HAMILTON, N.Y. – No. 7 Sun Devil Volleyball collected 10 aces en route to a sweep (25-19, 25-13, 25-14) over Princeton on Friday afternoon as part of the Colgate Volleyball Classic.
Notable stats
- Arizona State (4-1) picked up its third sweep of the year by beating Princeton (0-2) in straight sets. The Sun Devils held the Tigers to a .139 hitting percentage, while ASU hit .337.
- A difference maker in the match was serving. The Sun Devils set a season high in aces with 10, compared to just one for the Tigers. Junior outside hitter Una Vajagić led the way with four, which is a season high for her. Junior defensive specialist Piper Rama added three more to add to her team-best ace total, now at 10 on the year.
- Senior opposite Noemie Glover led all players in kills with 12, while hitting .348. This was Glover's 40th match in her career with double-digit kills.
- Outside hitters Aniya Clinton and Vajagić added seven kills each
- The middle blockers were involved on offense as well this match, with both Ella Lomigora and Antonina Serafinowska adding five kills apiece. Additionally, Serafinowska had a match-high four blocks. For Serafinowska, both her kill and block totals are new personal bests.
- Freshman setter Elle Mottola had 28 assists and tied for the team high in digs with seven. Junior libero Faith Frame also added seven digs.
- This was head coach JJ Van Niel's 90th career win.
Set one: ASU 25, Princeton 19
Following an early run of three for Princeton, ASU trailed for the first half of the set. The teams traded points, with the Sun Devils keeping it close, until a kill from Clinton tied it at 12-12. Following another sideout, Arizona State scored three in a row to lead 15-13 heading into the media timeout. A 4-1 Sun Devil run with two kills from Lomigora forced both of the Tigers’ timeouts after the lead extended to 22-17. Back-to-back blocks won the set for ASU, 25-19.
Set two: ASU 25, Princeton 13
The Sun Devils had a strong start to the second frame, opening up with an 8-2 lead after four unanswered points, which included two kills from Serafinowska. ASU kept adding to its lead by scoring pairs of points at a time, like a kill from Clinton and a block from junior middle blocker Zoey Burgess and Vajagić to make it 13-5. The Sun Devils put together a 5-0 run to extend the advantage to 21-8, a run that saw Serafinowska continue to be involved by earning a block and a kill. The teams traded points down the stretch, but Burgess ended the set with a kill to win 25-13.
Set three: ASU 25, Princeton 14
The Tigers won the first three points of this set, but the Sun Devils took back control quickly. Vajagić served her team to seven-straight points to lead 11-5. Five of the seven points in that run were errors from Princeton. Off the bench, freshman defensive specialist Paige Lehman came in to serve and sparked four more points in a row for ASU heading into the media timeout, up 15-6, earning her first ace. More tough serving, this time from Rama who got two aces, helped ASU score five-straight points to push it to 21-8. Princeton added a handful of points in the last stretch, but a final kill from Glover completed the sweep, 25-14.
Up next
Arizona State’s final road match before coming back to Tempe is on Saturday against Villanova. The matchup will start at 11 a.m. MST/2 p.m. EDT and will be on YouTube.
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