Sports

#9 Volleyball protects home court against Cincinnati – Sun Devil Athletics

Published

1 month ago

November 27, 2025

TEMPE – With two in double figures for kills and the team reaching double-digit blocks for the ninth match in a row, No. 9 Sun Devil Volleyball remained undefeated at home after beating Cincinnati in four sets (21-25, 25-21, 25-21, 25-14) on Wednesday night at Desert Financial Arena.

Notable stats

Arizona State (25-3, 16-1 Big 12) beat Cincinnati (15-12, 7-10 Big 12) despite dropping the first set. ASU is now 5-2 this year when losing the first set, 3-0 in Big 12 play.
The Sun Devils improve to 13-0 at home this year. In the last two seasons, Arizona State has not lost a regular-season match at home.
With 10 blocks tonight, ASU has had double-digit blocks in the last nine matches. This season, the Sun Devils have had 19 matches with double-digit team blocks, including all but two Big 12 matches.
Senior outside hitter Bailey Miller led the team in kills with 19, her 13th match in a row with double-digit kills. She had nine kills in just the first set.
Leading the blocking effort again was graduate middle blocker Colby Neal with eight. This was her fifth match in a row with at least seven blocks. She has had at least eight blocks in six matches this year. Additionally, she had eight kills.
Another Sun Devil with double-digit kills was junior opposite Noemie Glover with 13. This was her 17th-straight match in double figures in kills (all but one match). She also had three blocks.
Sophomore libero Faith Frame led all players in digs with 15, her second-straight match with double-digit digs, 16th this season.
Setters Brynn Covell and Sydney Henry both notched 20-plus assists in the win. Covell had 24 with seven digs, while Henry had 25 with five digs and an ace.
Senior outside hitter Tatum Parrott neared a double-double with nine kills and nine digs. She also had a team-best three aces, tying her season high.
Attendance was 3,868 tonight at Desert Financial Arena. This is the eighth match this season that ASU has had more than 3,000 in attendance.

Set one: Cincinnati 25, ASU 20
The Sun Devils started the match out slow, as the Bearcats went on a four-point run to open up the set. Arizona State kept battling back with big swings from Glover, Miller and Tatum Parrott, and Miller picked up back-to-back overpass kills to help cut the deficit to one at 12-11. An overturned point on a net violation gave Cincinnati a two-point lead, 15-13, going into the media timeout. Unforced errors from the Sun Devils allowed the Bearcats to extend their lead to five, leading ASU to take a timeout, trailing 20-15. Miller continued carving up the Cincinnati defense with her attacking before adding an ace and forcing a timeout from the Bearcats, down 23-20. Two quick points from Cincinnati ended the set, with the Sun Devils falling 25-20.

Set two: ASU 25, Cincinnati 21
Arizona State began the second set strong, taking an early 5-3 lead on kills from Glover and Colby Neal. Cincinnati was able to even the score, but strong play from Ella Lomigora saw her earn a kill, block and ace within a few points to open up a five-point lead, 13-8, forcing the Bearcats to take a timeout. Cincinnati kept pushing back, forcing the Sun Devils to get crafty. Miller and Glover picked up off-tempo kills, putting the lead back to four, up 17-13. Parrott helped to extend the lead with two kills of her own, followed up by an ace, her second of the night. Cincinnati took its second timeout, trailing 20-15. A 3-0 scoring run from the Bearcats led the Sun Devils to take a timeout of their own, and quick kills from Miller and Glover gave their team set point. Arizona State took set two on a missed serve, 25-21.

Set three: ASU 25, Cincinnati 21
Arizona State started out the set strong, taking a 3-2 lead on errors from Cincinnati and a big kill from Colby Neal, but a 4-0 run from the Bearcats saw the Sun Devils on the wrong side of a 6-3 score. Big swings from Miller and Kiylah Presley helped Arizona State battle back and knot it up at 8-8, but a missed serve and hitting errors gave Cincinnati a three-point advantage, up 12-9. The Sun Devils’ strong defense and transition offense kept the score close, and big swings from Colby Neal and Parrott brought the score back to even at 13-13. The Sun Devils took an 18-17 lead on a kill from Ella Lomigora to end a long rally. Big blocks from Colby Neal, Presley and Miller put Arizona State up 22-17. A 4-0 scoring run from the Bearcats cut the lead to one, 22-21, but big swings from Presley and Colby Neal put the Sun Devils one point away from a set victory. A block from Colby Neal and Glover gave the Sun Devils a 25-21 victory.

