(Photo: Ryan Bafaloukos/WCSN)
It has been over a month since the Arizona State Sun Devils’ season was ended in the first round of the NCAA tournament by way of a five-set loss against the BYU Cougars.
In many ways, that match embodied the season for the Sun Devils. They started strong taking the first set, dropped two winnable sets by way of unbalanced play, stole a fourth set by the skin of their teeth, and ultimately dropped the final set despite a 27-kill effort from sophomore outside hitter Macey Gardner.
That match, like the entire season, was a roller coaster of emotional highs and lows.
After a start that landed the Sun Devils as the No. 15 team in the country, they followed up with a seven match losing streak that left them wondering if the tournament was even a possibilty. How could a team that swept defending national champion Texas (who eventually reached the national semifinals, losing to Wisconsin) go through a month of October without winning a single match?
They are young.
After watching the conclusion of the NCAA tournament, one thing seemed to be consistent in teams that made deep runs in the tournament: experience. The final four teams (national champion Penn St., Texas, Wisconsin, and Washington) all carried rosters filled with juniors and seniors playing critical roles. Those older players were able to weather the momentum swings that are so vital in the sport of volleyball, and that seemed to be the only missing piece for the Sun Devils.
Not a single Sun Devil attacker outside of junior outside hitter Nora Tuioti-Mariner had more than one season of collegiate play under her belt, and sophomore setter Bianca Arellano was in her first season in Tempe having transferred from the University of Tennessee last season.
Repeatedly throughout the year, ASU head coach Jason Watson would say the team needed to focus longer, stay on task longer, keep the level of play higher for a longer period of time in matches. When his team did that, the Sun Devils seemed to have the talent to compete with any team in the country. However, when they failed to do so, uneven performances followed and plagued them.
That being said, the future is extremely bright for the program as a whole. They have now made two consecutive postseason appearances for the first time since 1999-2000, have all but one starter returning (graduating senior libero Stephanie Preach), an All-Pac-12 player in Gardner, and freshman outside hitter BreElle Bailey coming off of a season that earned her a spot on the All Pac-12 Freshman Team.
With all the talent and potential coming back, next season will likely come with higher expectations both internal and external, and it will be quite a spectacle to see how the team handles those expectations.
You can reach Zac Pacleb on Twitter @ZacPacleb or via email at zacpacleb@gmail.com
