TEMPE, Ariz.—The Arizona State volleyball team (19-12, 8-12 Pac-12) is set for its fourth straight NCAA Tournament First Round matchup, taking on Florida State (24-7,17-3 ACC) on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. MT/4:30 p.m. ET at the University of Florida’s Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla.
The other match in the Gainesville sub-regional is a matchup between host Florida, the No. 11 seed, and New Hampshire, which is set for a 5 p.m. MT/7 p.m. ET first serve.
The winners will advance to the NCAA Second Round and play on Friday at 5 p.m. MT/7 p.m. ET.
ASU and FSU’s match will be streamed on ESPN3, while matches featuring the host Gators will be streamed on SEC Network + via WatchESPN.
Updates throughout the Sun Devils’ matches will also be available via Twitter by following @SunDevilVB.
SUN DEVILS GO TO FOUR STRAIGHT NCAA TRIPS FOR THIRD TIME
This marks just the third time in program history that the Sun Devils have made the NCAA Tournament in four straight seasons. The first time was from 1985 to 1988 under Debbie Brown, and the second was from 1992 to 1995 under Patti Snyder-Park.
In his 11-year coaching tenure, head coach Jason Watson has made seven NCAA Tournament appearances, three at BYU and four at Arizona State.
ASU has gone to the NCAA Tournament 19 times in the history of the program, advancing to the second round in 2014 for the first time since 2006. The last time ASU appeared in the Sweet 16 was in 1995.
The Sun Devils and 20 other schools in the tournament field have 19 or more appearances.
ABOUT THE SEMINOLES (Dec. 3, 4:30 p.m. MT)
Florida State ended the regular season with a pair of road wins, defeating Georgia Tech in four sets before sweeping Clemson.
Three Seminoles recorded double-digit kills in the win over Georgia Tech, led by Katie Horton’s 16. Nicole Walch added 15 and Sarah Burrington added 13 on .650 attacking. FSU also posted an 18.0 to 7.5 blocking advantage in the win.
In the regular-season finale, Walch led the way with 12 kills, while Mercedes Vaughn hit .583 with eight kills and added five blocks to the cause. As a team, the Seminoles hit .292 and held Clemson to just .146 attacking.
All-time the Sun Devils are 1-0 against Florida State. The teams last met in 1984.
ABOUT THE GATORS
Florida ended the 2015 regular season with a sweep over non-conference foe LIU Brooklyn.
Rhamat Alhassan and Simone Antwi led the Gators with eight kills apiece, with Alhassan hitting .316 while Antwi was error-free hitting .800. Florida held the Blackbirds to just .012 attacking. Alhassan also posted six blocks, as did Mackenzie Dagostino.
ASU and Florida last met in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2006. The Gators won the match in four sets.
ABOUT THE WILDCATS
Three-time winners of the America East Conference, New Hampshire clinched the win with four-set victories over Binghamton University and the University at Albany.
Against Binghamton, three Wildcats racked up double-figure kills, led by Abby Brinkman’s 14. Tori Forrest added 13, while Cassidy Croci added 11. Demi Muses posted a team-high five blocks, while Maggie Kenney added four.
In the America East championship game, Forrest led the way with 24 kills on .327 attacking, while Muses added 13 kills on .371 hitting, and added four blocks.
ASU is 2-0 all-time against New Hampshire, the last meeting taking place on Sept. 19, 2009.
LAST TIME OUT
The Sun Devils dropped their final matches of the regular season, falling in three sets on the road at Oregon before fall in four at Arizona. Against the Wildcats, Cassidy Pickrell posted a season-high 18 kills, nothing her eighth double-double of the year.
UP NEXT
Should the Sun Devils advance out of the Gainesville sub-regional, they will compete in the regional semifinals (Sweet Sixteen) at Gregory Gym in Austin Texas on Friday, Dec. 11 at either 3:30 p.m. MT or 6 p.m. MT, aired on ESPN3.
GOING THE DISTANCE
Of the 48 teams hitting the road this week, the Sun Devils are one of just seven that has to travel 2,000 miles or more to reach their first-round destination.
The distance from ASU’s Tempe Campus to the University of Florida’s in Gainesville is 2,023 miles, the seventh-furthest distance a team will travel this week.
Hawaii will travel the furthest to reach their opening round matchup, competing at Texas A&M in College Station, Texas, 3,828 miles from the Manoa campus.
