The Arizona State Sun Devils, one year after firing their head coach and losing eight players to the transfer portal, are headed to the NCAA Tournament. They will be a 5-seed and face Georgia in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
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We are the No. 5 seed and will take on Georgia on Friday in Provo, Utah!#ForksUp pic.twitter.com/q1akFZ0h7o
— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) November 26, 2023
It’s been a wild ride for the Sun Devils, who beat Pac-12 powers Stanford and Oregon this year. They finished 26-6. This was four games better than first-year head coach JJ Van Niel predicted.
“We set a goal of 22 wins this year for our team. That’s where we expected us to be. Obviously, we beat that, so it feels good to see the players buying into the culture like that.” Van Niel said.
Van Niel was hired from USC, where he helped lead a really good USC team that had been one of the best in the country.
Arizona State is led by Marta Levinska, an outsider with over 500 kills during the season. Shannon Shields, the setter, has over 1000 assists, and Claire Jeter has over 100 blocks this season.
Arizona State was one of the bottom teams in the Pac-12 last season. They are in the top four and headed to their first NCAA Tournament since 2015. This is the best record the Sun Devils have posted since 1986. However, they have never made it past the second round. No matter what, this is an incredible first year for Van Niel and the company. They have started the makings of a bright future here in the Valley.
Their first game in the NCAA Tournament versus Georgia will be on Friday in Provo, Utah.
