TEMPE – Behind a season-high 18 blocks, No. 9 Sun Devil Volleyball’s defense smothered Utah in a 3-1 win (25-6, 25-13, 24-26, 25-17) in Desert Financial Arena on Sunday afternoon.
Notable stats
- Arizona State (20-4, 11-2 Big 12) beat Utah (13-10, 5-7 Big 12) for the ninth win in a row in this series.
- For the fourth season in a row, Arizona State has earned 20 wins in a season, all under head coach JJ Van Niel. This is the sixth time with at least 20 wins this century.
- Blocking was a highlight for the Sun Devils in the win as they set a new season high of 18. That number is tied for ninth in the ASU record book for team blocks in the rally-scoring era. It was the most in a match since 2015. It also is tied for the fifth-best block total in the Big 12 this season. This was the 12th time this season with double-digit blocks.
- The defense held the Utes to a .024 hitting percentage, the fourth match in a row the Sun Devils have held their opponent to a sub-.100 clip. This also is the ninth time an opponent hit under .100.
- Senior middle blocker Ella Lomigora led the blocking charge with 10. That number ties her career high, is the most she’s had while at ASU and is a new season high. Additionally, 10 block assists is tied for the third most in a match for individual block assists in the rally-scoring era at ASU. It is also tied for fourth for total blocks in the rally-scoring era. And it is tied for the fifth most in the Big 12 this season by an individual.
- On offense, senior opposite Noemie Glover led all players in kills with 23 on a .476 clip. This was her second match in a row in double figures, 20th time this season. It also is the ninth match in her career with 20-plus kills, fifth time this season. She also notched a season high in blocks with eight.
- Another Sun Devil in double figures in kills was junior outside hitter Una Vajagić with 12. This was her fourth match in a row with double-digit kills. She also had eight digs and three blocks.
- Freshman libero Paige Lehman earned a career-high four aces in the win, all coming in the first set. She is one of three Sun Devils to have notched four or more aces in a match this season. Vajagić has two matches with four, while junior Piper Rama has one match with five aces.
- Handling the setting duties again was senior setter Isabella Costantini, collecting 39 assists in the win. This was her seventh time this season with 30 or more assists. She also had six digs and an ace.
- Leading the team in digs was junior libero Faith Frame with 11. It was her 15th time this season with double-digit digs.
- Also contributing on the big block number was junior middle blocker Zoey Burgess with seven, tying her career high, which she has had two other times this season. On offense, she had seven kills on a .455 clip.
- The first set saw the biggest margin of victory this season for Arizona State, winning 25-6 to best the previous best of 25-10. The set lasted 13 minutes. The last time ASU won by this large of a margin was last season against Texas Tech on November 5, which was the same 25-6 score in that first set.
Set one: ASU 25, Utah 6
The Sun Devils took control of the set early with a five-point run behind the serve of Costantini to open up 5-0. The Utes were unable to come up with an answer for the Sun Devils’ defense. The Sun Devils later went on a nine-point run, four of the points coming from serves from Lehman, to lead 20-3. Back-to-back blocks sealed the set for the Sun Devils, 25-6. ASU was able to hold Utah to only six points, the lowest point total for an opponent this season. Lomigora led the defense with five of the nine blocks for ASU in this set.
Set two: ASU 25, Utah 13
The momentum stayed with Arizona State to start the second frame. A kill from Glover made it a 6-2 lead early on. ASU slowly added to its lead up until Costantini led her team on another large run, this time for six points in a row to lead 19-7. Utah held off one set point, but an error from the visiting team won the set, 25-13. The Sun Devil offense hit .714 in this set.
Set three: ASU 24, Utah 26
The third set saw more back-and-forth action. Sophomore libero Ella Lewis served ASU on a 4-0 run to lead 7-4. But Utah responded with three-straight points to tie it up before Glover got the sideout with a kill, making it 8-7. The Sun Devils fell behind at 10-13 but answered with back-to-back points, Glover with a kill and a block from Vajagić and Lomigora, to get within one, down 13-12. In a four-point run to keep ASU right behind Utah at 17-16, Glover and Lomigora stood out. Glover had two kills, Lomigora with one, and the duo assisted with a block. It remained close up until the end of the set, with the Sun Devils fighting off three set points to tie it at 24-24. WIth the assistance of some ASU errors, Utah won the set, 26-24. There were eight ties and three lead changes in this set.