Top-7 Distances To NCAA First Round Matches:
Team (Location) to First Round Site (Host Team)
1. Hawaii (Honolulu, Hawaii) to College Station, Texas (Texas A&M) - 3,282 miles
2. Cleveland State (Cleveland, Ohio) to Los Angeles, Calif. (USC) - 2,349 miles)
3. Michigan (Ann Arbor, Mich.) to Los Angeles, Calif. (UCLA) - 2,358 miles
4. Arkansas State (Jonesboro, Ark) to Seattle, Wash. (Washington) - 2,220 miles
5. Oregon (Eugene, Ore.) to Madison, Wis. (Wisconsin) - 2,107 miles
6. Lipscomb (Nashville, Tenn.) to Los Angeles, Calif. (UCLA) - 2,024 miles
7. Arizona State (Tempe, Ariz.) to Gainesville, Fla. (Florida) - 2,023 miles
SUN DEVILS WITH 19-PLUS WINS IN FOUR STRAIGHT YEARS
For the first time in program history, the Sun Devils have won 19 or more matches in four straight seasons. ASU has 19 wins and counting in 2015, had 20 in 2014, 19 in 2013, and 20 in 2012.
This also marks the first time since the 1992-95 seasons that ASU has posted eight or more conference wins.
ASU’s Pac-12 Wins
2015: 8
2014: 9
2013: 8
2012: 9
BAILEY AND FOLLETTE EARN ALL-PAC-12 ACCOLADES
Whitney Follette and Bree Bailey were named to the All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention list, the conference announced on Tuesday, Dec. 1.
One of the most successful blockers in program history, Follette led the Sun Devils with 138 blocks on the season, bringing her career total in block assists to 362, No. 2 all-time at ASU. She is also just the fourth Sun Devil to surpass 400 total blocks in a career, sitting at No. 3 all-time with 446.
Bailey sits at No. 2 on the team this season in kills with 281, and has posted 93 total blocks on the year, third-most on the team. Bailey recorded a season-high 18 kills on Nov. 22, ASU’s home finale versus USC, and also totaled 10 total blocks in ASU’s home-opening win over NAU on Sept. 8.
This is Bailey’s second All-Conference honor since she was named to the Pac-12 All Freshman Team in 2013.
BINNS MOVES UP IN BLOCKS AND BLOCK ASSISTS
On Sunday, Nov. 8, Mercedes Binns recorded two blocks in the win over Washington State, including one block assist to give her 258 in her career, placing her in the top-10 in ASU lore.
Binns currently has 281 block assists, No. 7 at ASU and ahead of Debbie Penney’s (1988-91) 276.
Following the conclusion of the regular season, Binns also moved into the top-10 in total blocks, sitting at No. 8 all-time with 330.
FOLLETTE FOURTH SUN DEVIL WITH 400 BLOCKS
On Saturday, Oct. 24, Whitney Follette recorded her 400th career block to win the fourth set and the match against Colorado, making her just the fourth Sun Devil in program history to total 400 career blocks.
Following the conclusion of the 2015 regular season, Follette has amassed 446 in her career, No. 3 all time and ahead of Sue Nord’s (1986-89) 421.
Within that total, she has 362 block assists to her name, which sits at No. 2 all-time in ASU lore, 16 behind Tina Berg’s (1987-90) program-leading career mark of 378. Berg also owns the total blocks record with 530.
ARELLANO FOURTH SETTER TO 3000 ASSISTS
In just three seasons with the Sun Devils, setter Bianca Arellano has amassed 3,177 career assists, which sits at No. 4 in the ASU all-time list.
For 28 years, Regina Stahl (1984-87) has held the school record for assists at 5,180. The only other Sun Devil to record more than 4,000 assists was Cheryl Anglin (2000-03), while Marina Mercer (2006-09) sits at No. 3 all-time at 3,680 assists.
ASU PLACES SEVEN ON THE PAC-12 ALL-ACADEMIC TEAMS
Kizzy Ricedorff (Willey) was named to the Pac-12 All-Academic First Team, the Pac-12 announced on Wednesday, Nov. 25. Bianca Arellano and Halle Harker earned Second Team Pac-12 All-Academic recognition, while Bree Bailey, Mercedes Binns, Whitney Follette, and Macey Gardner were named to the Honorable Mention list.
WATSON EARNS 200TH HEAD COACHING WIN VS. UTAHOn Saturday, Nov. 14, the Sun Devils swept Utah on the road in Salt Lake City, giving head coach Jason Watson the 200th victory in his 11-year head coaching career.
Watson had 74 wins in three seasons at BYU (2005-07) and now has 126 in eight seasons at Arizona State (2008-present).
