ORLANDO, Fla. — The No. 9 Arizona State Sun Devils (23-3 overall, 14-1 Big 12) now stand one win away from being crowned regular-season conference champions for the second-straight year after sweeping UCF (16-11 overall, 7-9 Big 12) on Wednesday.
ASU recorded its highest hitting percentage of the season, logging a 0.406% mark on the night. Senior outside hitter Bailey Miller led the team with 12 kills, while junior opposite hitter Noemie Glover and senior outside hitter Tatum Parrott followed with 11 kills each.
The midweek win in Orlando guarantees that Coach JJ Van Niel and his Sun Devils will at least earn a share of the conference title. Following Kansas’ loss later in the evening, a win against Houston on Friday for the Maroon and Gold now clinches a second-straight Big 12 outright title with two games to spare.
The Knights tested ASU in the first set, racing to a 16-10 lead on the back of a streak of five consecutive points. However, the Sun Devils responded by bursting for their own five-point run. They eventually eclipsed the hosts, taking a 19-18 lead after a kill by Miller.
Van Niel’s team finished the set on a 6-0 run and scored in 15 of the last 18 rallies to win the first set.
Both squads traded blows in a back-and-forth second set. But with the game tied 14-14, ASU put together another impressive run, going 11-4 to finish out a 25-18 victory in the set.
Last Saturday, against No. 22 Colorado, the Sun Devils narrowly avoided defeat after nearly surrendering a 2-0 lead, having to dig deep for a fifth-set victory. However, in Central Florida, Sparky made sure the third set saw less drama.
ASU once again stretched to a commanding lead behind strong offensive play. The Sun Devils hit 0.519% in the third set, tallying their best hitting percentage out of the three sets. The match ended at 25-13 with redshirt freshman outside hitter Kiylah Presley’s fourth kill of the night.
With the victory, the Maroon and Gold reached 23 wins on the season – tied for the sixth-most in program history.
The equation is simple for Van Niel’s side on Friday: a win on the road against the Houston Cougars (8-18 overall, 1-14 Big 12) at 6 p.m. MST, and the Sun Devils will claim back-to-back conference championships.
Leave a Reply