(Photo: Katherine Gore)
TEMPE – The state of Texas, well known for its sports culture, is the birthplace of three impactful transfer portal acquisitions for No. 15 Arizona State Volleyball (13-2, 2-1 Big 12). Two of which play the middle blocker spot, a position that doesn’t often notch a high number of kills. However, that wasn’t the case on Wednesday night’s match against Utah (12-2, 2-1 Big 12), as graduate middle blockers Claire Jeter & Savannah Kjolhede both had double-digit kills.
“I was stoked at the end when I saw that two of our double-digit kill getters were Savannah and Claire,” ASU head coach JJ Van Niel said. “We want our score sheet to have three or four double-digit kill getters.”
Jeter has been with the program longer than Van Niel has. After starting her collegiate career at Texas A&M, Jeter transferred to ASU in 2021. Jeter is having her best season yet offensively, setting career-highs with a hitting percentage of .469 & 2.33 kills per set. Along with 10 kills on Wednesday, Jeter matched her career high of nine blocks.
“I’ve always been that offensive middle and it’s really awesome for me to be able to be a defensive middle,” Jeter said. “I think that’s also a testament to our setters and our passers to be able to put up those numbers for me and (Savannah).”
Kjolhede, a transfer from Indiana, had a team-leading 12 kills on a remarkable .800 clip. Seven kills came in the third set, accounting for more than half of the team’s collective 13 third set kills. When the Sun Devils needed a late-match spark on offense, Kjolhede lit the fuse.
“Savannah has really started to turn it on,” Van Niel said. “She’s really playing well right now, and it’s really good to see.”
Contributing offensively alongside Kjolhede in the third set was junior outside hitter Bailey Miller. Miller had six kills on the night, three came in the third set. Similarly to the middle blockers, Miller is a Texas native who transferred to ASU. Miller spent her first two seasons at West Virginia before joining the Sun Devils this past offseason.
Unlike Jeter, this season is the first time both Kjolhede & Miller have donned ASU jerseys. Ever since acquiring them in the transfer portal, Van Niel has envisioned both playing key roles for the Sun Devils.
“We felt like them coming in right away, they were going to be starters,” Van Niel said. “The expectation when we got them in the portal was they were going to come in and have a material role.”
Van Niel describes ASU as a ball-control team that revolves around the middle blockers. Additionally, he emphasizes how outside hitters such as Miller are beneficiaries when the middle blockers do their job. Because of this, Van Niel is a firm believer that middle blockers deserve more recognition.
“When we’re getting kills from our left sides or our right sides, it’s because the middles were up,” Van Niel said. “Middles is one of those positions that’s just the unsung hero. They don’t typically get the credit.”
