Arizona State defeated #2-ranked Penn State 3-1 (25-21, 23-25, 20-25, 29-31), as the Nittany Lions totaled 44 errors (27 attack errors, and 17 serving errors) in the 4-set match.
You aren’t going to win many matches making 44 total errors, even with a super performance by Kennedy Martin, who had 23 kills (.312 hitting), 12 digs, and 3 blocks. To be fair, Arizona State had 41 total errors of its own (18 attack errors and 21 service errors). Of course, Arizona State also had a star performance, as 6’2″ Opp Noemie Glover put down 22 kills (.372 hitting), to go with a match-high 10 blocks, and two digs.
It’s not as though the loss came without any warning. Penn State had swept Creighton in its opening match of the season, but it had been a hotly-contested match, with the 3rd set going to extra points, 27-25. The 3-2 win over Kansas (25-22, 24-26, 16-25, 30-28, 15-12) certainly put Penn State fans on notice that the Nittany Lions weren’t going to steamroll their way past opponents. Supposed underdog Kansas looked anything but the underdog.

Still, even with all the Penn State errors, and uneven play, the match was there for the taking. Penn State got off to a solid start, hitting .519 in Set 1 (though Arizona State also hit well, at .300). Set 2 was basically the opposite, as Penn State hit only .061, so that even though Arizona State only hit .167 in the set, that was enough to for the 25-23 win — the first of two deuce set wins by Arizona State. Arizona State flexed its defensive muscles once again in Set 3, with 5 blocks helping it to the 25-20 win. Set 4 — another deuce set — went to Arizona State in extra points, 31-29 — the second deuce set win for the Sun Devils. The two stars shone their brightest, with Martin posting 11 kills and Glover putting down 10 kills (on .471 hitting). Fittingly, match point came on an attack error by Penn State.
Penn State plays again on Monday at 5:00 p.m. ET, this time against TCU, which lost to Pitt on Sunday.
Post-Match Press Conference
Match Videos
Box Score
Match Details
Match Leaders
Penn State Stats
Arizona State Stats
| # | Player | SP | K | E | TA | % | A | E | SA | SE | BS | BA | BE | DIG | BHE | RE | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Noemie Glover | 4 | 22 | 6 | 43 | 0.372 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 27.5 |
| 22 | Bailey Miller | 4 | 8 | 4 | 33 | 0.121 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 25 | Ella Lomigora | 4 | 8 | 2 | 14 | 0.429 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11.5 |
| 11 | Colby Neal | 4 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 0.250 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 43 | Kiylah Presley | 3 | 6 | 3 | 11 | 0.273 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 3 | Tatum Parrott | 4 | 4 | 2 | 22 | 0.091 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 5.5 |
| 14 | Jillian Neal | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | Sydney Henry | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.000 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 |
| 27 | Brynn Covell | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | Bella Faria | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Piper Rama | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Faith Frame | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.000 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 4 | Ella Lewis | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |