(Photo via Xavier Litman/WCSN)
Even when the schedule was first presented to Arizona State Volleyball head coach JJ Van Niel and his squad, a perfect start of nearly historic proportions was in sight for 2023. Despite the outside noise that the program was continuing to rebuild, No. 25 ASU (14-0, 2-0 Pac-12) has confidently marched forward.
“I knew we’re gonna be great this year,” graduate setter Shannon Shields said following ASU’s home opening win against Arizona. “We worked so hard. We changed our offense completely. We were aggressive with ourselves. And we’re all bought into each other.”
For the first time since Oct. 8, 2018, ASU heads into a weekend sitting in the AVCA rankings, as the undefeated Sun Devils are coming off an impressive start to conference play with wins against rival Arizona and Washington in Tempe. Van Niel became just the second coach in program history to have ASU ranked in his first season on the job, with the other being Debbie Brown in 1983.
The Sun Devils’ undefeated start meets a tough test this weekend, as they head to the Bay Area to face No. 3 Stanford (9-2, 2-0 Pac-12) and Cal (11-2, 0-2 Pac-12).
Friday’s meeting with the Cardinal will mark ASU’s first matchup against a top-5 ranked opponent since 2019. Stanford is expected to have another stellar season after reaching the Elite Eight last year, and so far it has lived up to the billing against a tough schedule. Six of the Cardinal’s first eleven matches have come against ranked opponents and it holds a 4-2 record in those matches.
Stanford, who stands as the defending Pac-12 Conference regular season champions, is considered widely as one of the best passing teams in the nation, thanks to defending Pac-12 Setter of the Year Kami Miner. The Cardinal has the third most assists per set of any team in the nation at 13.61.
While Stanford has been dominant on the passing front all season, ASU has still held its own in hitting percentage. The Sun Devils, who were leading the Pac-12 nearly two weeks ago in the category, have now seized control of the nationwide lead with a percentage of .343, nearly 20 points better than any other school. Stanford sits not too far behind in the category itself, currently holding a .306 hitting percentage which ranks 5th nationally.
Following its highly anticipated clash in Palo Alto, ASU will make the short drive to Berkeley to face the Golden Bears, a squad that like the Sun Devils, had an undefeated record in non-conference play at 11-0. However, consecutive losses against the Cardinal and Utah have left them at 0-2 to begin Pac-12 play.
The Bay Area stretch will be a key measuring stick for the Sun Devils, who hope to prove their legitimacy as a top-25 program.
