When the University of Texas left the Big 12 for the SEC after winning 12 conference regular season titles in 13 years, it seemed as if the conference would be opened up for a new champion, followed by more parity. That was the thought, until No. 9 Arizona State slid in place of the Longhorns.
For the second consecutive year since joining the Big 12, ASU volleyball clinched the regular-season title, thanks to its win on Wednesday over UCF and a loss on Friday by the Colorado Buffaloes.
Led by head coach JJ Van Niel, in just his third year at the helm, the Sun Devils are led by a huge defensive front who are currently ranked ninth in the country in blocks per set. They also rank 13th in the country in opponent hitting percentage, but can do it on both sides of the net, ranking second in the Big 12 in hitting percentage.
This is Van Niel’s second year in the Big 12, and he just can’t stop winning. After winning 30 games last season and being named the Big 12 Coach of the Year, his first year in the Big 12, he has come back with another massive season.
This marked ASU’s clinching of its third-straight berth in the NCAA tournament as well, but it will look for a deeper run after being knocked out of the tournament in 2024 in the second round by Texas A&M in front of its home crowd at Desert Financial Arena.
Currently, the Sun Devils are ranked in ESPN.com’s latest Bracketology as a one-seed along with No. 1 Nebraska, No. 2 Kentucky and No. 3 Texas. They are currently seen as one of eight Big 12 teams set to make the tournament.
Yet they still sit at ninth in the country with a 24-3 record following a win over Houston, with just two games remaining on their schedule — a pair of games at home against Cincinnati and West Virginia.
This comes at the heels of two ASU players being named Big 12 players of the week. Junior outside hitter Noemi Glover earned the nod for Offensive Player of the Week thanks to her 31-kill match against the Buffaloes, while graduate student Colby Neal was named the Defensive Player of the Week.
In that 3-1 win over Houston, Glover led the team with 14 kills, followed by senior outside hitters Bailey Miller with 13 and Tatum Parrott with 10. ASU also kept up the defense, ending the match with 12 blocks and allowing just a .143 hitting percentage.
Its next match against Cincinnati will be on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Desert Financial Arena.
