TEMPE – Behind a strong defensive effort and a career-high six aces from Claire Jeter, No. 3 seed Sun Devil Volleyball swept New Hampshire (25-17, 25-17, 25-19) on Friday night in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament in Desert Financial Arena.
Arizona State will advance to the second round, facing No. 6 seed Texas A&M (20-7, 10-6 SEC) on Saturday at 6 p.m. MST in Desert Financial Arena. The winner will move on to the regional semifinals next weekend.
Notable Stats
The Sun Devils began their tournament run with a 7-3 start, consisting of four kills, two from Rabelo, to go up against the Wildcats and force them into their first timeout. Arizona State kept its lead safe, up 18-14 with help from Cyr's three kills, a block from Jeter, and an ace by Ung. A kill by Cromartie brought ASU to a 20-14 lead, UNH calling for its second timeout. Cromartie didn't stop there, adding two more kills along with one from Ung and a block from Jeter to bring the Sun Devil to set point, 24-17. Arizona State clinched the first set at 25-17 off Jeter's third kill.
Set Two: ASU 25, New Hampshire 17
After taking the first set, ASU came into the second up 6-3 with Jeter coming in hot with two blocks and a pair of kills. The Wildcats battled back and quickly grabbed a 7-6 lead, however, another set of kills and an ace by Jeter gave the Sun Devils the lead back, 9-7. ASU up 10-7 pushed UNH to call a timeout to stop the momentum. Five kills by the Sun Devils, including two from Cromartie, brought ASU to a 16-10 advantage. The Wildcats responded by going on a 3-0 scoring run, making it 17-14 and pressuring the Sun Devils into their first timeout. Arizona State responded back with a 3-0 run of its own, pushing the advantage to 20-14. A kill by Rabelo and an ace by Jeter brought ASU to a 21-16 lead before UNH called for a timeout. Another ace by Jeter and a kill from Robelo carried ASU to set point, 24-17. A block by Kjolhede gave ASU a 2-0 match lead after winning the set 25-17.
Set Three: ASU 25, New Hampshire 19
The third set got underway with both teams splitting the first six points. ASU took a short-lived 11-10 lead prior to UNH tying it up again, 11-11. Two blocks for the Sun Devils helped carry into a 15-12 lead before a media timeout. Arizona State returned with a 4-0 scoring run with two kills and another ace from Jeter to reach a 20-13 lead, compelling UNC to call a timeout. The Wildcats battled back with a 3-0 run, 21-17, making the Sun Devils call for a timeout to regroup. Kills by Robelo, Kjolhede, and Ung brought ASU to set point, 24-19, UNC called a timeout with hope to stay alive. A dominant kill by Cromartie finalized a Sun Devil 25-19 victory over the Wildcats for a spot in Saturday's game against Texas A&M.
Up Next
Arizona State will host Texas A&M on Saturday night at 6 p.m. MST. It will be live on ESPN+.
Arizona State will advance to the second round, facing No. 6 seed Texas A&M (20-7, 10-6 SEC) on Saturday at 6 p.m. MST in Desert Financial Arena. The winner will move on to the regional semifinals next weekend.
Notable Stats
- Arizona State (30-2, 17-1 Big 12) beat New Hampshire (18-10, 7-3 American East) with the help of a strong defense, holding the Wildcats to a .082 clip. This is the seventh time this season that ASU has held an opponent to a sub-.100 hitting percentage.
- The Sun Devils improve to 12-20 in the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the second round for the second year in a row.
- The win tonight added to many notable streaks and records from this season. It is the 18th win in a row, still in second on the list of longest win streaks. It was the 20th sweep of the year, tied for the most in a single season in program history with the 2023 total. Additionally, the 30 wins on the year is one away from the program record.
- Blocking was a strong point again for Arizona State, collecting 11 in the sweep. It is the eighth match with double-digit blocks this season.
- Graduate Claire Jeter had a stand-out match, earning a career-high six aces, which is the most by a Sun Devil in a single match this season. It also is tied for the 10th-most all-time at ASU and fourth-most in the rally-scoring era. She also had 10 kills on a .500 clip and a game team-high eight blocks. This was her 10th match this year with kills in double figures.
- Leading all players in kills was graduate pin hitter Roberta Rabelo with 11. It was her second match in double figures this year, 19th of her career. She also added a pair of blocks and digs.
- Graduate libero Mary Shroll had a match-high 15 digs. It was her 30th match of the year in double figures, which is all but two matches.
- Notching her 14th double-double of the year was graduate setter Argentina Ung with 27 assists and 10 digs. She also had three kills, two blocks and an ace.
Set One: ASU 25, New Hampshire 17See you tomorrow, Tempe ??#ForksUp /// #NCAAWVB pic.twitter.com/mv3zdEZma0
— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) December 7, 2024
The Sun Devils began their tournament run with a 7-3 start, consisting of four kills, two from Rabelo, to go up against the Wildcats and force them into their first timeout. Arizona State kept its lead safe, up 18-14 with help from Cyr's three kills, a block from Jeter, and an ace by Ung. A kill by Cromartie brought ASU to a 20-14 lead, UNH calling for its second timeout. Cromartie didn't stop there, adding two more kills along with one from Ung and a block from Jeter to bring the Sun Devil to set point, 24-17. Arizona State clinched the first set at 25-17 off Jeter's third kill.
Set Two: ASU 25, New Hampshire 17
After taking the first set, ASU came into the second up 6-3 with Jeter coming in hot with two blocks and a pair of kills. The Wildcats battled back and quickly grabbed a 7-6 lead, however, another set of kills and an ace by Jeter gave the Sun Devils the lead back, 9-7. ASU up 10-7 pushed UNH to call a timeout to stop the momentum. Five kills by the Sun Devils, including two from Cromartie, brought ASU to a 16-10 advantage. The Wildcats responded by going on a 3-0 scoring run, making it 17-14 and pressuring the Sun Devils into their first timeout. Arizona State responded back with a 3-0 run of its own, pushing the advantage to 20-14. A kill by Rabelo and an ace by Jeter brought ASU to a 21-16 lead before UNH called for a timeout. Another ace by Jeter and a kill from Robelo carried ASU to set point, 24-17. A block by Kjolhede gave ASU a 2-0 match lead after winning the set 25-17.
S3 | MONSTER. BLOCK. ????
— Sun Devil Volleyball (@SunDevilVB) December 7, 2024
A pancake from @argeentinaung keeps the rally going for @CyrAngelique and @clairejeterr to finish it ??
???: ESPN+#ForksUp pic.twitter.com/AZw49PTkgh
Set Three: ASU 25, New Hampshire 19
The third set got underway with both teams splitting the first six points. ASU took a short-lived 11-10 lead prior to UNH tying it up again, 11-11. Two blocks for the Sun Devils helped carry into a 15-12 lead before a media timeout. Arizona State returned with a 4-0 scoring run with two kills and another ace from Jeter to reach a 20-13 lead, compelling UNC to call a timeout. The Wildcats battled back with a 3-0 run, 21-17, making the Sun Devils call for a timeout to regroup. Kills by Robelo, Kjolhede, and Ung brought ASU to set point, 24-19, UNC called a timeout with hope to stay alive. A dominant kill by Cromartie finalized a Sun Devil 25-19 victory over the Wildcats for a spot in Saturday's game against Texas A&M.
Up Next
Arizona State will host Texas A&M on Saturday night at 6 p.m. MST. It will be live on ESPN+.