Set four: ASU 25, Cincinnati 14
The fourth set began with back-and-forth action as the teams traded points. A 5-0 run on big kills from Miller and Lomigora and blocking from Colby Neal and Presley gave the Sun Devils an 11-6 lead. Parrott’s eighth kill of the night put Arizona State up 15-11 heading into the media timeout, and kills from Glover and Miller extended the lead to five. Parrott picked up another kill and her third ace of the night, putting the Sun Devils up 19-13 and forcing a Bearcats timeout. Aggressive serving from Jillian Neal and defense from Parrott gave the Sun Devils set point, and a kill from Colby Neal sealed the deal, with Arizona State taking the match 3-1.

Up next
The final match of the regular season will be at home on Saturday, Nov. 29, at 11 a.m. MST against West Virginia. Arizona State will honor its six seniors pregame and then will celebrate the 2025 Big 12 Championship postgame.

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Quotes
Head Coach JJ Van Niel
Opening Statement
“Fun match. They have a great outside hitter, Sydney Nolan, who lit us up pretty well. But it was nice to see our team kind of battle back. We made some adjustments, and I thought we played a lot better defense as the match went on. And I mean, what a crowd. That was really fun. Almost 4,000 people. So thank you to the fans for coming out. That was so cool to see them come out the day before Thanksgiving.”

On bouncing back after falling short in the first set:
“I would certainly like it if we would start out of the block a little faster. But I think one of the things in volleyball, and you see it in a lot of matches as the game goes on, you can prepare as much as you want for, say, Sydney Nolan or Noemie Glover, but you really don’t know it until you’re actually doing it. I think our team did a nice job of getting in the groove, understanding what they were doing, and made a couple of adjustments to try to slow some things down a little better. This team just doesn’t seem to get phased. We were even down, I think it was the third set. They were ahead for a bunch of it and we just kept grinding away. It was like, sideout, get a real point, sideout, get a real point, and just keep chipping away. And I thought our serving got a lot better as the match went on. We started getting them in a lot more trouble. In their own system, they were beating us up pretty good. So as the match went on, I thought we did a much better job serving to kind of get them in trouble. They only had one hitter or maybe only two hitters that we could defend a little easier.”

On Bailey Miller’s progression throughout the season thus far:
“Bailey has had a phenomenal season, and I think the progression from the beginning of the year to the end has been really impressive. It’s a testament to how hard she works in the gym. She’s in there every day trying to hone her craft and get better at the things we think she needs to get better at. It’s shown on the scoresheet, that’s for sure.”

Senior Outside Hitter Bailey Miller
On playing her last few home games at Arizona State
“This program means everything to me. I think I’ve really thrived here, and I think I’m still reaching my peak of who I can be as a volleyball player. I wouldn’t be anywhere close to where I am right now without JJ, and without the girls, and so it’s super special. It’s definitely bittersweet. If I could, I would stay forever, but I just have to give everything to them, because I wouldn’t be the volleyball player, or the person I am today, without everybody.”

On building a strong home court advantage
“The community around us is so great. On the day before Thanksgiving, having this many people be able to come out is super special. Our last match here (against U of A) was also big, breaking the record, so I think we’re making big strides as a program, every single year it is getting better and better, so it’s really cool to see and be a part of.”

Sophomore Libero Faith Frame
On if there was any added motivation facing her former team:
“There’s definitely added motivation, just knowing who’s on the other side and kind of trying to remember all their tendencies, having played with them for a while. So there was extra motivation, and my teammates being there, saying, ‘let’s win this for Faith,’ is a big deal.”

On what the coaches were saying to them in between sets and timeouts:
“We’re really good at being open with each other in the huddles and saying that we’re lacking in energy right now. Even though we won that set, it didn’t feel like we did. We need to come out with more energy, no matter if it’s an easy play or if it was a crazy up or swing. We need that energy every single play.”

