Webb-Burbridge Classic This Weekend at Home for #14 Volleyball

By: Danny Sullivan, media relations intern

ASU home tournament notes

Tempe – After three weeks on the road, No. 14 Sun Devil Volleyball is in Tempe for the first time this season to host the Webb-Burbridge Classic. Arizona State will welcome Prairie View A&M, Memphis and Montana State to Desert Financial Arena from September 19-21. 

How to Follow
Arizona State will begin the weekend against Prairie View A&M on Thursday at 11 a.m. MST. The tournament will roll on with a Friday night tilt against Memphis at 7 p.m. MST, and the final contest against Montana State will take place on Saturday at 12 p.m. MST.

All matches will be streamed on ESPN+. There will be live stats for all matches. Updates will be provided on social media as well on X (@SunDevilVB) and Instagram (@sundevilvolleyball).
The tournament website is here.

Sun Devil Outlook
No. 14 Arizona State (8-1)

• The Sun Devils posted a 2-1 weekend at the Nebraska classic, moving the season record to 8-1. ASU logged both wins in straight sets over Wichita State and Long Beach State.
• Arizona State suffered its first loss in the 2024 campaign to No. 5 Nebraska in straight sets. This was the Sun Devils first non-conference loss since September 16, 2022. Head coach JJ Van Niel is 20-1 in non-conference play.
• Arizona State remains the same in the AVCA Coaches Poll at No. 14. This is the 14th-consecutive poll the Sun Devils have been ranked in.
• Graduate libero Mary Shroll was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday, the first Big 12 award for the program. She continued her impressive start to the season over the weekend, leading all players in digs. Shroll has had double-digit digs in 11-straight matches dating back to last season. Additionally, she is just 13 digs away from totaling 1,500 in her career.
• The No. 1 hitting percentage in the nation belongs to graduate middle blocker Claire Jeter at .549. She has yet to record an error this season, notching 73 kills on 133 attempts.
• Senior Geli Cyr is the first on the team to reach 100 total kills, sitting exactly at 100 after nine matches. She led the Sun Devils in total kills this past weekend and 14 of those kills came against No. 5 Nebraska at a strong .357 clip to pace the team.
• The primary setter this season has been graduate Argentina Ung. She has 295 assists on the year, 191 from 3,000 career assists. She also has had two double-doubles on the season.

Opponent Outlook
Prairie View A&M (2-8)

• The Panthers competed in the TCU tournament this past weekend, going 1-2 in their matchups with losses in straight sets to host No. 25 TCU and UCLA. A&M notched a 3-2 win over Texas A&M University - Commerce to salvage their weekend.
• Last year, the Panthers went 19-13, ending with a SWAC tournament loss to Florida A&M.
• This will be the first matchup in school history between Arizona State and Prairie View A&M

Memphis (5-4)

• The Tigers went 2-1 over the weekend in the Bluff City Showdown, with wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Indiana State. Memphis fell short to Lamar, losing in straight sets.
• In 2023, Memphis went 11-20, with a 7-12 record in conference play.
• ASU leads in the all-time series 1-0, with that win coming in straight sets back in 2023.

Montana State (1-7)

• Montana State suffered an 0-3 weekend at the South Dakota classic with losses to host South Dakota, UTEP and Iowa State.
• Last year, the Bobcats went 24-9 with an appearance in the NIVC tournament.
• Arizona State leads Montana State in the all-time series 3-0, with the first matchup dating back to 1982.