MORGANTOWN, W.V. – Despite three earning double-digit kills, No. 9 Sun Devil Volleyball came up short in its second five-set match in a row, falling at West Virginia in five (25-17, 17-25, 16-25, 26-24, 15-12) in the Big 12 opener on Friday.
Notable stats
- Arizona State (9-3, 0-1 Big 12) fell in five to West Virginia (8-3, 1-0 Big 12), which was the second five-set match in a row for ASU.
- Three Sun Devils reached double figures in kills, led by senior opposite hitter Noemie Glover with 19, which was also a match high. Glover’s total matched her season best. This was her sixth match in a row with double-digit kills. She hit .364 and also added seven digs.
- Both outside hitters reached double-digit kills as well. Junior Una Vajagić had her third double-double in the last four matches with 17 kills and 14 digs. Graduate Aniya Clinton had 18 kills on a .308 clip.
- Junior libero Faith Frame notched a season-high 21 digs to lead the team. It was her first time with 20-plus digs this season, 10th time in her career.
- Senior setter Isabella Costantini collected 35 assists, a season high for her. She also had seven digs and three aces, both of which are also season bests.
Set one: WVU 25, ASU 17
The Mountaineers took control of the first set with an early 5-0 run to go up 8-3, a lead they would not relinquish. West Virginia scored four in a row to add to its advantage, 12-5. The Sun Devils showed a spark with a run of three that had two kills from Vajagić and a kill from senior middle blocker Ella Lomigora, but the Mountaineers responded with a 3-0 run of their own to push the lead back up to seven, 17-10. Despite late kills from Clinton, the home team would go on to win 25-17.
Set two: ASU 25, WVU 17
Arizona State responded right from the jump in the second frame. Costantini served the team to a 4-0 lead with two aces from the senior. The Sun Devils added to the lead with a 4-1 run to go up 10-3 with two kills from Glover, forcing a timeout from the Mountaineers. WVU closed the gap a little, but an error from the home team and a block from Lomigora and Vajagić made it 15-9 heading into the media timeout. ASU was able to capitalize on West Virginia errors to extend the lead to 19-13. The Sun Devils finished the set on a 4-0 run with two kills from Vajagić and two from Lomigora, winning 25-17. ASU held WVU to a .032 clip in this set.
Set three: ASU 25, WVU 16
The two teams kept it close to start the third set. A third ace from Costantini made it an 8-5 ASU lead. WVU got within one a couple of times until Arizona State went on a 5-1 run with kills from three different Sun Devils to lead 16-11. Back-to-back kills from Glover made it a 19-14 advantage, forcing the Mountaineers’ second timeout. Arizona State scored three in a row to win the set, 25-16, capped off by an ace from freshman Paige Lehman.
Set four: WVU 26, ASU 24
Following some back-and-forth play to start the fourth set, West Virginia scored four in a row to lead 8-5. ASU chipped away at the lead until a run of five with freshman Grace Martin serving, and earning an ace and a kill, put her team on top, 15-13. The Mountaineers tied it up a handful of times down the stretch, including at 20-20 to force a Sun Devil timeout. After a few more ties, WVU took the 23-22 lead. A kill from Una held off set point to tie it 24-24, but the Mountaineers scored the next two to force a fifth set by winning 26-24.
Set five: WVU 15, ASU 12
West Virginia took charge to start the final frame. A few errors from the Mountaineers tied it up at 4-4 before they scored four in a row to make it 8-4. Kills from Clinton and Vajagić cut it to 8-6 before WVU scored two more to go back up by four and bring out ASU’s second timeout. The teams traded points until the Mountaineers got to match point, 14-9. The Sun Devils scored a couple in a row to force a timeout at 14-11. A WVU error held off another match point, but the home team would win 15-12.
Up next
Arizona State will close out the weekend at Cincinnati on Sunday. The match will be at 10 a.m. MST/1 p.m. EDT on ESPN+.
Follow us
Sun Devil Volleyball updates can be found by following @SunDevilVB on X, @sundevilvolleyball on Instagram, Sun Devil Volleyball on Facebook and on sundevils.com.