(Tempe, AZ) In a thrilling battle for first place in the Big 12 standings, No. 11 Sun Devil Volleyball defeated No. 8 Kansas in four sets (26-24, 20-25, 25-20, 27-25) at Mullett Arena on Wednesday night for an 11th-straight win.
Notable Stats
Arizona State (23-2, 11-1 Big 12) is now tied with Kansas (20-2, 11-1 Big 12) for first in the Big 12, but ASU wins the tiebreaker after giving KU its second loss of the year.
The Sun Devils have won 11 in a row, which is tied for the fourth-longest winning streak in program history. The team has 23 wins, which is tied for the fifth most all-time. Finally, ASU is now 5-2 against ranked teams, including the last three in a row.
It was a big blocking match for both teams, with both earning 14. For Arizona State, 14 is tied for the season high and is the fourth time this year with double-digit blocks, including the last two in a row.
Both middle blockers led the charge at the net, with graduates Claire Jeter and Savannah Kjolhedeboth notching seven. This was the fifth time that both of them have had six or more blocks in a match.
Three Sun Devils earned double-digit kills. Outside hitters Shania Cromartie and Geli Cyr both earned 15 to lead the team. For Cyr, she also had her 10th double-double of the year, adding 10 digs, and also had two aces. Cromartie was one dig away from a double-double with nine and had four blocks, matching her career high which she had not reached since 2022.
Jeter was the third in double figures in kills with 10, her seventh match with double-digit kills this year. She also had one ace, which was her 100th career ace. Additionally, she tied her career high in digs with six.
The digs leader in the match was graduate libero Mary Shroll with 24, her seventh match this year with 20 or more digs (15th of her career). It was her fifth match in a row with double-digit digs, all but one match this season.
Graduate setter Argentina Ung earned her 10th double-double of the year with 51 assists and 13 digs. It was her second match of the season with 50-plus assists, seventh of her career.
On the right side, graduate Roberta Rabelo matched her season high in kills with nine and had a career-high six blocks. She also had an ace.
Kjolhede had eight kills in addition to her seven blocks.
Attendance was 4,179, which is the third home match this year that has been over 4,000. It is the seventh-highest attendance number for the Sun Devils since 2013.
Set One: ASU 26, KU 24
The Sun Devils started off the match well, getting out to a 4-2 advantage. Arizona State continued to stay a step ahead of Kansas in the early going as a kill from Ung made it 7-5. The Jayhawks would respond, however, by taking a 9-8 lead due to some errors by the Sun Devils. ASU came right back with a 5-1 run to surge ahead 13-10, as Rabelo, Kjolhede and Cyr came up with big kills. The Jayhawks then stormed back with a 5-1 run of their own, taking a 15-14 lead heading into the media timeout. Coming out of the break, Arizona State scored four-straight points as Kjolhede notched another kill and Jeter and Cromartie delivered a block. The Jayhawks would not go away quietly however, scoring three points in a row to make it 21-19. Kansas would then proceed to tie the score at 23, setting the stage for an exciting finish to the opening set. Ahead 25-24, ASU would clinch the first set 26-24 courtesy of a service ace from Cyr.
Set Two: KU 25, ASU 20
The beginning of the second set saw both teams split the first six points. After ASU got to a 6-3 lead, Kansas went on a three-point scoring run to tie the set again. The Jayhawks had a 10-7 advantage, which elicited a timeout from the Sun Devils. Following the timeout, Arizona State surged back to tie the set at 11. Cromartie teamed up with Kjolhede and Jeter to perform two blocks during the 4-1 run. Kansas then put three-straight points on the board to gain the upper hand. With KU leading 20-17, Kjolhede delivered a kill to get Arizona State back within two, but then the Jayhawks dispatched two of their own to take a 22-18 lead. Ahead 24-20, Kansas was able to finish off the second set, winning 25-20 and tying the match at one set a piece.
Set Three: ASU 25, KU 20
Arizona State grabbed an early 5-2 lead with the help of aces from Jillian Neal and Jeter. While Kansas responded by scoring three of the next four points, Kjolhede’s block gave ASU a 7-5 advantage. The Jayhawks called timeout after Jeter and Rabelo rose up for another block which made it an 11-7 Sun Devil lead. After the timeout, ASU went on a 4-1 run which produced a 15-8 lead. Rabelo, Jeter and Cromartie provided kills during the run, and Neal recorded another ace before Kansas called timeout. While Kansas was able to cut the lead to 21-17, Kjolhede brought some momentum back for ASU with a kill to make it 22-17. Leading 24-20, Jeter sealed the third set with a kill to give the Sun Devils a 2-1 lead in the match.
Set Four: ASU 27, KU 25
Kills from Cromartie and Ung and a service ace by Cyr helped ASU gain the upper hand early. Ahead 4-3, Cromartie delivered two kills and Ung recorded another to make the lead 7-3 which prompted a Kansas timeout. The Jayhawks got in a groove after the timeout, scoring four of the next five points. However, the Sun Devils answered with a 4-1 run of their own, creating a 12-8 advantage. Cyr and Rabelo both notched a kill during the run and Rabelo also served up an ace. Kansas battled back, however, getting within one point four separate times. The Sun Devils continued to control the set, as Rabelo and Kjolhede provided another block to make the lead 20-15. The Jayhawks responded by going on a 6-1 scoring run to tie the set at 21, but the Sun Devils stormed ahead to take a 24-21 lead. Kansas battled off three match points to force the set to extra points. Finally, Cromartie finished the job with a kill, winning the set 27-25 and the match 3-1 for ASU.
Up Next
Arizona State will face Kansas State on Friday inside Desert Financial Arena at 7 p.m. MST. The match will be aired on ESPN+.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Kimberlie Haner
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