ASU had been riding the hot hands, as a few days prior, it had posted a .406 hitting percentage, its best of the season in a win at UCF.

The game at the Fertitta Center was a homecoming for freshman outside hitter and Libero Ella Lewis, who is from The Woodlands, Texas, located just outside of Houston, and played for Houston Skyline, a local volleyball club in the region. Sun Devil head coach JJ Van Neil calls Lewis the quiet assassin at the service line.

ASU started slow, keeping pace with the Cougars, but in the latter half of the first set, it got things going with a 6-0 run to close it out, 25-16.

The Cougars, despite losing the first set by 10, played with more aggressiveness in the following two sets, taking the second 25-20 and leading by as many as seven.

Thanks to an astute strategy to stay calm, cool, and collected, the Sun Devils took the final two sets 25-18 and 25-16, respectively, to clinch the Big 12 title.

Van Neil postgame on the broadcast spoke to how proud he’s been to have made ASU such a prominent program over the last few seasons.

"We're on the map," Van Neil said. "We've been doing a nice job these past few years, and it's really special, especially to do it with a brand new lineup. I'm just really proud of the kids, the way they've come in and fought and worked really hard to improve."

In the world of sports, the phrase "the grind never stops" is often thrown around. Van Neil expressed a similar sentiment, noting that he's enjoyed how intentional the players have been in improving their craft, adding that this year's roster is one of the most intentional groups he's gotten to coach.

Senior outside hitter Bailey Miller, who had 13 kills and 15 digs, added that while the team isn’t disregarding the importance of winning the conference, the squad is more focused on what’s ahead.

"Anything can happen," Miller said. We're really excited to start getting into the tournament. We know there's a good chance we're going to host at least the first two around, so we're excited to get into it and show people what we're made of. We've always been doubted, so I think there is a chip on our shoulder, especially going into the tournament, and I think anything is possible.”

The team will wrap up its season with two final home games: one on November 26 at 7:00 p.m. MST against Cincinnati, and a senior day tilt with West Virginia on November 29 at 11:00 a.m. MST.