(Photo: Sammy Nute/WCSN)
In their first taste of Big-12 conference play, No. 14 Arizona State women volleyball travels to Texas for two BIG matchups. With a Wednesday evening match against No. 22 TCU and a Friday evening match against No. 19 Baylor, the Sun Devils have a tall task if they want to start conference play off on the right foot.
After a successful first season under the coaching of JJ Van Niel, complete with a trip to the third round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1995, the Arizona State women’s volleyball team is making the jump from the Pac-12 to the Big-12. With new opponents and new travel destinations, as well as continued rivalries with old foes, the Devils look to make a splash and announce their presence in their new conference.
In non-conference play, the Sun Devils were 11-1, with their only loss coming on the road against powerhouse No. 5 Nebraska. Following that loss, ASU swept Long Beach State to finish off the Nebraska Invitational, before capping off their non-conference slate with a 3-0 showing at the Arizona State Webb-Burbridge Classic. Additionally, the four straight wins have all been sweeps, so ASU is riding a 12-set win streak.
Both of the matches this week are ranked matchups. The meeting between ASU and TCU will mark the first time the two teams have played each other in history. Conversely, this will be the third time ASU has played Baylor, with the Bears owning the all-time series 2-1.
“We open up into the fire on the road, which is a good little test,” head coach JJ Van Niel said. “I’m probably most concerned about our serving. It’s just the inconsistency has been a little bit frustrating, so we got to reinvest there.”
The Devils committed 27 service errors across their three matches during the Webb- Burnbridge Classic, with 12 coming in Friday’s match against Memphis and 10 in Saturday’s match against Montana State.
Graduate student outside hitter Shania Cromartie also mentioned the emphasis on serving. “Just continue to serve tough and get teams out of system,” She said. “And just passing balls as in system as possible, so we can run our offense and keep our tempo.”
Savannah Kjolhede, a graduate student middle blocker, added that blocking will be very important moving forward, as well as “getting more comfortable and being able to really take time to scout each team.”
TCU is led by senior outside hitter Melanie Parra, who was named the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year, and was also named to the 2023 All-Big 12 first team. Parra transferred to TCU in 2023 after spending two seasons at the University of Texas, winning a National Championship with the Longhorns in 2022.
The Horned Frogs also boast junior outside hitter Jalyn Gibson, who was named to the All-Big 12 Preseason Team, and was a 2023 All-Big 12 Second Team selection. TCU also features a number of transfers, including junior outside hitter Melanie McGann, who transferred to TCU from West Virginia University. At West Virginia, McGann played with ASU’s Bailey Miller, a junior outside hitter.
TCU sits at 8-2 after a strong preseason that included a win over then No. 18 Minnesota. Their two losses came to ranked opponents, falling 3-1 to then No. 2 Nebraska and 3-2 to then No. 6 Wisconsin.
The Bears are led by senior outside hitter Elisa McGhee and senior libero Lauren Briseño. McGhee was a 2023 All-Big 12 First Team selection, while Briseño was named to the Second Team. Baylor also features a new setter, after the All-Big 12 Second Team setter Averi Carlson transferred to the University of Texas. Jackie Barrett Frazier, a graduate student from Auburn University, entered to fill the holes left by the departing Carlson. She already has 289 assists in the 11 matches.
Baylor is 8-3 with one ranked win against then No. 18 Minnesota and one ranked loss to then No. 6 Wisconsin.
In addition to the high stakes for the two matches, Arizona State assistant coach Preslie Anderson, a Chandler, AZ native, has ties to both of these teams. She played for Baylor for two seasons (2020-21) and was a graduate assistant at TCU in 2022.
For the Sun Devils, they are led by graduate student setter Argentina Ung, who transferred from Washington State in the offseason. Ung currently sits at 2,900 career assists, putting her just 100 away from 3,000. Ung was named to the All- Big 12 Preseason Team, along with graduate student middle blocker Claire Jeter. Jeter is ranked second in the country in hitting percentage, and began the season on a tear that saw her reach 74 kills prior to registering an error. After 12 matches, she only has two hitting errors.
ASU will also rely heavily on senior outside hitter Geli Cyr and transfers Miller and Kjolhede as they look to add to their four-game winning streak and begin a new era in a new conference
They play TCU on Wednesday at 6pm on ESPNU, and Saturday’s game against Baylor will be at 5pm on ESPN+.