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Lehigh Competes in First Away Meet at Penn Select

Published

2 minutes ago

January 11, 2026

Your Sports Nation

PHILADELPHIA – Lehigh’s men’s track and field team traveled to the University of Pennsylvania for their first away meet of the season, the Penn Select meet.

The competition opened up with field events, where the Mountain Hawks earned multiple personal bests and top performances. Senior Joseph Nowakowski led the way in the shot put, where he threw a personal best distance of 16.21 meters to place second. His throw broke the previous meet record and improved upon his seventh best all-time position on Lehigh’s indoor performance list. First-year Chance Stuart also threw for a personal best in that event. His 14.08-meter throw earned him seventh place. Stuart set a new personal record in the weight throw as well. He threw 16.27 meters, which also earned him a third place finish. Fellow first-year Christian Saparata was not far behind, as he placed fifth due to a personal best throw of 15.11 meters.

Lehigh had more indoor personal best performances in the jumping events. Junior Eli Johnson soared a personal record 4.60 meters to earn fifth place in the pole vault. Jacob Chernin jumped 6.27 meters in the long jump, where the sophomore placed seventh.

In the 60 meters, the Mountain Hawks had two sprinters work their way into the event finals. Sophomore Quinten Slaughter snuck under the seven second mark, running 6.99 to place sixth. Junior Eddie Moore trailed behind him in eighth, finishing in 7.08.

The distance and long-sprinting events featured notable performances across three events. Junior Ryan Baker competed in the 3000 meter, he ran 8:34.01. His seventh place finish was good for a new personal record. Senior Alex Heidemann and junior Aidan LaTourette both ran top times for both this meet and the NCAA as a whole over 800 meters. Heidemann placed fourth overall, and his time of 1:54.28 was the 75th fastest time in the NCAA this season. LaTourette was just behind him in fifth, running a new indoor personal best. He finished in 1:54.71, which is the 86th fastest time in the NCAA this season. Both of these runners were also a part of the 4×400 meter team that placed third. Joined by junior Logan Haverkamp and sophomore Ian Zalewski, the four-man relay crossed the line at 3:25.33

Lehigh next competes next week, when the Mountain Hawks will split their squad. Some of the team will head back to Philadelphia to compete at the Quaker Invitational, while the others stay on campus to compete at the Moravian Blue and Grey Invite at Rauch Fieldhouse.

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Szepieniec, VanZeeland Secure Individual Victories at Minnesota Open

Published

18 minutes ago

January 11, 2026

Your Sports Nation

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Milwaukee women’s track & field team competed in its first 2026 competition at the Minnesota Open on Saturday.

“The first meet back from winter break always has a mixed bag of results,” said head coach Andrew Basler. “I think most college track coaches would agree that there are challenges losing your team for 2-3 weeks for winter break after spending all fall preparing.” From an effort standpoint, I was happy with what I saw across all events,”

Anna Szepieniec picked up right where she left off in 2025, securing a first-place victory in the 60-meter hurdles (8.67).

In the 200-meter dash, Szepieniec finished third, clocking a time of 25.39. Katie Burns was right behind her in fourth, crossing the threshold in 25.58. Victoria Evtimov was the third Panther in the top five, securing fifth with a time of 25.68.

The Black & Gold swept the podium in the 1-mile race, with Janiyah Taylor (5:22.51) taking the crown followed by Lauren Ripley (5:23.89) and Rohan Flanagan (5:40.25).

“Women’s vertical jumps were strong events for us today,” added Basler. “In high jump, after winning the event with a 1.73m clearance, Olivia took 3 good attempts at a school record height of 1.80m. Macy also had a breakthrough jump clearing 1.65m on her first attempt.”

Olivia VanZeeland has gone two for two in her high jump appearances this season, finishing first in both outings. VanZeeland cleared 1.73m at the meet held in the Minnesota Fieldhouse, which currently ranks 46th in the NCAA.

Success continued for the Black & Gold in the high jump, with Macy Woodward securing a new personal best, jumping 1.65m to finish in fourth for Milwaukee.

