Arizona State volleyball will host the first two rounds of the 2024 NCAA Tournament as the No. 3 seed in the Nebraska Quarter this weekend at Desert Financial Arena. It will face American East champion New Hampshire on Friday at 6:30 p.m. MST. The winner of the match will take on either No. 6 seed Texas A&M or Colorado State on Saturday at 6 p.m. MST.
“The interesting thing is that I haven’t felt that this season at all,” ASU head coach JJ Van Niel said about his team facing pressure as the postseason starts. “Everyone just does a really nice job of coming out and just doing their jobs.”
The Sun Devils, who get their highest seed since 1993, get the third seed in the region and tenth overall fresh off their first Big 12 title, and their first conference championship in program history. They also went unbeaten at home for the first time as an NCAA team.
Conference play started with a win over fifth-seeded TCU, before picking up series sweeps over fourth-seeded Utah and fifth-seeded BYU. They also won both games against Arizona, who was one of the first four teams out, according to ESPN.
One of Van Niel’s and ASU’s biggest wins came against a fellow third seed in Kansas, beating the Jayhawks 26-24, 20-25, 25-20, 27-25 on Nov. 8 at Mullett Arena. This game propelled the Maroon and Gold to the top spot in the conference, which they won on Nov. 27 after the Jayhawks fell to BYU.
“I think it’s really special for this group of kids,” Van Niel said about winning the Big 12 title. “They’re a very veteran team that’s been through a lot.”
That veteran team is spearheaded by its sevenfold senior/graduate class. This includes outside hitters Roberta Rabelo, Geli Cyr and Shania Cromartie, libero Mary Shroll, setter Argentina Ung, and middle blockers Claire Jeter and Savannah Kjolhede, who have all started in some capacity this season. Some of these seniors transferred in because of Van Niel. Others spent their entire career with the Sun Devils.
“These are all of our best friends,” Jeter said. “We fight for each other, we’re for each other and with each other every day. So, we’ve definitely grown that bond.”
“They’ve helped set the standard for not just what we do on the court, but more importantly off the court and our culture,” Van Niel said. “I would put our culture up against any program in any sport in the country, and I feel pretty confident in that.”
Big Ten co-champ Nebraska will be the top seed in the region, followed by Wisconsin, ASU and Baylor. Should ASU advance, it will make its second trip to Lincoln, Neb. for the Sweet 16 and Elite 8. It has never played Wisconsin, but lost to Nebraska and Baylor on the road. Both defeats were the team’s only regular season losses this season.
Pitt is the highest overall seed in the tournament, after a one-loss regular season, only falling to second-seeded SMU on Oct. 12. It will be the favorite to make the Final Four, which will take place at KFC Yum Center in Louisville.
Nonetheless, Van Niel and the Sun Devils are excited for playoff volleyball to come to the Valley. They have already had a good crowd this year, with six of their home games having at least 4,000 in attendance.
“We were talking to Graham (Rossini), our AD about it,” Cyr said about the crowd. “We were just saying that ‘we’re igniting the Valley and bringing volleyball to Tempe.’ It’s becoming a volleyball school, which is so, so, so cool.”
“Just imagine the pressure your opponent has to feel when they walk in,” Van Niel said. “Every time they serve, the crowd’s screaming at them. Every time they make a play that doesn’t work out, the crowd’s screaming at them. So, I’m super excited.”
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