Arizona State volleyball team embraces underdog role heading into Sweet 16 game against Stanford

Last season the Arizona State volleyball team finished 13-19, ninth in the Pac-12. Its top offensive player transferred to a conference rival. Others left too. A coaching change was made.

But what a difference a year can make.

The fifth-seeded Sun Devils now find themselves going where few ASU teams before it have - the Sweet 16.

ASU (28-6) has a regional semifinal date with conference foe and the region's No. 1 seed Stanford (28-3) at 9:30 p.m. Thursday at Maples Pavilion, a berth in the Elite Eight on the line. It will be televised on ESPNU. It will follow the match held in the same venue between No. 3 Tennessee (26-4) and No. 2 Texas (24-4).

This marks the first time in the Sweet 16 for ASU since 1995, but it is the first time the program has won two NCAA tournament matches, the format having expanded to 64 teams in 1998. Win or lose, the Sun Devils will have registered the best winning percentage in school history.

"I definitely knew we could be here and we had the potential and I really hoped we would, but again it was like, `Oh like the chances are slim and all that stuff but then to pull it out, I was like, `Wow. We were meant to be here," said senior Marta Levinska, who leads the team in kills (554), attack percentage (.352) and service aces (43). "It's a great feeling because you believe it but it's sometimes hard to fully understand that's actually a possibility. "

JJ Van Niel was the one tasked with trying to engineer a resurgence. Van Niel, an assistant at USC the previous five years, set what he thought was an attainable goal but a monumental one for a team that had posted five straight losing seasons.

"We said we want to make the tournament for sure. That was a goal," Van Niel said. "What I saw in the spring was a team that was invested in everything we were working on. I mean we were last in serving last year and this year we're one of the best serving teams in the country. They bought in and were ready to go. I don't like to talk about the past because it's gone. I came in and it was a new year and we said we wanted to make the tournament and I'm stoked that we did."

Making the tournament was one thing. Winning once getting there? Well, that's another significant accomplishment. The Sun Devils defeated Georgia and Brigham Young in their first two matches with no doubt, sweeping both foes 3-0 in Provo, Utah.

Most didn't think his team would win a playoff match, much less two. Yes, they are embracing the underdog role.

"Its been an awesome experience," he said. "They like when people doubt us, pick us to lose. We like it when people pick against us."

The team has a tight bond among the players.

"I'm very proud of us," junior middle blocker Claire Jeter said. "I think the ones that stuck it out here are really thankful and excited that we did because we really couldn't have had a better coaching staff. And we have a really good group of girls. It's been so much fun. The group of girls we have are insane. We're so close and the coaching staff is so fun. We always want to do things together. The ride has been awesome and winning consistently is obviously the best feeling you can have as an athlete."

Levinska has powered the offense with support from other hitters in sophomore Geli Cyr and junior Roberta Rabelo and the catalyst, senior setter Shannon Shields, a product of Xavier Prep. Jeter and senior Maddie McLaughlin have been imposing blockers with Corona Del Sol alum Mary Shroll as the defensive anchor at libero.

While ASU now finds itself going head-to-head with a regional No. 1 seed and the tournament's overall No. 2 seed behind Nebraska, the Sun Devils go in with confidence as the only Pac-12 team to beat the Cardinal, whose only other losses this season were to Florida and Nebraska. Not only did ASU win, it did so convincingly, 25-16, 25-21, 25-14.

That win came in Tempe after Stanford swept ASU earlier in the season on its home floor.

"I felt like we were playing loose and free," Van Niel said of the two past showdowns with the juggernaut. "The first time we played them, I don't know, we were worried about our record or what it was. We were not our typical selves. The second time we really were just having fun, playing free, ripping it."

Van Niel, who earned both conference and regional coach of the year honors, likes that there is no pressure on his team but adds its not "going there to lose." The success has also been facilitated by the bonds that have been established between the players and the coaching staff.

"We want to win. There's no pressure. They're supposed to win, they're expected to win but we've been playing great. We've been passing the ball and have to continue to do that," he said. "It's been a blast. But the most enjoyable part is being with this team. I told them after the last match. The best part of winning now is I get to be with them another week. Because when we're done, we're done. It's tough."

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona State volleyball faces Stanford in NCAA Sweet 16