TEMPE – With two in double figures for kills and the team reaching double-digit blocks for the ninth match in a row, No. 9 Sun Devil Volleyball remained undefeated at home after beating Cincinnati in four sets (21-25, 25-21, 25-21, 25-14) on Wednesday night at Desert Financial Arena.
Notable stats
- Arizona State (25-3, 16-1 Big 12) beat Cincinnati (15-12, 7-10 Big 12) despite dropping the first set. ASU is now 5-2 this year when losing the first set, 3-0 in Big 12 play.
- The Sun Devils improve to 13-0 at home this year. In the last two seasons, Arizona State has not lost a regular-season match at home.
- With 10 blocks tonight, ASU has had double-digit blocks in the last nine matches. This season, the Sun Devils have had 19 matches with double-digit team blocks, including all but two Big 12 matches.
- Senior outside hitter Bailey Miller led the team in kills with 19, her 13th match in a row with double-digit kills. She had nine kills in just the first set.
- Leading the blocking effort again was graduate middle blocker Colby Neal with eight. This was her fifth match in a row with at least seven blocks. She has had at least eight blocks in six matches this year. Additionally, she had eight kills.
- Another Sun Devil with double-digit kills was junior opposite Noemie Glover with 13. This was her 17th-straight match in double figures in kills (all but one match). She also had three blocks.
- Sophomore libero Faith Frame led all players in digs with 15, her second-straight match with double-digit digs, 16th this season.
- Setters Brynn Covell and Sydney Henry both notched 20-plus assists in the win. Covell had 24 with seven digs, while Henry had 25 with five digs and an ace.
- Senior outside hitter Tatum Parrott neared a double-double with nine kills and nine digs. She also had a team-best three aces, tying her season high.
- Attendance was 3,868 tonight at Desert Financial Arena. This is the eighth match this season that ASU has had more than 3,000 in attendance.
Set one: Cincinnati 25, ASU 20
The Sun Devils started the match out slow, as the Bearcats went on a four-point run to open up the set. Arizona State kept battling back with big swings from Glover, Miller and Tatum Parrott, and Miller picked up back-to-back overpass kills to help cut the deficit to one at 12-11. An overturned point on a net violation gave Cincinnati a two-point lead, 15-13, going into the media timeout. Unforced errors from the Sun Devils allowed the Bearcats to extend their lead to five, leading ASU to take a timeout, trailing 20-15. Miller continued carving up the Cincinnati defense with her attacking before adding an ace and forcing a timeout from the Bearcats, down 23-20. Two quick points from Cincinnati ended the set, with the Sun Devils falling 25-20.
Set two: ASU 25, Cincinnati 21
Arizona State began the second set strong, taking an early 5-3 lead on kills from Glover and Colby Neal. Cincinnati was able to even the score, but strong play from Ella Lomigora saw her earn a kill, block and ace within a few points to open up a five-point lead, 13-8, forcing the Bearcats to take a timeout. Cincinnati kept pushing back, forcing the Sun Devils to get crafty. Miller and Glover picked up off-tempo kills, putting the lead back to four, up 17-13. Parrott helped to extend the lead with two kills of her own, followed up by an ace, her second of the night. Cincinnati took its second timeout, trailing 20-15. A 3-0 scoring run from the Bearcats led the Sun Devils to take a timeout of their own, and quick kills from Miller and Glover gave their team set point. Arizona State took set two on a missed serve, 25-21.
Set three: ASU 25, Cincinnati 21
Arizona State started out the set strong, taking a 3-2 lead on errors from Cincinnati and a big kill from Colby Neal, but a 4-0 run from the Bearcats saw the Sun Devils on the wrong side of a 6-3 score. Big swings from Miller and Kiylah Presley helped Arizona State battle back and knot it up at 8-8, but a missed serve and hitting errors gave Cincinnati a three-point advantage, up 12-9. The Sun Devils’ strong defense and transition offense kept the score close, and big swings from Colby Neal and Parrott brought the score back to even at 13-13. The Sun Devils took an 18-17 lead on a kill from Ella Lomigora to end a long rally. Big blocks from Colby Neal, Presley and Miller put Arizona State up 22-17. A 4-0 scoring run from the Bearcats cut the lead to one, 22-21, but big swings from Presley and Colby Neal put the Sun Devils one point away from a set victory. A block from Colby Neal and Glover gave the Sun Devils a 25-21 victory.
