No. 8 Arizona State volleyball overcome tight sets to sweep No. 16 Baylor

TEMPE, Ariz. – Three hundred and seventy six days ago, Arizona State volleyball suffered its first defeat in the Big 12, losing to Baylor, 3-1, in Waco.

Since then, the Sun Devils haven’t looked back.

In a rematch of the game in September 2024, No. 8 ASU (13-2 overall, 4-0 Big 12) recorded its 20th straight conference win on Wednesday night to keep coach JJ Van Niel’s side undefeated in the Big 12 this season, sweeping Baylor (9-5 overall, 4-2 Big 12) at Desert Financial Arena.

“I’d definitely say there was a chip on our shoulder,” junior outside hitter Jillian Neal said after the game on facing the Bears. “Especially not only for us, but to kind of just avenge our previous team.”

ASU started fast

ASU started the game hot, racing to a 12-6 lead after a 11-3 run early in the first set. Strong serving also helped the Sun Devils, recording five aces and 17 kills in the opening set.

But Baylor responded following a timeout as the Bears went on a 13-6 run to level the set at 21-21. Both teams couldn’t be separated at 24-24, but senior outside hitter Tatum Parrott notched a kill and the team got a service ace to seal the first set, 26-24.

An even tighter set followed. Both sides traded blows, with the lead changing eight times and the set having 16 ties. Baylor crawled into a 21-19 lead, which forced Van Niel to call his last timeout.

ASU rolls out of timeout

After the break, ASU posted an 8-4 run to end the set, including tallying four kills and two blocks. The Sun Devils survived a Baylor set-point and scored three straight points to win 27-25.

“We felt pretty confident where they were going to set,” Van Niel said on what changed after the timeout. “We had a couple of good services and took a shot and we were right. Our blockers executed it really physical(ly) at the end of that set. That helped a lot.”

By the third set, the Sun Devils hit full stride.

The host raced to a 10-3 lead which forced Baylor to burn its two timeouts. But the Bears didn’t go down without a fight.

After trailing 11-4 at one point, the visitors sprung into a 22-21 lead deep in the set.

Once again, an ASU timeout proved vital as the Maroon and Gold struck a 4-1 run, ending the game on graduate middle blocker Colby Neal’s seventh kill of the night.

What’s next for ASU?

The win sets up Friday night’s top of the table clash against No. 24 Colorado, who is also undefeated in conference action so far.

“Every game matters when it comes to winning conference,” Neal said. “Especially with so many upsets and just so many unexpected things this season, you never know what’s going to happen.”

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