TEMPE – In its opening game at the Sun Devil Classic, No. 8 Arizona State Volleyball (7-2) defeated Pepperdine University (5-5) in a convincing three-set sweep.
Both teams entered Friday night looking to bounce back from losses. The Sun Devils fell to the No. 2 Texas Longhorns in a shutout. Meanwhile, Pepperdine dropped its first game of the weekend in a nail-biting loss to Grand Canyon University on Thursday.
Pepperdine got out to a hot start, jumping out to a quick 4-point advantage. However, the Sun Devils rebounded with a 6-0 scoring run led by junior outside hitter Noemie Glover, who made her long-anticipated return after missing the last five games.
Glover finished the first set with four kills and two blocks and helped ASU take the lead. After swinging momentum back in its favor, the Maroon and Gold held on to win the first set.
The second set started out nearly the same, with Pepperdine taking a swift 11-8 lead with help from sophomore outside hitter Maggie Beaure and junior middle blocker Vanessa Polk. Once again, the Sun Devils found themselves in a position to take the lead after a 5-0 scoring run.
Yet, the Waves continued to battle back later in the set with clutch kills from sophomore outside hitter Chloe Pravednikov and Polk, who extended the set.
Nonetheless, Pepperdines comeback attempt proved to no avail. ASU scored back-to-back points courtesy of a strong effort from junior middle blocker Ella Lomigoria and a service ace by Jillian Neal, who’s service ace closed out the set to give the home side a 2-0 lead.
In the third set, Sparky ultimately sealed the deal with its most dominant stretch all night. After jumping out to a quick 5-0 lead, the Sun Devils took the biggest lead of the evening for either team, going up 13-4.
Pepperdine tried its best to stay in the game, attempting to rally behind some of the Sun Devils’ attacking errors. Nonethless, it wasn’t enough, as ASU finished the match with a 3-0 sweep.
Beauer and Pravednikov would tallied the most kills for Pepperdine in the loss. Still, the team’s blocking held its own against one of the better blocking teams in the nation with an 8.0 block rate.
In total, Glover tallied 14 kills and five blocks in her first game back, while senior outside hitter Bailey Miller recorded a 13-dig game and finished second on the team in kills behind Glover. Senior setter Sydney Henry also turned in a strong performance, closing out the night with 28 assists.
After the game, Henry gave credit to her “amazing hitters” and her passers for helping her string together her impressive outing.
On the other hand, ASU coach JJ Van Niel expressed his excitement about Glover’s return.
“She looked good—14 kills, we’ll take that,” Van Niel said.
“She had some big blocks and nice moments.”
After notching a win over Pepperdine, the Sun Devils will look to continue their success in the Sun Devil Classic against in-state rival Grand Canyon University on Saturday night at Desert Financial Arena at 5 p.m. MST.
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