After just over a month of regular-season action, it was finally time for Big 12 play to commence for Arizona State volleyball.

The No. 9 Sun Devils (9-3, 0-1 Big 12) traveled to Morgantown, W.V., for a battle with West Virginia (7-3, 1-0 Big 12) on Friday, Sept. 25, that saw the Mountaineers claw back for a huge five-set victory.

West Virginia took control of the first set early and didn’t look back, cruising to a comfortable 25-17 win to get out in front at home.

ASU fought hard to win the next two sets, but a tightly contested fourth frame in favor of the Mountaineers initiated a do-or-die fifth set.

After an even start, West Virginia won six of eight points, powering the Mountaineers to a 15-12 victory in the decisive set.

Three takeaways from the loss:

The Faith and Una Show

Only two Sun Devils reached double-digit digs in Friday’s contest, as junior libero Faith Frame and junior outside hitter Una Vajagić contributed 21 and 14, respectively. 

While other members of the ASU roster contributed to the cause, Frame and Vajagić did most of the heavy lifting against West Virginia.

Vajagić added on a team-high two of the Sun Devils’ five blocks, something that is starting to become a common occurrence in the first month of the campaign.

If the Sun Devils want to be serious contenders in the Big 12, someone outside of Vajagić will need to step up and add another consistent option for the reigning conference champions.

Never Say Die Devils

Despite the loss, the Sun Devils did not go away easily. Both of the final two sets came down to the wire, with the fourth set taking 26 points for the Mountaineers to finally come out on top.

In addition, Friday’s five-setter made it back-to-back matches for ASU that went the distance into the fifth set, with the Sun Devils holding the upper hand last time around against Cal Poly on Sept. 18.

With an unfavorable start to the Big 12 slate already, the fighters’ mentality will have to carry over into ASU’s next game just two days from now on Sunday, Sept. 27, at Cincinnati.

Was the Non-Conference Schedule Too Much?

With today's loss officially starting conference play for the Sun Devils, it raises the question: was ASU’s non-conference schedule too loaded?

In just the first month of the season, ASU played five top-10 teams: No. 2 Texas, No. 14 Minnesota, No. 20 USC, No. 24 Oregon, and No. 8 Stanford. 

While some argue that a tough non-conference schedule helps to prepare a team for the later parts of the season, playing five ranked teams as early as the Sun Devils did can also drain a team's energy.

ASU didn’t necessarily look burnt out against West Virginia, especially after an entire week off, but it’s something to consider as the season carries on.

The Sun Devils will be back in action on Sunday when they conclude their road trip in Cincinnati as they look to pick up their first Big 12 win of the season against the Bearcats.