LEXINGTON, Ky. — No. 2-seeded Arizona State’s (28-4 overall, 17-1 Big 12) season ended in Kentucky on Thursday afternoon, as the Sun Devils fell 3-1 against No. 3-seeded Creighton (28-5 overall, 16-0 Big East) in the NCAA Regional Semifinals.
Looking to reach the Elite 8 for the first time in program history, the Sun Devils headed into their fourth Sweet 16 trip after breezing past Coppin State and Utah State in the previous rounds. Creighton, meanwhile, aimed to reach the Regional Finals for the second straight season.
After two tight sets, which saw both sides win one each, the Bluejays pulled away following strong hitting by senior outside hitter Ava Martin and senior middle blocker Kiara Reinhardt. The attacking duo combined for 58% of Creighton’s team kills during the match, with Reinhardt recording the highest hitting percentage of any attacker from both sides (.737%).
Junior opposite hitter Noemie Glover led Coach JJ Van Niel’s team with 17 kills from 29 attacks. Senior outside hitter Bailey Miller, who recorded her season-high hitting percentage (.471%) in the Second Round against Utah State, posted a .156% and nine kills on Thursday.
The opening set couldn’t be tighter: neither team led by more than two points, and had 13 lead changes and eight ties. Van Niel’s squad took a 15-13 advantage going into the media timeout following two straight aces by sophomore setter Brynn Covell.
Both teams traded 3-0 runs entering the final stretch of the set. But with the set tied 24-24 and each side hitting .333%, Creighton pulled through from an ASU service error and a Martin kill.
The Sun Devils responded thanks to strong right side hitting from Glover and redshirt freshman outside hitter Kiylah Presley. The latter registered five kills in the second set and improved her hitting percentage to .500%.
“There was some momentum there,” senior setter Sydney Henry said on the Sun Devils’ improvement in the second set. “We made it known that we were going to stay together, we were going to stay connected and were going to use it in the third set.”
ASU rallied from an early Creighton three-point advantage to go up 15-14 at the media timeout. Glover helped Sparky’s offense by reaching double-digit kills late in the round. Van Niel’s side eased to a 25-19 set victory to tie the match.
After two opening close sets, the third proved to be the most lopsided. Creighton never trailed and led by as many 12 points while hitting .600%. ASU, meanwhile, recorded .208% and posted eight team kills as the Bluejays took the set 25-13.
“(Creighton) spun their rotation just slightly and they were getting a couple of their really good servers on the line,” Van Niel said after the match on what changed in the third set. “They’ve mixed up really well and got us in some trouble there. They were playing really clean volleyball.”
Van Niel’s side made the following round closer, but Creighton stretched to a five-point lead at media timeout. The Sun Devils continued to struggle finding offensive rhythm as the Bluejays outscored them 10-8 following the media break. Creighton won the match-deciding set 25-18.
The Bluejays also caused ASU trouble from the service line, as they tallied six of their eight service aces in the final two sets. The Sun Devils, meanwhile, only registered one ace during those rounds.
Creighton will face the winner of No. 1 seed Kentucky and Cal Poly in the Regional Finals. The season ends for the Maroon and Gold as they finish with a 28-4 overall record.
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