“In pole vault, our ladies showed the depth we have in that event. Hailey and Emma led the way with solid season opening performances,” Basler said.

The pole vault duo of Hailey Soriaga and Emma Johnson turned in successful season-opening outings. Soriaga tied for second with a 3.71m effort and Johnson was not far behind, jumping 3.56m to secure fourth.

“We look forward to a focused week of training as we prepare for the Tierney Classic on Sunday, January 18,” Basler concluded.

UP NEXT

The Panthers will host the annual Tierney Classic in the Klotsche Center on Saturday, January 18. Events will begin at 10:00 a.m.

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Panthers Turn In 3 Podium Sweeps at Minnesota Open

Published

34 minutes ago

January 11, 2026

Your Sports Nation

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Milwaukee men’s track & field team competed in the Minnesota Open hosted by the University of Minnesota on Saturday in its first meet of 2026.

“The first meet back from winter break always has a mixed bag of results,” said head coach Andrew Basler. “I think most college track coaches would agree that there are challenges losing your team for 2-3 weeks for winter break after spending all fall preparing.”

The Panthers recorded three podium sweeps on the day, all coming in running events. Four different members of the Black & Gold notched first-place performances as well.

In the field, Kyril Griffin provided Milwaukee with an immediate spark to open the day. The sophomore cleared 14.24 meters in the triple jump, earning a second-place finish at the meet hosted inside the Minnesota Fieldhouse. Griffin continued his strong performance in the long jump, where he secured third place with a mark of 6.84 meters. The effort made him the top Panther finisher in the event and marked a new career-best.

Ty Bauschelt added to his impressive freshman campaign, taking home third place finishes in the high jump (1.95m) and the 400-meter dash (50.78).

The success of the freshmen continued for the Black & Gold with Brendan Vlasak turning in a second-place outing in the 60-meter hurdles. Vlasak clocked a time of 8.47.

In the 1-mile race, Harper Fahey (4:23.95), Will Whiteis (4:25.02), and Sam Blascyk (4:42.81) swept the podium going 1,2, and 3. Also claiming the top three podium positions were Zac Schmidt (22.63), Matt Scardina (22.91), and Mason Weaver (23.05) in the 200-meter dash, as well as Alex Anewenter (8:55.67), Aidan Sosnowski (9:02.69), Will Perez (9:41.67) in the 3000-meter run.

In the 800-meter dash, Lucas Picco crossed the finish line first in 1:55.64, securing his second first-place finish of the indoor season.

“From an effort standpoint, I was happy with what I saw across all events. We look forward to a focused week of training as we prepare for the Tierney Classic on Sunday, January 18,” Basler concluded.

UP NEXT

Milwaukee will take a week-long break from competition before returning to action at the annual Tierney Classic, hosted by the Panthers at the Klotsche Center. Events are scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m.

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Lenes, Kermath take First at Wesleyan Indoor Invite I

Published

50 minutes ago

January 11, 2026

Your Sports Nation

MIDDLETOWN, CT. – The Wesleyan men’s track and field team opened the 2026 portion of the season at home on Saturday, hosting the Wesleyan Indoor Invite I as the team was led by Alex Kermath ’26 and Bruce Lenes ’26 with first place finishes from inside the Bacon Field House.

RESULTS

HIGHLIGHTS:

Lenes was a first-place finish in the men’s 1,000m, crossing the finish line with a time of 2:35.73. Placing second was Calum Madigan ’29, running a final 2:47.42.

Kermath claimed his top finish in the 3,000m event, finishing with a clocked time of 8:43.90. Placing third was Will Wise ’26 with an 8:51.14.

In the mile, Zach Allen ’27 placed second, finishing at 4:27.98 while Noah Mahoney ’27 finished at 4:30.56 in third place.

Rami Hayes-Messinger ’26 was a top qualifier in the field events, placing sixth in the weight throw with a final distance of 14.81m.

The Cardinals return to action on Friday, Jan. 16, when they take on the NYC Gotham Cup.

