No. 8 Arizona State (30-2, 17-1 Big 12) advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 3-0 sweep against New Hampshire (18-10, 7-3 America East) at Desert Financial Arena.
The Sun Devils will face Texas A&M Saturday night in the second round in Tempe. The Aggies defeated Colorado State, beating the Rams 3-1.
Friday night’s sweep was ASU’s 20th this season: a new record for the program under head coach JJ Van Niel.
“Obviously, it’s special,” Van Niel said. “Twenty is a lot. It’s fun, but tomorrow is what really matters.”
Graduate student middle blocker Claire Jeter tripled her season-high ace tally, recording six aces on the night. The former Texas A&M player also had eight blocks, just one shy of equaling her season high.
“I was serving not as aggressively as usual, so it had more float on the ball,” Jeter said.
ASU began strong, getting a 7-3 lead early in the first set. Graduate student outside hitter Roberto Rabelo had two kills and one block in the first 10 rallies as four different Sun Devils had at least two kills in the first set.
Rabelo ended the set with three kills alongside Jeter and senior outside hitter Geli Cyr. Graduate student outside hitter Shania Cromartie led the team with five kills while graduate student setter Argentina Ung had 12 assists.
“I think it’s a privilege to be where we are,” Rabelo said. “It’s a privilege to decide our own destiny.”
“We’re not the underdogs anymore,” she added. “We’re here to stay and we’re here to fight. That’s what we’re here for.”
New Hampshire made it close in the early stages of the second set, with the score tied at 7-7. ASU would respond by going on a 7-1 run, climbing to a 13-8 lead. Van Niel’s side won the second set by the same scoreline as the first.
Another tight opening saw both teams tied at 12-12 in the third. However, the Sun Devils pulled away after having a 10-1 run following errors from New Hampshire, two kills from Cyr and one from graduate student middle blocker Savannah Kjolhede.
ASU won the set 25-19, claiming an 18th straight win and advancing to the tournament’s second round. Rabelo led the Sun Devils with 11 kills, followed by Jeter and Cromartie with 10 and nine, respectively. Ung recorded 27 assists and 10 digs, while graduate student libero Mary Shroll led the latter with 15 digs.
The Sun Devils will face Texas A&M (20-7, 10-6 SEC) on Saturday night at Desert Financial Arena, where Jeter and company will be looking to book a place in the regional semi-final for the second straight season.
“Everything we’ve been working extremely hard for has come true,” Jeter said on hosting the NCAA Tournament game. “A lot of people didn’t think we were going to do what we did this year. People said it was a fluke, but our goal was to show people that it wasn’t.”
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