(Photo: Elijah Longoria/WCSN)
With the selection show taking place on Sunday night, No. 9 Arizona State officially has its spot in the 2025 NCAA Volleyball Tournament. The Sun Devils were selected as a two seed in the Kentucky bracket, set to play Coppin State in the first round at Desert Financial Arena.
The back-to-back Big 12 champions entered the selection show as the ninth-ranked team in the country and were expected to be a two seed, with a resume of eight ranked wins to go along with a 26-3 overall record and 17-1 conference record.
“I thought we’d be a 2 seed,” head coach JJ Van Niel said during the team’s press conference. “We had a really strong RPI, but we didn’t have a top-10 win, and I know the committee gets that stuff, so it is what it is. I think the Big 12 is a gauntlet, and I hope that that’s prepared us for the tournament.”
ASU will face Coppin State in the first round, which finished the season 23-11. The Eagles are coming off their second MEAC title in the last three years, which gave them an auto-bid to the postseason.
The Eagles are a high-offensive team, led by redshirt senior outside hitter TaKenya Stafford. Stafford’s team-high 486 kills were good for 18th in the country, as Coppin State ranks 7th in the country in team kills.
The Eagles are helped by their trio of setters, senior Azul Pilahg, redshirt senior Andrea Serrano and redshirt freshman Andrea Cintron, who assisted in the team finishing fifth in the NCAA in total assists with 1,571. Junior libero Coco Figueroa is also a big help on the floor, finishing the season fifth in the country with 590 digs.
Going up against an ASU team that has thrived on defense, Coppin State’s offense will be tested heavily. Led by graduate middle blocker Colby Neal, the Sun Devils finished 12th in the country in total blocks with 312.5 and were sixth in the NCAA with 2.88 blocks per set.
“I think the biggest thing in the tournament is just to make sure that we highlight our strengths,” Neal said during the presser. Adding, “We play the way that we want to play, we are who we are, and it’s not going to matter who’s on the other side of the net if we can accomplish that.”
ASU is led offensively by the pairing of junior opposite hitter Noemi Glover and senior outside hitter Bailey Miller, both of whom finished with over 350 kills each. While the Sun Devils are a defensive powerhouse, Glover and Miller are still dangerous on the outside, with Glover in the top 10 for total kills and hitting percentage in the Big 12.
“We’re really grateful and just excited for what’s to come,” Miller said during the presser. Adding on, “I think no matter who we’re going to play, we’re going to be ready to go, so we will just take the next couple of days to watch film, get ready, and work on the little things so that we’re prepared for anyone.”
This matchup between the two is set for Thursday, December 4, at 7 p.m. at Desert Financial Arena. Right before them, seventh-seeded Tennessee faces off against Utah State, with the winner of that match playing the winner of ASU’s match. The Sun Devils’ tournament run last year ended earlier than expected after being upset by Texas A&M in the second round, as Van Niel and his team look to build on their previous postseason experience.
“I think this team is really hungry,” Neal added during the press conference. “We have a lot of girls who either haven’t been to the tournament or are just really, really excited to have it finally be their turn, and I think that we’re super excited going in.”
