TEMPE — The No. 9 Arizona State Sun Devils took down the Cincinnati Bearcats 3-1 in their second-to-last game of the season.
The Sun Devils (25-3, 16-1 Big 12) found themselves down quickly after Bearcats (15-12, 7-10 Big 12) junior outside hitter Sydney Nolan provided the visitors with a spark with some early kills. She continued to produce all night after finishing with 20 kills, which was the most by a player on either side.
It allowed Cincinnati to run away with the first set 25-21. However, the Sun Devils didn’t back down, as senior outside hitter Noemie Glover and junior outside hitter Bailey Miller led a resurgent charge going forward, with ASU taking the next three sets with ease.
Glover made a few highlight plays, including a monster block in the second set to keep ASU’s scoring streak alive.
Meanwhile, Miller added an emphatic kill late in the fourth set, which helped ASU generate one of its biggest leads of the night and cruise to a 25–14 win in the final set and secure the 3-1 match victory.
Miller led the way for the Sun Devils in the kills department, notching 19 kills and 21.5 points on the night.
“I’ve been working with the setters a lot, and we’ve been working on those deep corners and keeping my hands high while improving my IQ and hit(tting) the back third of the court,” Miller said. “Just those minor tweaks make a big difference.”
With the win, Arizona State advances to 25-3 on the season and keep their undefeated streak at home, improving to a 13–0 mark at Desert Financial Arena.
The Sun Devils brought in nearly 4,000 fans for the squad’s daughter-father game. The night’s theme provided a home-court advantage and a sentimental boost to the Maroon and Gold.
“It was super special,” Miller said. “My dad used to pepper me when I was little, and he helped me fall in love with this sport, so it’s really cool to see dads in the community who are doing the same.”
In turn, sophomore libero Faith Frame found the match sentimental because of the opponent. Frame formerly played at Cincinnati before arriving at ASU.
“There was definitely some extra motivation, and I think my teammates being there and saying ‘let’s win this for Faith’ was a big deal,” Frame said.
She ultimately finished the night with a game-high 15 digs.
With the victory, Arizona State coach JJ Van Niel improves his overall record with ASU to 83–13.
And, although he has his sights set on bigger goals in the NCAA tournament, he’s still focusing on the Sun Devils’ final task in the tail end of the regular season: West Virginia.
“I try to take one game at a time,” Van Niel said. “You never know what your draws are gonna be at the end of the day. The only thing we can control is to go out and hone our craft and try to take down West Virginia who surprised people this year. I mean, there is no easy match in the Big 12.”
The Sun Devils will cap off the regular season against West Virginia on Saturday at 11 a.m. MST at home.
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