(Tempe, AZ) Behind another well-rounded effort from the team, No. 13 Sun Devil Volleyball defeated Houston in straight sets (26-24, 25-21, 25-16) to win its fifth-consecutive match on Wednesday night at Mullett Arena.
Notable Stats
- Arizona State (17-2, 6-1 Big 12) earned its 12th sweep of the year by beating Houston (8-8, 3-3 Big 12) in straight sets.
- Graduate middle blocker Claire Jeter earned a season-high 12 kills on a .444 clip in the win. It’s her sixth match this season in double figures, second in a row.
- The team leader in kills was senior outside hitter Geli Cyr with 13, adding 11 digs for her third-straight double-double (eighth of the year, 16th of her career).
- Graduate libero Mary Shroll notched her 21st-straight match with double-digit digs, leading the team with 16.
- Pacing the offense, graduate setter Argentina Ung collected her seventh double-double of the year with 33 assists and 11 digs, adding five kills and two blocks as well. It was her third-straight double-double, fifth in the last six games.
- Another Sun Devil near double figures in kills was junior opposite Bailey Miller with nine on a .375 clip.
- The block leader for the Sun Devils was graduate middle blocker Savannah Kjolhede with four, adding five kills. Another defensive standout was graduate outside hitter Shania Cromartie who had 10 digs and six kills.
Set One: ASU 26, Houston 24
Both teams got off to a solid start in the opening set, splitting the first six points. Back-to-back kills from Cyr gave the Sun Devils a 5-3 advantage. The Cougars then responded with a 6-1 run to take a 9-6 lead. Down 11-8, Arizona State fought back to take a 15-14 lead with Jeter and Miller both contributing two kills during the run. Both teams continued to trade blows before Houston took its first timeout with ASU ahead 19-17. With the score tied at 23, Cyr recorded a kill to put the Sun Devils in front. Then up 25-24, ASU was able to get the clinching point courtesy of a kill from Ung to win the first set 26-24.
Set Two: ASU 25, Houston 21
Once again, both teams performed well to start the set, splitting the first eight points. ASU then went on a 6-2 run to take a 10-6 lead with help from kills by Ung, Cyr and Jeter. With the Sun Devils ahead 13-8, the Cougars answered with a 5-2 run to pull within two points. Just like the first set, Houston would refuse to go away. Leading 20-18 and after two straight Houston points, Arizona State called a timeout. Following that timeout, the Sun Devils went on a 5-3 run to close out the set 25-21. Cromartie bookended the set by scoring the first and last ASU points with kills, and Ung recorded three assists and a kill on the closing run.
Set Three: ASU 25, Houston 16
The Sun Devils got out to a 7-4 lead as Cyr recorded three kills early in the third set. ASU then pushed its lead to 12-6 with the help of two kills by Cromartie and some errors by Houston. While the Cougars managed to cut the lead to 13-9, the Sun Devils scored three-straight points with kills from Jeter, Miller and Cyr. Jillian Neal then recorded an ace as Arizona State continued to control the set. Ahead 17-10, ASU went on a 6-2 run with Cyr notching three kills and Miller adding two. Leading 24-16, ASU won the set and the match courtesy of a service error, winning its fifth-straight contest.
Up Next
The Sun Devils will return to action against Colorado on Friday at Mullett Arena at 6:30 p.m. MST. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Quotes:
Head Coach JJ Van Niel
Opening Statement
“It’s great to be at home and get a nice win against a very well-coached and very disciplined team. They came out and were pretty good in that first set and put a lot of pressure on us. I didn’t think we looked great in the first set if I’m being honest, but they battled through, cleaned some things up and did a really nice job the rest of the match.”
On Geli Cyr, Claire Jeter and Bailey Miller’s performances
“Claire was really good tonight and she did a nice job. We wanted to get her the ball; we did and she was lights out. She had one of her better matches of the season I think. Geli started off a little shaky, but I thought she did a nice job. I think she was pressing a bit too much early on, and her game is best when she’s patient and takes her shots. She did a good job of cleaning that up and had double-digit kills. Bailey did a nice job for us today on the right, so I’m really proud of her. She’s been working really hard, so it’s cool and good to see.”
On getting national exposure on ESPN2
“Any exposure for volleyball is great and obviously I want it for our team. I think we have a fun team to watch and we scrap quite a bit. That Houston team was scrappy too, so I think that’s fun volleyball. That’s a good product to get out there. It’s great when we can get on ESPN2 and I think it’s really good for the sport. I think we have an awesome sport that needs to be out there.”
On controlling the third set
“I thought we put a lot more service pressure on them. We were a little bit more disciplined with some stuff defensively. We have a very high standard for effort when we’re out on the volleyball court, and if I’m being honest in the first couple sets, I wasn’t sure it was quite at the level it needed to be. And I thought in the third set, you guys saw what our standard is or what I believe our standard is. That’s just where we have to go. In the first couple of sets there was just some stuff that we didn’t get, and there was some stuff that I thought we were a little too observant on. I thought in the third we were quite scrappy.”
Graduate Middle Blocker Claire Jeter
On her 12 kill performance
“Our defense is amazing. Our serve receive is great. So they’re always giving me the opportunity to be able to swing. Our setters know how to put it in our zone and we run such a fast offense that even when people commit to me, the majority of the time they’re late. So I have things open and then I have to also say kudos to my pins because whenever they’re putting away balls, it’s hard for them to be able to just front me the whole time. I know that if someone is fronting me, they’ll get it. If they’re getting fronted, I’ll get it. It’s just that teamwork aspect.”
On responding to an early 5-0 Houston run
“Our team is very calm. I think that we always know that we have it. I think that we’re never really nervous. We know that even if these few points are going their way, if we play our game, we’re fine. So staying calm, cool and collected and just playing our game is our biggest strength. Once we have a few good kills, a few good blocks and even a few big rallies that we win, I think that tempo kind of starts to shift.”
Junior Outside Hitter Bailey Miller
On playing for Coach Van Niel
“It helps because he’s always looking out for us; we’re going in for film all the time. He’s always telling us different things to look for and it kind of helps being able to see the numbers. He never makes me feel like I’m just a number, which is nice, but he makes sure that we’re aware of it so that we can be confident and be consistent as well.”
On dominant third set performance
“I think it’s just that grit that we want to have as a team and just going for every ball. Being smart as well. I think we are known for our IQ because we’re a little bit on the smaller side. So just making sure that we’re getting everything up and then turning it into a point on the offensive side.”
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Sam Valenti
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