#8 Volleyball Celebrates Seniors and Big 12 Championship by Ending the Regular Season Undefeated at Home
See the full match recap with the box score, quotes, team stats and match leaders.
Wrapping up the regular season with a perfect 13-0 record in Tempe, No. 8 Sun Devil Volleyball defeated UCF in straight sets (25-19, 25-16, 25-21) at Desert Financial Arena on Friday afternoon, holding a celebration for winning the 2024 Big 12 Championship following the victory.
Notable Stats
- Arizona State (29-2, 17-1 Big 12) beat UCF (9-18, 2-15 Big 12) for the 17th win in a row. It also is the 29th win of the season, the most this century and two wins away from the most all-time (31 in 1982). Additionally, this was the 19th sweep of the year, one away from the program record.
- The Sun Devils won the 2024 Big 12 Regular Season Championship outright after a loss by Kansas on Wednesday. This is the first conference title for the program in team history for Arizona State and the first Big 12 title across all sports for ASU. In volleyball, Arizona State is one of four teams in the conference to have won a Big 12 title (also Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State). ASU clinched the Big 12's autobid to the NCAA Tournament as well.
- The Sun Devils are undefeated at home for the first time since becoming an NCAA sport. The only other time ASU was undefeated was in the first year of the program in 1973 when they went undefeated all season.
- Leading ASU in kills was senior outside hitter Geli Cyr with 11, hitting .455. This was her 21st match with double-digit kills. She also neared a double-double with nine digs and had two aces.
- Three other Sun Devils had five or more kills: Shania Cromartie (9), Savannah Kjolhede (5), and Roberta Rabelo (7). Kjolhede and Rabelo hit .556 and .417, respectively, for efficient outings.
- Earning 10 digs this afternoon, graduate libero Mary Shroll tallied her 104th match in her career with a double-digit dig total.
- Attendance was 4,224, the sixth match this season with over 4,000 in attendance and the ninth with more than 3,000. Today’s number is the eighth-best in ASU history.
- The team celebrated the seven graduating seniors prior to the match: Shania Cromartie, Geli Cyr, Claire Jeter, Savannah Kjolhede, Roberta Rabelo, Mary Shroll and Argentina Ung.
THIS FEELING >>>
Officially @Big12Conference CHAMPIONS! 🏆#ForksUp pic.twitter.com/qpYrl0Fg27— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) November 30, 2024
Set One: ASU 25, UCF 19
The Sun Devils got off to a hot start by scoring four of the first five points of the set. Jeter, Cromartie and Rabelo contributed kills in the early going. With ASU leading 8-4, UCF battled back with a 7-2 run to take an 11-10 lead. Down 12-11, a kill from Rabelo tied the set and swung the momentum in Arizona State’s favor. That sparked a 4-1 run for the Sun Devils which also included a kill by Cyr, giving ASU a 15-13 lead before a media timeout. Coming out of the timeout, the Knights scored two-straight points to tie the set. Then, Arizona State went on a 5-0 run with Kjolhede tallying back-to-back kills and Cyr recording two-straight aces. With the Sun Devils ahead 24-19, Cyr notched another kill to clinch the first set, 25-19.
Set Two: ASU 25, UCF 16
Rabelo registered two kills and Cyr added another to give ASU a 5-2 advantage. Leading 6-4, another 3-0 run would commence for Arizona State, with Kjolhede and Cromartie picking up kills. Following that however, UCF showed its moxie with a 5-1 run that cut the ASU lead to 10-9. Ahead 12-11, the Sun Devils scored four-straight points which included back-to-back kills from Cyr and an ace courtesy of Bella Faria. Arizona State stretched its lead to 19-12 as Argentina Ung recorded a kill before UCF called timeout. As play resumed, ASU continued to dominate. Shroll put the Sun Devils on set point with a free ball kill before they secured the second set, 25-16.
Set Three: ASU 25, UCF 21
The third set started with both sides splitting the first six points. From there, Arizona State gained the upper hand with a 5-2 run. Jeter and Cromartie teamed up for a block and Cyr logged another kill during the run. With the Sun Devils holding an 11-8 lead, the Knights fought back to snatch the lead away with a 5-0 run. After ASU tied the set at 13, UCF responded by scoring two-straight points to take a 15-13 lead before a media timeout. The Sun Devils came out with a vengeance after the timeout, going on a 7-1 run to surge in front 20-16. The run featured a service ace by Jillian Neal and a block from Rabelo and Kjolhede. Leading 20-17, ASU scored three-straight points, including back-to-back solo blocks from Kjolhede and Cyr. With the Sun Devils on match point, a service error by the Knights brought an end to the contest and ASU locked up the third set, 25-21.
Up Next
The NCAA Selection Show will be on Sunday at 4 p.m. MST on ESPN. The Sun Devils have earned an auto bid already and will wait to see where they fall in the bracket on Sunday.
Final: 3-0 Win
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