The environment inside the Wildcats' home, McKale Arena, was electric and loud. Wildcats fans dominated the arena with bright red shirts, with only a few fans in maroon and gold.  

Some Wildcat football players took over the student section waving flags and fat heads of Arizona players to hype up the crowd. 

“They had a great crowd, so it was fun to come in here, kind of quiet the crowd,” Sun Devils head coach JJ Van Niel said. “We played very very clean volleyball and did a really nice job.” 

Senior outside hitter Bailey Miller crushed Arizona’s defense and offense with 19 kills at the end of the match, tied for the second-highest number of kills in her college volleyball career, both at ASU and West Virginia. 

Immediately at the start of the match, junior outside hitter Jilliam Neal served toughly against the Wildcats. The Sun Devils had a four-point lead with her aggressive serves. 

“I think we focused a lot on being aggressive on the service line and making sure that all of our management on our shots are going to get them out of system to put pressure on them,” junior middle blocker Ella Lomigora said.

 Miller sent a tricky roll-shot to the back of the Wildcats' court to give ASU the win in the first set.

During the second set, sophomore libero Bella Faria stepped onto the court to serve three balls to help ASU get out of its four-point deficit. Shortly after, the Sun Devils lost momentum and were back to being four points short towards the end of the set. 

Senior outside hitter Jordan Wilson, with the Wildcats, had a powerful swing from the back row throughout the set, leaving ASU stunned.  

Wilson finished the match with a total of 19 kills.

A swing from freshman opposite hitter Renee Jones secured a win for the Wildcats in the second set.

The Sun Devils played a smart yet aggressive offense during the third set, allowing them to reach a six-point lead against the Wildcats. 

Junior opposite hitter Noemie Glover and Miller were a huge factor during set three. Both consistently were able to have strong swings and smart tips over Arizona’s tall blockers across the net. 

The Wildcats have 11 of 16 players over six feet tall, but that did not stop the Sun Devils' offense in the front row. 

Despite having such tall players, the Wildcats blocked ASU only twice throughout the match. 

“They’re definitely physical but in the fourth set we finally were able to get more consistent,” Van Niel said. 

Sophomore libero Faith Frame had incredible defense in the back row for the Sun Devils. Frame was able to pancake a ball that Arizona barely sent over the net during the fourth set.

ASU took a nine-point lead in this set. 

“I thought tonight she did a really nice job, especially on some sharp balls that were placed over,” Van Niel said. “She handled them really well.”

A powerful kill down the line of the Wildcats' court from Glover secures the win in the Duel of the Desert for the Sun Devils. 

“They had a great turnout and I think that just goes to show, wherever we are going to play, when we are back home, they are going to have to deal with the same pressure,” Lomigora said.