as well.
  • Junior middle blocker Ella Lomigora added six kills and six blocks in the win.
  • The setters each notched 20-plus assists, with Brynn Covell earning 29 and Sydney Henry collecting 21. Each also had six digs. Covell also had two aces.
  • Freshman Maila Ribeiro notched her first career ace in the first point of the third set.

Set one: ASU 25, BYU 22
Neither team was able to create separation for the majority of the set. An ace from Covell put the Sun Devils on top at 12-11. A kill from Kiylah Presley gave Arizona State the 15-14 advantage heading into the media timeout. BYU scored two in a row to take the one-point lead, 18-17, forcing an ASU timeout. The Sun Devils responded with the first run of the set with a 5-0 run behind Jillian Neal’s serve, going up 22-18 and bringing both timeouts from the home team. The Cougars put together a run of three to get back within one, down 22-21, but the Sun Devils ended on a 3-1 run with a kill and block from Lomigora to win 25-22. There were 18 ties and eight lead changes in the set.

Set two: BYU 25, ASU 19
ASU struggled early on serve receive, trailing 8-3 and calling an early timeout. The Sun Devils scored three in a row, capped off with back-to-back blocks from Colby Neal and Covell, to cut the deficit to 11-8. However, the Cougars earned five-straight points to push their lead up to 16-8. ASU put together a 4-1 run with two kills and a block from Colby Neal to make it 17-12. Another 4-1 run for the Sun Devils made it 21-17, bringing a Cougar timeout. A couple of late kills from Miller got within three, but BYU scored three in a row down the stretch to win 25-19.

Set three: BYU 25, ASU 17
An ace from Ribeiro got the Sun Devils starting on the right foot. Three in a row with an ace from Covell pushed the ASU lead to 6-2, forcing an early timeout from BYU. The home team answered back with a 6-1 run to take the 9-8 lead. A block from Lomigora and Miller tied it up at 11-11 before the Cougars got the sideout. BYU scored seven in a row to go up 19-13, ASU using both timeouts during the run. A couple of late Cougar errors gave the Sun Devils a few more points, but the damage was done and BYU would win 25-17. 

Set four: ASU 25, BYU 23
ASU jumped out to a 3-0 start in set four, all three points coming from blocks. BYU tied it after a run of three at 6-6. It was back and forth for a while, neither team able to go on a run. BYU led by one heading into the media timeout, but Miller tooled the block to tie it up after the break. Two in a row for the home team brought an ASU timeout, down 18-16. The teams traded points for a while until the Sun Devils were able to tie it at 22-22 on a Colby Neal and Presley block. Kills from Miller and Glover gave Arizona State the 24-23 lead, the team’s first lead since 11-10, and forced BYU’s second timeout. An error from the Cougars in the net gave the Sun Devils the 25-23 win to tie the match at 2-2.

Set five: ASU 15, BYU 13
Colby Neal and Glover scored ASU’s first three points to go up 3-1 early. The two teamed up for their second block of the set to make it 4-2. A third block of the set, this time from Lomigora and Parrott, doubled up BYU early at 6-3, bringing a timeout from the home team. The Cougars rallied to tie it at 7-7 after a 4-1 run, but Miller caught fire, earning three kills down the stretch to keep ASU ahead. She kicked off a 3-0 run to go up 12-9. However, BYU fought back, going on a 3-1 run to get within one, down 13-12. Out of a Sun Devil timeout, Glover hammered a kill to get to match point, 14-12. A scrappy rally ended with a big swing from Tatum Parrott to tool the block and win 15-13.

Up next
Arizona State will play Utah in Salt Lake City on Saturday at 12 p.m. MST/1 p.m. MDT on ESPN+.