Arizona State volleyball's NCAA Tournament run came to an end Thursday, Dec. 11, afternoon against the Creighton Bluejays. 

Despite a back-and-forth first two sets, the Sun Devils fell short to the Bluejays in four sets at the Historical Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Kentucky, in the regional semifinals. ASU’s back row defense struggled against a potent Creighton offense.

Senior outside hitter Ava Martin put up 23 kills against the Sun Devils, finishing the match with a .388 hitting percentage. Martin’s younger sister, Grace, committed to ASU on the most recent signing day, and she’ll join the squad in the 2026 season. 

Likewise, junior defensive specialist Sydney Breissinger had 20 digs, creating a pathway for their setter to get the ball to their hitters. 

The Bluejays’ strong defense made it difficult for the Sun Devils to score on kills. 

“Syd had a lot of wow digs,” Martin said. “I think when we make some of those plays, especially after their right side is going off, her making some of those digs makes us hitters want to and get a kill.” 

For the Sun Devils, redshirt freshman right side hitter Kiylah Presley stepped up and came out swinging, giving the team nine kills. 

ASU’s right-side pin hitters dominated the Bluejays in the first two sets. Like Presley, junior outside hitter Noemie Glover had a game. 

Glover finished with 17 kills and two blocks.

“Sydney [Henry] was putting me in great positions to score,” Glover said. “I think that was the main reason that I am able to find openings. Their passers were doing a great job getting the ball up.”

However, after ASU won set two, Creighton picked up on its strengths and worked around them. 

Creighton began to avoid the big hands of graduate student middle blocker Colby Neal. Neal ended the match with only three blocks. 

The Bluejays added pressure to their front row, making it challenging for the Sun Devils' pin hitters to get around. They also served tough balls that led the Sun Devils into several passing errors.  

“Their right sides are so good,” Creighton head coach Brian Rosen said. “Our goal was to ramp up service pressure and put them into tough situations.”

Senior middle blocker Kiara Reinhardt hit at a .737 hitting percentage and had 15 kills, only having four attacking errors. 

“Their middle, we knew was going to be tough to stop,” ASU head coach JJ Van Niel said. “Fifteen kills in four sets is pretty impressive. I don’t think anything surprised us; they’ve been playing great volleyball all year.”

Looking ahead to 2026, ASU currently has four key recruits committed to the 2026 class, including Martin. On the flip side, six seniors are set to depart Tempe.  

The Creighton Bluejays move on to the regional finals and will take on the winner of Kentucky and Cal Poly in the NCAA Tournament.