Complete details on Watson’s win milestones are available on page 7 of the notes PDF.
ASU IN THE AVCA POLL
Following the five-set home losses to UCLA and USC, the Sun Devils dropped out of the polls for the first time this season.
On Monday, Oct. 6, the Sun Devils earned the highest ranking in program history, No. 5.
BEST STARTS IN ASU HISTORY
ASU opened the 2015 season with 15 straight wins, marking the second best start in program history, behind ASU’s 21-0 season in 1973.
1. 1973: 21-0 (Mary Littlewood, Intermountain Conference)
2. 2015: 15-0 (Jason Watson, Pac-12 Conference)
3. 1976: 11-0 (Mary Littlewood, Intermountain Conference)
4. 1985: 9-0 (Debbie Brown, Pacific West Conference)
5. 1981: 8-0 (Dale Flickinger, WCAA)
1992: 8-0 (Patti Snyder-Park, Pac-10 Conference)
ASU OPENS PAC-12 WITH BEST START SINCE JOINING LEAGUE
The Sun Devils opened the 2015 Pac-12 slate with a 4-0 start with wins over Arizona, Oregon State, Stanford, and California, marking the best start since ASU joined the Pac-10 Conference in 1986, where the team went 3-0.
It also marked the first time ASU has swept back-to-back conference weekends since 2004: at Oregon (Oct. 8, 3-1) & at Oregon State (Oct. 9, 3-0) and vs. Washington (Oct. 15, 3-0) and vs. Washington State (Oct. 15, 3-2).
ASU’S TOP PAC-10/12 STARTS
2015 - ASU def. Arizona (3-1), Oregon State (3-0), Stanford (3-1, California (3-0)
1986 - ASU def. Oregon (3-2), Oregon State (3-2), USC (3-1)
1989 - ASU def. Oregon (3-1), Oregon State (3-0)
1994 - ASU def. Oregon (3-0), Oregon State (3-2)
1999 - ASU def. Oregon (3-0), Oregon State (3-0)
ASU DEFEATS BAY AREA SCHOOLS ON SAME WEEKEND FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 1993
The last time ASU defeated both Stanford and California on the same weekend was in 1993. Those matches were also won at home, with the Sun Devils sweeping both schools.
ALL-AMERICAN MACEY GARDNER OUT FOR THE YEAR
Due to an ACL injury sustained at the match against Washington on Oct. 11, senior All-American Macey Gardner will miss the rest of the 2015 season, head coach Jason Watson announced.
Prior to the injury, Gardner was the AVCA national and Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week after she broke the 20-year-old school kill record in the team’s three-set win over California. Gardner recorded nine kills, including the record-breaker, in the third set. She will wrap her career with 1,882 kills, 11 ahead of the previous record.
MACEY GARDNER BREAKS ASU’S 20-YEAR-OLD KILL RECORD
On Sunday, Oct. 4, Gardner broke Christine Garner’s 20-year-old school record of 1,871 in the 3-0 sweep over Cal. In the win, Gardner recorded 14 kills, including nine in the third set, bringing ASU’s new best to 1,873 and counting.
ASU TOP-3 CAREER KILLS
1. Macey Gardner, 2012-present (1,882)
2. Christine Garner, 1992-95 (1,871)
3. Sarah Reaves, 2007-10 (1,796)
GARDNER NAMED SPORTS IMPORTS/AVCA PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Macey Gardner was named the Sports Imports/AVCA Player of the Week, the American Volleyball Coaches Association announced on Tuesday, Oct. 6.
Gardner, a 2014 AVCA All-American, is the first Sun Devil to earn national honors from the AVCA since Amanda Burbridge was recognized on Oct. 23, 2000. The third ASU athlete to earn AVCA accolades was Christine Garner on Oct. 16, 1995. Burbridge and Garner also earned AVCA All-America honors during their Sun Devil careers.
GARDNER NAMED PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
After leading the Arizona State volleyball team to its first win over then-No. 8 Stanford in 15 years and breaking the 20-year-old school kills record in the win over California, senior outside hitter Macey Gardner was named Pac-12 Offensive Player Of The Week, the league office announced on Monday, Oct. 5.
This is Gardner’s fourth career honor and the first since the 2013 season. Gardner also was named Player of the Week twice in 2012. Gardner and Garner both received four league honors during their careers, tied for the most in program history.
1,000+ CAREER KILLS & DIGS
Against Northern Arizona (Sept. 8), Macey Gardner became the 10th Sun Devil to record more than 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in their career, the 17th to surpass the career mark of 1,000 digs.
