After suffering its second upset loss in three weeks to West Virginia on Friday, No. 9 Arizona State made the trip into the Midwest hoping not to let its form tumble into a downward spiral. The Sun Devils had already matched their last two-season conference loss totals, with the team losing just one game in both 2024 and 2025.
For a team that has beaten two top-10 and four top-25 opponents so far this season, head coach JJ Van Niel’s squad had looked like a shadow of itself in the last few weeks, with two losses to unranked teams.
While the Sun Devils (10-3, 1-1 Big 12) didn’t make Sunday’s game easy on themselves, they pushed through the adversity to defeat Cincinnati (7-5, 0-2 Big 12) 3-1 in a much-needed return to form.
Here are three takeaways from the win.
Sun Devils get Glover going.
In 2025, fourth-year opposite side hitter Noemie Glover was a commanding force for the Sun Devils. The Oregon transfer put up a team-leading 423 kills in 27 matches, 26 of which she recorded double-digit kills. Glover’s dominance led her to AVCA first-team All-American honors, and the Sun Devils to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
Coming into 2026, with ASU ranked No. 12 to start the season, Glover had a high bar to climb. Unfortunately for the California native, she started the new season slowly, failing to record double-digit kills in three of her first six matches.
Many of the struggles facing Glover came down to the amount of attention that opponents have put on her. With the exit of Colby Neal and Bailey Miller, opposing defenses set up their blocks to minimize Glover’s impact.
Early on, it worked.
During the Sun Devils ‘ early-season loss to then-No. 20 USC, Glover killed eight balls with nine errors on a -0.03 hitting percentage. To make matters worse for ASU, Glover wasn’t getting much help from her teammates, with third-year outside hitter Una Vajagic being the only other hitter consistently with 10+ kills.
Against Cincinnati on Sunday, it seemed as if the Sun Devils finally found the key to unlock the full potential of their biggest weapon. Glover hit for a season-high 23 kills on a .354 hitting percentage, more on pace with the .363 that won her Big 12 Player of the Season in 2025.
The difference? Along with Glover’s stellar performance, Vajagic and second-year outside hitter Maeva Schalk recorded 14 and 11 kills, respectively. The pair was sufficient to help spread the Bearcats’ defense, leaving consistent holes for Glover to find.
With the open spaces, head coach JJ Van Niel also found a way to put Glover in some different positions, particularly in the back row. In the fourth set, it looked as if momentum was swinging toward Cincinnati. Instead of allowing it to happen, Van Niel took his best attacker off the net and moved her to the back row, allowing her to see more of the court and get a full windup on her spikes.
If the Sun Devils are to push for their fourth-straight conference championship, they will need more performances like Sunday’s from their star opposite hitter.
Early Defense Propels ASU to Victory
During Friday’s upset loss to West Virginia, the Sun Devils seemed unable to establish a consistent block, leading to the Mountaineers spreading them out and finding big gaps. ASU finished Friday’s match with just five blocks.
Before Sunday’s match, Van Niel seemingly made his message clear: ASU needed to play harder defensively.
The good news for the fourth-year head coach is his team got that message immediately. The Sun Devils came out and fired off seven blocks in the opening set, leading to a dominant 25-16 victory–crucial given ASU hasn’t lost a match in which it won the first set.
Halfway through that set, everything clicked.
With the score sitting at 12-11 in favor of the Sun Devils, fourth-year setter Isabella Constantini served the ball over the net, hoping to win at least one defensive point for her team. Rather than just one, the Sun Devils created their own version of a great wall, rattling off three straight blocks.
Glover, along with fifth-year outside hitter Aniya Clinton, continued that momentum for much of the match, helping ASU finish with 12 blocks, its third-highest total of the season. In the Sun Devils three losses, they did not record double-digit blocks. Against quality opponents as the team will face in the Big 12, it seems pretty clear that they will have to have a strong defensive block going in order to remain the top dog in the conference.
Poor service reception continues to cost Sun Devils sets.
Though the Sun Devils sit at 10-3 and remain ranked No. 9, they have failed to sweep five straight unranked opponents, including two losses to UC Davis and West Virginia. Many of those lost sets have come down to an inability to set up the offense, putting Glover and Vajagic in tough spots.
Van Niel has long stressed the need for the Sun Devils to improve their passing and put their setters closer to the net in order to allow his team’s high-movement offense to fully express itself.
In Friday’s loss to the Mountaineers, ASU’s setters were consistently forced away from the net, making awkward spike attempts for its outside hitters. Many of those awkward attempts stem from the original service reception, as the Sun Devils, led by third-year libero Faith Frame, struggled to receive the opening ball.
That trend continued Sunday morning, as the Bearcats’ serving, capped off by six aces, caused the match to be extended as they stole the third set from ASU. Throughout the set, third-year outside hitter Andrea Simovski hit her serves with top spin, leading her to three aces on the day and confusing the Sun Devil defenders.
While ASU was still able to sneak out a win on the road, its inability to consistently receive difficult serves proves to be a glaring weakness that could hurt its conference championship hopes with ranked opponents in No. 11 TCU, No. 19 Kansas and No. 21 Colorado all on its upcoming October schedule.
