HOUSTON — A volleyball dynasty is born in the desert.
Arizona State (24-3 overall, 15-1 Big 12) secured back-to-back outright conference championships on Friday night, defeating Houston (8-19 overall, 1-15 Big 12) 3-1 at the Feritta Center.
After beating UCF on Wednesday, the Sun Devils traveled to Texas knowing a win would guarantee their second-straight conference title outright under coach JJ Van Niel.
Sparky dealt with some adversity in the second and third sets, having trailed multiple times in both frames. Strong offense from senior outside hitters Bailey Miller and Tatum Parrott and junior opposite hitter Noemie Glover — all of whom each tallied double-digit kills — helped the visitors prevail in their 15th conference win of the season.
Van Niel’s side won the opening set 25-14, with Miller leading the team with six kills. The Sun Devils logged zero attacking errors and recorded a hitting percentage of .609% in the first round, while also holding the Cougars’ hitting to under 0.1%.
But ASU’s flawless start turned south in the second set. Sparky recorded nine attacking errors after recording none in the first set and hit 0.143% in the second round. Houston, meanwhile, hit 0.320% and never trailed after the second rally, leveling the match after a 25-20 win.
The hosts continued to frustrate ASU in set three. The Cougars led early again and took a 15-11 lead midway through the round. However, following a timeout by Van Niel, his side tied the match at 16-16 and retook the lead on an ace from junior outside hitter Jillian Neal.
The Sun Devils ended on a 14-3 run and secured a third-set victory, 25-18.
The fourth set saw less adversity from Sparky, who never trailed and notched a game-high five aces. The Maroon and Gold cleaned up their offense — committing only two attacking errors in the set — as they finished the match on a 7-2 run.
The victory gives ASU the Big 12 title with two games to spare and is still on track to match its 2024 conference record (17-1). Van Niel’s side finishes the regular season with a two-game home stand next week, first hosting Cincinnati on Wednesday at 7 p.m. MST.
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