(Cincinnati, OH) Senior opposite Noemie Glover had a season-high 23 kills to help No. 9 Sun Devil Volleyball to a 3-1 win (25-16, 25-15, 22-25, 25-20) at Cincinnati on Sunday afternoon.
Notable stats
Arizona State (10-3, 1-1 Big 12) bounced back with a win against Cincinnati (7-5, 0-2 Big 12) for its first conference win of the year. Head coach JJ Van Niel has not lost back-to-back matches in his career.
ASU held Cincinnati to a .107 clip, compared to the Sun Devils’ .304. This was the sixth time that the Sun Devils have held their opponents to a sub-.200 clip.
The Sun Devils had 12 blocks in the win. This was ASU’s fifth match with double-digit blocks this season.
Leading all players in kills was senior opposite hitter Noemie Glover with 23 on a .354 clip. This was a season high for her and for any Sun Devil. This was Glover’s first time with 20-plus kills this season, fifth time in her career. Additionally, it was her seventh match in a row with double-digit kills. She also had a match-high seven blocks and nine digs. Her block total matches her season best.
Junior outside hitter Una Vajagić had her seventh match in a row with double-digit kills, earning 14. She also had 12 digs for her fourth double-double of the season, all coming in the last five matches.
Making her return to the front row for the first time this season was sophomore outside hitter Maéva Schalk. She notched 11 kills, a new career high. In her two matches she has played the front row, she has notched double-digit kills both times. Additionally, she had nine digs for a near double-double.
Senior middle blocker Ella Lomigora had a balanced effort, earning six kills and six blocks.
The setting duties were split between senior Isabella Costantini and freshman Elle Mottola. Costantini led the way in assists with 31, while Mottola chipped in 15.
Set one: ASU 25, Cincinnati 16
The Sun Devils lead early in the first set, a run of four pushing their lead to 9-4, capped off by a setter dump by Mottola. An 8-1 run for the Bearcats put them on top, 11-10, until a kill from graduate Aniya Clinton tied it back up. That kill sparked eight-straight points for ASU with Costantini serving, which included three blocks in a row and two overpass kills from Lomigora, to go up 18-11. The seventh block of the set came from Glover and Lomigora to make it 21-13. A hammer of a kill from Vajagić put her team at set point, 24-16, and an error from Cincinnati made it an ASU win, 25-16. The Bearcats hit -.107 in this set.
Set two: ASU 25, Cincinnati 15
Glover caught fire to start the second set, scoring on all of Arizona State’s first six points. However, the Bearcats scored seven in a row to lead 11-6, forcing an early Sun Devil timeout during that run. ASU responded with a 7-1 run with a few more blocks and a few more kills for Glover to get back on top, 15-14, heading into the media timeout. Out of the break, the Sun Devils added four more to the run with an ace from Schalk in that, pushing it to 19-14. With sophomore Ella Lewis serving, Arizona State scored six-straight points to close out the second set and win 25-15.
Set three: Cincinnati 25, ASU 22
A few Bearcat errors gave the Sun Devils an early 4-2 lead. The teams traded points for the first part of the set until Cincinnati scored five in a row to lead 18-14. A couple of kills from Lomigora closed the gap to 18-16. Then two kills from Glover and an ace from Vajagić tied it at 21-21. However, the late push came up short as the Bearcats won it 25-22.
Set four: ASU 25, Cincinnati 20
A few kills from Schalk early on helped Arizona State open up with a 5-1 lead. After some back and forth, Cincinnati scored four in a row to take the 12-10 lead. Kills from Schalk and Glover knotted it up at 13-13, but the Bearcats scored three-straight points to lead again, 16-13. The Sun Devils slowly chipped away, kills from Vajagić and Schalk driving the team. Then ASU was able to go on a 6-0 run with Lomigora serving to tie and then eventually close out the set, 25-20, to win the match.
Up next
Arizona State will be back home on October 4, hosting Iowa State at 2 p.m. MST live on ESPN.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Kimberlie Haner
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