Gardner has 1,090 digs, all time.
The last Sun Devil to move onto the list of 1,000 and 1,000 was Margie Giordano (2005-08), with 1,312 career kills and 1,218 career digs, while the last Sun Devil to enter the 1,000+ career digs list was libero Stephanie Preach, who totaled 2,010 from 2010-13, second-most all time at ASU.
SUN DEVILS SET WATSON-ERA ATTENDANCE RECORD AGAINST ARIZONA
In the win over Pac-12 rival Arizona on Sept. 24, the Sun Devils set a new top-attendance in head coach Jason Watson’s tenure with 5,152 fans, surpassing the 2014 record of 4,185 fans against Washington (Oct. 17).
Additionally, the Sun Devils recorded a new student-section record on Sept. 24 with 2,011 fans.
Four of the top-10 Watson-era attendances have been against Arizona, while the remaining six have come in matches against Washington (2014), USC (2013), Stanford (2015), California (2015), Oregon State (2014), and Colorado (2015).
The program’s attendance record was set on Oct. 4, 1968 at 8,516 when ASU hosted Stanford.
A complete list of attendances and match dates is available on page 4 of the attached notes PDF.
ASU SECURES FIRST TERRITORIAL CUP SERIES OPPORTUNITY
With the four-set win over the rival Wildcats on Sept. 24, the Sun Devils secured the first half-point up for grabs in the annual Territorial Cup Series ® with Arizona.
In 2014-15, the Sun Devils won the Territorial Cup Series® for the second straight year, 12.5-7.5. ASU was helped by the 6-point sweep from the track and field and cross country teams.
ASU and UA’s sports teams will compete against one another in 20 common varsity intercollegiate sports. For a school to be the winner of the Territorial Cup Series Trophy, they must accumulate 10.5 points.
Currently, ASU holds a 4.5 to 0.5 advantage over Arizona.
ON THE RETURNERS
Leading the Sun Devils this season are the class of five seniors: outside hitter Macey Gardner, setter Bianca Arellano, middle blocker Whitney Follette, middle blocker Mercedes Binns, and outside hitter Andi Lowrance.
Starting in each set and each match last season, AVCA All-American Gardner led the way with 594 kills—No. 2 in the single season top-10 at ASU, while Arellano added 1417 assists and a team-leading 28 service aces. Also getting the start in each of the 34 matches was Binns, who added 278 kills and 109 total blocks.
Follette missed action during the non-conference portion of the season and the beginning of last year’s Pac-12 slate, but returned strong and finished the year with 181 kills and 87 blocks, while Lowrance earned seven starts and appeared in 13 more matches, totaling 61 kills and 31 blocks.
Also back in action for ASU is sophomore libero Halle Harker, junior defensive specialist Mia Mazon, junior outside hitter Kizzy Ricedorff (Willey), and junior outside hitter Bree Bailey.
Harker finished her freshman season with 521 digs, the No. 10 mark in the single-season list, also the freshman record. Harker also recorded a career best total of 34 digs against Oregon on Nov. 15, the highest single-game total for a freshman. Harker is on pace to become the 17th Sun Devil to surpass the 1,000-dig milestone.
Bailey and Ricedorff combined for the rest of the Sun Devil offence with 527 kills. Ricedorff also added 13 aces and 44 blocks, while Bailey added 17 aces and 98 blocks. In her first year with the Sun Devils, Mazon saw action in 24 matches to boost the ASU defense.
ON THE NEWCOMERS
The Sun Devils welcome six newcomers to the roster in 2015, freshmen Kierstin Fowler (Flagstaff, Ariz./Coconino HS), Kylie Pickrell (Coppell, Texas/Coppell HS), Jasmine Koonts (Houston, Texas/Klein HS), Lexi MacLean (Frisco, Texas/Centennial HS), and Tia Philippart (Carlsbad, Calif./La Costa Canyon HS), and junior transfer Cassidy Pickrell (Coppell, Texas/Coppell HS/UC Irvine).
ASU looks to add depth in the middle with the additions of Fowler, Koonts, and Philippart. On the outside, ASU adds MacLean and Cassidy Pickrell, a transfer from UC Irvine, while her younger sister Kylie Pickrell joins the Sun Devils as a setter.
2015 All-Tournament Team Selections
Falcon Classic
MVP - Whitney Follette
All-Tournament Team - Kizzy Ricedorff (Willey)
All-Tournament Setter - Kylie Pickrell
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