Set four: ASU 25, Utah 17
The Sun Devils came back in this set with energy and a strong attack. The first six points for the Sun Devils came from kills, Burgess and Glover each with two. The Sun Devils’ attack continued to stand out with a four-point run to lead 8-2 that saw two kills by Burgess, one for Vajagic and an ace from Schalk. Utah scored three in a row, but a kill from Glover made it 9-5. An ace from Lewis extended ASU’s lead to 15-10 heading into the media timeout. From there, it was back and forth until Lewis again led her team on a run of three, extending the advantage to 23-16. Back-to-back blocks won the set for the Sun Devils, 25-17.
Up next
Arizona State will play just once next week: a rivalry matchup with Arizona in Tucson on Sunday, November 15.
Quotes
Head Coach JJ Van Niel
Opening statement:
“It was just a well-executed match by us. Obviously, the third set slipped a little bit, but for the most part, we executed really well in all phases. We were able to hold a really good offensive team to .024 hitting percentage with 18 blocks, so I’m proud of the team and excited with how we played. The crowd was awesome. It was really fun and it felt like we had 8,000 people in there. They were rocking and we really appreciated them coming out.”
On his reaction to the first set with the highest margin of victory of the season:
“Volleyball is kind of a funny sport and I think you have to learn how to reset quickly. We were playing really well, but they were not. Everything went our way, nothing went their way. And we kept telling them, ‘Hey, we have to come out. They're a good team.’ I knew they'd come out fighting.
I thought we kept our foot on the gas pretty well in the second set, and then in the third they made a change, which helped them. Then in the fourth, we were able to flip something around and get a matchup we wanted, so it was good.”
On what was working for their execution on defense:
“It starts with a serve. Volleyball is a tough sport because the ball is moving around and you want to move with the ball. I thought Lom (Ella Lomigora) did a nice job of just staying on assignment and knowing her job. She always does. She's on top of that stuff. But she just did a really good job of executing the game plan and seeing the right things.”
Senior opposite hitter Noemie Glover
On the dominant first set:
“It was awesome to see our servers go back there and really dial it in where they wanted to go and who they wanted to exploit. That was just awesome to see. It's obviously great to stack points, so it felt nice. It felt super comfortable, especially on our home floor.”
On the pressure to perform throughout the season:
“All the pressure really comes from myself. I want to be great. Most of my goals are to be one of the most dynamic attackers in the NCAA, be one of the best defenders in the NCAA, be one of the best opposites in the country. That's my goal. So the pressure really comes from me, and I need to take some of that pressure off. But I feel like my team does an awesome job of being there every single moment. Just being there no matter what. I know they definitely steady me a lot because I get so frustrated with myself. And then at the end of the day it's really not about me, it's about our team and how we can all produce and all be successful and all win.”
On playing at Arizona next weekend:
“Hopefully we can make it our home. Honestly, if you guys come out and support, we can tie them up with whatever colors they have going on in there. As long as it's maroon and gold.”
Senior middle blocker Ella Lomigora
On what shifted after losing the third set:
“We got more external and talked through the plays that were happening, which we had to dial back in. Holding our huddle a little bit longer and looking at each other a little bit more. Go at our speed and not let them control the set.”
On what the defense picked up on to help them be successful at the net:
“We were being mindful of different trends. We are taking note of who was passing the ball on their serve-receive and taking steps to where those passes were going, and calling their routes out and communicating at the net, which made it a lot easier.”
On how the team can carry their momentum into next week:"
Focusing on our recovery, above all else. Then coming to practice with who we are playing against at the forefront of our minds. We want to go, and we want to destroy them down south. I feel like that's even better than doing it over here and going to their territory.”
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