TEMPE — In yet another matchup against a ranked team at Desert Financial Arena, the No. 21 BYU Cougars, No. 8 Arizona State notched a four-set victory.
The win not only marks ASU’s 11th conference victory, but also extends the Maroon and Gold’s undefeated home record to 11-0.
With over 4,000 fans in the stands, including many BYU fans, the Sun Devils played in front of a raucous crowd on Friday night.
“What a crowd,” ASU coach JJ Van Niel said. “What a fun environment to play in, (it was) super loud, and I know our team fed off it.
“It’s always super fun having a lot of fans,” senior outside hitter Baily Miller said. “It makes the game more fun, and it’s always a fun environment to play in.”
In the last match between the two teams, ASU defeated the Cougars in a five-set, back-and-forth affair. On Friday night, it was much of the same.
Even though the Sun Devils took the win in four sets this time around, BYU still challenged Sparky in every set.
After initially falling behind by five points early on, BYU managed to scrape together a first-set victory on the back of a 10-0 run.
Freshman outside hitter Suli Davis led the way for the Cougars, finishing the night with 20 kills. She also helped BYU keep it close in the second set with the help of Cougars junior outside hitter Claire Chambers, who ended with 13 kills.
BYU forced a tiebreaker in the second frame, but ASU squeaked out with a 28-26 set victory. From that point on, the Maroon and Gold didn’t look back, winning a close third set 25-23 and a final fourth set 25-21.
“I know that we are a pretty resilient team, and we have been battling all year,” Van Niel said. “I think I aged a few years because of that second set.”
To pull away from the visitors, the Sun Devils capitalized on BYU’s attacking errors and implemented some well-timed blocking. ASU ultimately finished the night with 21 total blocks and forced 29 attacking errors from the Cougars’ front line.
Not only did the attacking errors hamper BYU, but its 10 service errors made it an uphill trek for the Cougars.
Senior outside hitter Bailey Miller stood out for Arizona State, walking away with 20 kills and a match-leading 39% hitting percentage.
Junior outside hitter Noemie Glover also continued her strong season, filling the stat sheet with 11 kills and six blocks, which tied the most blocks by a player in the match with her own teammate, graduate student middle blocker Colby Neal.
Neal now ranks ninth in the nation in blocks per set and is considered one of the best blockers in the Big 12 by far.
“When I go to block, I’m going to touch everything,” Neal said. “My goal is to bring the ball down on the other side.”
ASU will now look to continue it momentum, preparing for its last six regular-season games before the NCAA Tournament. Up next, it’ll host its biggest rival, the Arizona Wildcats, on Friday at 7 p.m. MST.
Leave a Reply