ASU volleyball looks ahead to Pac-12 play

(Photo: Ryan Bafaloukos/WCSN)

After a solid showing in the non-conference schedule, No. 19 Arizona State kicks off their Pac-12 schedule against No. 18 Arizona in Tucson. This time last season, ASU was riding high on an 11-1 record and reveling in the attention following their upset of then-No. 2 and then-defending national champion Texas.

However, that ASU team would eventually go on a seven-match losing streak during Pac-12 play en route to an 8-12 conference record before exiting the NCAA Tournament in the first round.

Head coach Jason Watson’s squad has shown a much more seasoned approach to the game both on and off the court, and all signs were pointing toward them fulfilling the Pac-12 preseason coaches’ poll that had them finishing fourth in the conference.

However, those plans got a curveball when junior middle blocker Whitney Follette underwent abdominal surgery due to a ruptured appendix while the team was in Kentucky. Now, ASU now goes into conference season unsure of when their most efficient hitter will return to the court.

In addition to lacking Follette, the Sun Devils will play four of their first five matches on the road, including the always-difficult trip to the mountain region to take on Colorado and Utah. Watson will be forced to find solutions to replace the productivity of Follette in this stretch, and whether Follette’s positional replacement will be to use junior Andi Lowrance or continuing to experiment with redshirt freshman Kwyn Johnson.

Follette is reportedly out 4-6 weeks, which has her out for about the first half of the conference season if one was to include bringing her back marginally.

If the Sun Devils can make it through that (at worst) six-week stretch at least 6-6, that’ll put them in position to come out of conference season above .500 for the first time under Watson.

Naturally, that is much easier said than done. Of the seven ranked Pac-12 teams, ASU is the second-to-lowest team at No. 19. Only UCLA is lower at No. 20, but that is only a testament to the depth of talent in the conference.

In any other conference, a case could be made that teams like ASU, UCLA and No. 14 Oregon would be the best team, but this is the Pac-12, and that means dealing with the monsters that are Stanford, Washington and USC who are No. 1, No. 4 and No. 9 respectively.

Where will ASU land in the conference standings come the conclusion of conference play at the end of November? It all depends on the timing of Follette’s return. If she can get back to pre-surgery form quickly enough, the Sun Devils will be fine.

They have the depth to steady the ship against the lesser-talented likes of California, Oregon State and the rest of the unranked teams, but to challenge the upper tier of the Pac-12 (in other words, the upper tier of the country), Watson will need his team at full strength.

If that happens, the Sun Devils finish fourth in the conference. If not, and if the loss of Follette rocks their confidence as much as missing a key player can do to a team, ASU could see another finish in the lower half of the Pac-12, something that would now be a disappointment because of the steadily rising expectations in Tempe.

You can reach Zac Pacleb on Twitter @ZacPacleb or via email at zacpacleb@gmail.com

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