Senior middle blocker Claire Jeter prides herself on making this season one to remember. The 18-2 Sun Devils are now tied with the University of Florida as the 17th-ranked team in the nation, and Jeter plans to help continue the hot streak with her years of valuable experience.
Jeter's volleyball story started years later in comparison to her fellow teammates. Mostly playing softball for eight years, Jeter began playing volleyball when she entered the eighth grade.
Then, she played club volleyball for the Houston Skyline Juniors in 2016 and was a four-year starter as a middle blocker and right side at Ridge Point High School.
Back home in Texas during her junior year, she made the state tournament and was named to the Texas All-State Team, AVCA Preseason Phenom list, the MVP of the 6A district, and achieved Academic All-District for four consecutive years.
During her senior year, she was named an All-American by PrepVolleyball.com. Jeter was also named to the Under Armour All-Region team and the Under Armour All-American Second Team.
Jeter played at Texas A&M University during the 2020-2021 spring season before coming to ASU. Her passion for volleyball formed through her mother, who also played college volleyball at San Jacinto Junior College for two years.
Since arriving at ASU, Jeter has learned a lot about leadership. She is thankful for her teammates who helped contribute to her senior year captaincy — teaching her that everyone has a role in life.
"I would have to thank JJ for implementing leadership so well since the very beginning," Jeter said. "I love being able to help and sister all the girls and push them forward. These are the names and future of the program, and I want to help them get there."
Volleyball head coach JJ Van Niel said Jeter is highly deserving of her title as a team leader, and he's more than pleased with Jeter's output in the role.
"Claire has always been a leader for people to look up to," junior outside hitter Geli Cyr said. "She is your hype woman on any day, no matter what. It is so nice to have her on the court, knowing she will do her job well and not give up on you or herself. She's a great role model for everyone on the team."
Something that portrayed her resilience was Jeter battling through an injury all season. She was relentless in recovery, attending all her physical therapy appointments every day, and even had trainings at home.
"She persevered through an injury leading by example," Van Niel said. "She did not make excuses to do anything she can to be successful still, and that leaves a great message for the team."
Jeter didn’t want this injury to pause her senior season. Being the "perfectionist" and "hard worker" that her teammates label her, nothing stopped her from being a more efficient blocker and the offensive goals she made.
"It's not the best but also not the worst thing to happen, as it is something I can work through," Jeter said. "It's not the end of the world. You just have to keep pushing."
So far, Jeter has done just that, holding down the court with the most points for blocking on her team with 68.0 and has the fourth-highest kills with 108. Jeter is also ranked fifth on the team for assists and serving aces, with 11 assists and 18 serving aces.
This season has been a special one for Jeter, and she aspires to continue proving the Sun Devils' capability to those who judge them harshly for their past performances. Jeter hopes the audience notices the special connection between the team that they've worked hard all year to build on the court.
"There is not one person on this team who I don't look up to because we all have a great relationship with each other," Jeter said. "It's super easy to play for a team like this because of the trust we have with each other. I think that’s a rare thing to say about a team."
Edited by Alfred Smith III, Walker Smith and Caera Learmonth.
Reach the reporter at linunez@asu.edu and follow @laurentahuka on X.
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