Set four: ASU 25, Cincinnati 14
The fourth set began with back-and-forth action as the teams traded points. A 5-0 run on big kills from Miller and Lomigora and blocking from Colby Neal and Presley gave the Sun Devils an 11-6 lead. Parrott’s eighth kill of the night put Arizona State up 15-11 heading into the media timeout, and kills from Glover and Miller extended the lead to five. Parrott picked up another kill and her third ace of the night, putting the Sun Devils up 19-13 and forcing a Bearcats timeout. Aggressive serving from Jillian Neal and defense from Parrott gave the Sun Devils set point, and a kill from Colby Neal sealed the deal, with Arizona State taking the match 3-1.
Up next
The final match of the regular season will be at home on Saturday, Nov. 29, at 11 a.m. MST against West Virginia. Arizona State will honor its six seniors pregame and then will celebrate the 2025 Big 12 Championship postgame.
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Quotes
Head Coach JJ Van Niel
Opening Statement
“Fun match. They have a great outside hitter, Sydney Nolan, who lit us up pretty well. But it was nice to see our team kind of battle back. We made some adjustments, and I thought we played a lot better defense as the match went on. And I mean, what a crowd. That was really fun. Almost 4,000 people. So thank you to the fans for coming out. That was so cool to see them come out the day before Thanksgiving.”
On bouncing back after falling short in the first set:
“I would certainly like it if we would start out of the block a little faster. But I think one of the things in volleyball, and you see it in a lot of matches as the game goes on, you can prepare as much as you want for, say, Sydney Nolan or Noemie Glover, but you really don't know it until you're actually doing it. I think our team did a nice job of getting in the groove, understanding what they were doing, and made a couple of adjustments to try to slow some things down a little better. This team just doesn’t seem to get phased. We were even down, I think it was the third set. They were ahead for a bunch of it and we just kept grinding away. It was like, sideout, get a real point, sideout, get a real point, and just keep chipping away. And I thought our serving got a lot better as the match went on. We started getting them in a lot more trouble. In their own system, they were beating us up pretty good. So as the match went on, I thought we did a much better job serving to kind of get them in trouble. They only had one hitter or maybe only two hitters that we could defend a little easier.”
On Bailey Miller’s progression throughout the season thus far:
“Bailey has had a phenomenal season, and I think the progression from the beginning of the year to the end has been really impressive. It's a testament to how hard she works in the gym. She's in there every day trying to hone her craft and get better at the things we think she needs to get better at. It's shown on the scoresheet, that's for sure.”
Senior Outside Hitter Bailey Miller
On playing her last few home games at Arizona State
“This program means everything to me. I think I’ve really thrived here, and I think I’m still reaching my peak of who I can be as a volleyball player. I wouldn’t be anywhere close to where I am right now without JJ, and without the girls, and so it’s super special. It’s definitely bittersweet. If I could, I would stay forever, but I just have to give everything to them, because I wouldn’t be the volleyball player, or the person I am today, without everybody.”
On building a strong home court advantage
“The community around us is so great. On the day before Thanksgiving, having this many people be able to come out is super special. Our last match here (against U of A) was also big, breaking the record, so I think we’re making big strides as a program, every single year it is getting better and better, so it’s really cool to see and be a part of.”
Sophomore Libero Faith Frame
On if there was any added motivation facing her former team:
“There's definitely added motivation, just knowing who's on the other side and kind of trying to remember all their tendencies, having played with them for a while. So there was extra motivation, and my teammates being there, saying, ‘let's win this for Faith,’ is a big deal.”
On what the coaches were saying to them in between sets and timeouts:
“We're really good at being open with each other in the huddles and saying that we’re lacking in energy right now. Even though we won that set, it didn't feel like we did. We need to come out with more energy, no matter if it's an easy play or if it was a crazy up or swing. We need that energy every single play.”