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Sullivan Leads Cardinals at Wesleyan Indoor Invite I

Published

1 hour ago

January 11, 2026

Your Sports Nation

MIDDLETOWN, CT. – Playing host to the Wesleyan Indoor Invite as the first event of the new year, the Wesleyan women’s track and field team saw several top performances as the team was led by Juliette Sullivan ’27 from the Bacon Field House.

RESULTS

HIGHLIGHTS:

Sullivan nabbed second place in the first track event of the day, clocking in at 7.97 in the 60m dash. Sullivan followed up her performance in the 200m dash, taking first place as she crossed the finish line at 25/97.

Kaitlyn Connors ’29 won the women’s mile, finishing just over five minutes with a 5:15.02 final.

The Cardinals dominated the 3,000m, finishing with six in the Top 10. Alexandra Simon ’27 led the pack, placing second at 10:43.25. Clare Mahedy ’29 followed to round out the Top 3 with a time of 10:46.58. Margaret Stevens ’27 placed fourth (10:47.19), Nadia Lim ’26 was fifth (11:01.75), Audrey Leff ’29 placed sixth (11:06.49), and Grace Bell ’28 was ninth (11:44.61)

In the 1,000m, Genevieve Minard ’28 took third place, tracking in with a time of 3:04.97.

At pole vault, Kess Benner placed second with a height of 2.75m.

The triple jump saw Alex Neubert ’29 place second with a distance of 10.95m. Katherine Goss ’29 was third at 10.87m.

The Cardinals return to action on Friday, Jan. 10, when they travel to Staten Island for the NYC Gotham Cup.

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Mountain Hawks Produce Top Performances at Penn Select

Published

1 hour ago

January 11, 2026

Your Sports Nation

PHILADELPHIA – Lehigh’s women’s track and field team traveled to the University of Pennsylvania for their first away meet of the season, the Penn Select meet.

The field events started the competition, where the Mountain Hawks had a few top performances. Senior Grace Aggen was Lehigh’s top performing thrower, where she led Lehigh in both events. Her best performance was in the shot put, where she threw 13.11 meters to place fifth. She also threw 13.38 meters in the weight throw, placing 15th. The Mountain Hawks had two other top five field finishes. The first was in the high jump, where sophomore Anna Troutman jumped 1.67 meters to earn fifth place. Senior Laura Reigle leaped 3.77 meters in the pole vault to secure a three-way tie for third. Senior Grace Nation may not have had the highest placing day for the jumpers as she finished seventh in the long jump, however she had the best individual jumping performance of the day. Her 5.56-meter jump was not just a personal best, but moved her up to seventh place on Lehigh’s all-time indoor performance list.

Senior Grace Kennedy and sophomore Jade Sanders had excellent days in the sprinting events earning top finishes. Their best performances were in the 400 meter where they both placed top ten and posted top Division I times. Kennedy led the way, placing second and running 56.53. That mark was not just the 42nd fastest time run in Division I this year, but also the 55th best time in the entire NCAA. Sanders ran 57.60, which landed her in ninth place and was the 89th fastest Division I time this year. In the 200 meter, Kennedy led the way once again with a 25.60-second run, earning her ninth place. Sanders clocked in at 25.85, which was good for 12th place and was an indoor personal best. Close behind them was first-year Harper Glennon, who ran a collegiate best time of 25.99 to place 14th. Glennon was also Lehigh’s top finisher in the 60 meters, where she placed 16th (7.87).

The 800 meters also featured personal best performances. Sophomore Lauren Bower ran an indoor personal best time of 2:14.02. This performance was the 48th best time in the NCAA, and placed her at seventh in the meet. Senior Amber Barrios was just behind in ninth place. She finished in 2:16.24, which earned her the 84th best time in the NCAA this year.

Lehigh had two other top ten placements in the competition. First was first-year Lyssi Penn in the 60 meter hurdles, who’s 9.27-second run earned her ninth. Senior Dakota Russell also placed ninth in her event, she ran 10:21.79 over 3000 meters.

The Mountain Hawks also placed well in the 4×400-meter relay. The team of Barrios, Bower, first year Kayleigh Jamieson, and senior Corinn Brewer placed sixth by running 3:59.55.

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