TEMPE, Ariz. – The Arizona State volleyball team will play in the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 2006 season and the first time under head coach Jason Watson. ASU (20-13, 9-11 Pac-12) will face Oklahoma (21-10, 9-6 Big 12) on Friday in Provo, Utah.
The Sun Devils met Wells Fargo Arena on Sunday to watch the NCAA Tournament Selection Show, where first-round pairings were announced.
Watson is now the fifth ASU volleyball coach to make it to the NCAA postseason, joining Brad Saindon, Patti Snyder-Park, Debbie Brown and Dale Flickinger.
The last time ASU went to the NCAA tournament was 2006 under Saindon. ASU has made 15 appearances in the tournament and has an 8-15 record in the event.
Watson has been to the tournament three times previously, all with BYU. He is 4-3 in NCAA postseason play, his most recent appearnce a 3-1 showing in 2007 after making it to the second round before BYU was outlasted by eventual champion No. 1 Penn State on Dec. 1, 2007.
ASU’s 20 wins thus far in 2012 are the most under Watson and the most for the program since it went 20-8 in 1993 under Snyder-Park. That team went to the second round of the tournament.
