(Tempe, AZ) Playing in front of a loud, Friday night crowd, No. 15 Sun Devil Volleyball notched its 10th sweep of the year after defeating No. 20 BYU (25-17, 25-17, 25-20) at Desert Financial Arena.
Notable Stats
Arizona State (14-2, 3-1 Big 12) beat BYU (9-5, 2-2 Big 12) in straight sets, the first loss for the Cougars this season in a sweep. ASU also remains undefeated at home (5-0).
This win was the fifth ranked win for JJ Van Niel, second this season (also No. 22 TCU). All of Van Niel’s wins over ranked teams have been in straight sets.
Graduate libero Mary Shroll had her 18th match in a row with double-digit digs, leading all players with 17. She had eight digs in just the first set. Additionally, she had three aces, her third time this season with three aces in a match.
The game leader in kills was graduate middle blocker Claire Jeter with 11, her fifth match with double-digit kills this year. That also tied her season high in kills. Additionally, she had three blocks.
With four players with seven or more kills, graduate setter Argentina Ung ran a balanced offense tonight, tallying 31 assists.
Senior outside hitter Geli Cyr had another well-rounded outing, reaching double-figures in digs with 13 (fifth game in double figures) and earning seven kills as well.
Graduate middle blocker Savannah Kjolhede had eight kills in another solid outing.
Set One: ASU 25, BYU 17
The Sun Devils started off this closely contested set by exchanging points with the Cougars until ASU rattled off a four-point run, forcing BYU to call a timeout, 7-3. The Sun Devils did not take their foot off of the gas, finishing what they started with another three-point run, capitalized by a Shroll service ace. However, the Cougars fought back with a five-point run of their own and eventually got within one at 11-10 before the Sun Devils had to slow the momentum with a timeout. Jeter ended ASU’s scoring drought with a ferocious spike for the kill, 12-11. The Sun Devils rallied together to go on a big 5-0 run to give some cushion to make it 23-16, followed up with a big block by Shania Cromartie to set up a 24-16 set point. A serving error by BYU finished off the first set, 25-17.
Set Two: ASU 25, BYU 17
The Sun Devils kicked off the second set by stringing multiple points together to jump out to a 6-2 lead, highlighted by an outstanding kill by Cyr and back-to-back points courtesy of Kjolhede. Arizona State’s defense shone as Cromartie and Jeter combined for a block, making it 10-5. Similar to the first set, BYU mounted a comeback with multiple three-point runs, tying up the score at 12-12. Cromartie stepped up huge for the Sun Devils in the second set, scoring three-straight points consisting of two kills and a block. Jeter helped spark a three-point run with a block and kill to push the score to 23-15. The Sun Devils would roll from there, winning the set 25-17.
Set Three: ASU 25, BYU 20
The third set began with a BYU attack error and a few great plays by Kjolhede and Roberta Rabelo, who combined for a block and multiple kills as the Sun Devils jumped out to a 5-2 lead. Cyr and Ung joined in on the action with a kill by each of them to make it 8-4, Ung’s off of an overpass. Jeter reached double-digit kills for the fifth match this season after notching two in a row to make it 12-6. Cyr had a service ace to make it 17-11 and Cromartie had another kill to push the score to 19-14. After a well-placed set by Ung to Bailey Miller for the kill, ASU’s lead grew to 23-18. Miller stepped up with another kill, making it 24-19 for the set point. A Cougar service error sealed their fate and the Sun Devils took the game in three sets.
Up Next
Arizona State will be back in Desert FInancial Arena on Wednesday to host in-state rival Arizona. Three days later, ASU will hit the road to play at Texas Tech on October 12.
Next Match:
Arizona
10/9/2024 | 7:00 PM
ESPN+
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Kimberlie Haner
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