TEMPE – For the first time since 2015, Sun Devil Volleyball is back in the NCAA Tournament as a No. 5 seed, facing Georgia in the first round on Friday, December 1, in Provo, Utah.
Arizona State is back in the tournament for the first time since 2015, which was the bookend of four-straight postseason appearances for the Sun Devils. This is the 20th tournament appearance in the 50th season of the program. The last time ASU won an NCAA Tournament game was in 2014 when the team made it to the second round.
ASU’s postseason journey will start in Provo, Utah, playing Georgia in the first round on Friday at 4:30 p.m. MST. With a win, Arizona State would play the winner of the host team No. 4 BYU and Weber State on Saturday.
Team Information
The Sun Devils celebrated the 50th anniversary of the program by making history under first-year head coach JJ Van Niel. They finished the regular season 26-6, which is the best record this century and the third-highest win total in program history. This was the 11th season that ASU has reached 20 wins. Additionally, Arizona State had a 14-6 Pac-12 record, which is the most conference wins in team history. The team started the season strong, finishing non-conference undefeated and going 14-0 to start the year, which is the best start by a new head coach in the NCAA era.
The resume for the Sun Devils is impressive, including two-top five sweeps over Stanford (home) and Oregon (away). The win over the Cardinal was just the second time ever that the Sun Devils swept them. This was just the second time in ASU history beating two top-five teams, but it’s the first time with two top-five sweeps. Speaking of sweeps, the Sun Devils had 18 three-set wins on the year, which is the most in program history.
Leading the team on offense this season has been senior opposite Marta Levinska, who has had her best season in her career. She is top 10 in the nation in kills, kills per set, points and points per set. She has earned four Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week awards, the most in a single season in ASU history. She also was the AVCA National Player of the Week on October 31 following the win over Stanford. In all but two matches, she’s had double-digit kills and she has had 20 or more kills nine times. In the ASU record book, she is currently in sixth for career kills with…
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