(Photo: Deja Broughton/WCSN)
While the Pac-12 is normally referred to as the conference of champions, through three weeks of conference play this season, Pac-12 women’s volleyball might best be described as the conference of parity.
The most recent AVCA poll had eight teams ranked in the Top 25, as well as two others- Utah and Colorado- receiving votes. One of those teams is Arizona State, who came in at No. 25, their first time in the rankings since 2015.
In consecutive weeks, the Pac-12 has now seen last year’s conference doormat take down a ranked opponent. First, the Devils swept then-No. 12 Oregon in Eugene. On Sunday, the Sun Devils swept No. 15 Washington, something they came close to doing last season before losing their lead.
The point that every game is up for grabs is also proven by the Devils’ losses. They sandwiched a 3-0 loss to No. 22 Washington State between their wins over ranked Pac-12 powerhouses Oregon and Washington. Each of the three outcomes goes to show just how volatile each match in the conference can be.
Arizona State’s Courtney Leffel said the Sun Devils mentality should lead to more success as the season progresses. Leffel said she feels like they “have more fight” and don’t worry about losing until it happens. Sophomore Megan Beedie shared similar feelings about the team’s attitude.
“I think we’re dialed in,” Beedie said. “A few games ago we talked about playing to win, not playing not to lose. So, I think we’re really thinking about that now.”
Last year, when the Huskies visited Tempe ranked in the top 10 nationally, they got a scare from the Sun Devils, dropping the first two sets before going on to win the match in five sets against an Arizona State team that would go winless in Pac-12 play. This time around, the Sun Devils were able to complete the upset, and improve to 4-2 in conference play for the 2018 season.
For this Sun Devil squad, the win over No. 15 Washington might serve as the clearance of a proverbial hurdle, leading them to more success in Pac-12 play.
“I’m not going to lie, we had a moment when we sat there on the bench and thought ‘well, déjà vu,’” head coach Sanja Tomasevic said following the team’s victory over the Huskies. “We said ‘Hey, we were here last year and they’re going to come out, they’re a really good team, and they’re going to come out fighting and we have to be prepared for them to come out fighting.’”
The Sun Devils were ready for the Washington response and answered the call, improving to 13-5 on the season. As Arizona State heads to Los Angeles to take on UCLA and USC this week, Tomasevic said she believes her team represents a real threat to other teams within the conference.
“People want to say that Oregon was a fluke, I’m starting to believe and I hope that people start to see that Friday was a fluke,” Tomasevic said. “This is who we are… I know we’re going to play some really, really good teams in the Pac-12, but if we play like this, it’s going to be really hard for them to beat us.”
