It took about four weeks to find the replacement volleyball coach when Jason Watson departed to the University of Arkansas. When athletic director Ray Anderson happened upon then-Penn State assistant coach Stevie Mussie and met with her, he said the "exclamation points" were there.
He rattled off a list of the points that made her stand out, including sincerity, passion and experience. He also spoke of intelligence and the desire to help ASU volleyball grow.
"We know that is a tall order, but we are very confident that we got it right and quite frankly got it all with Stevie Mussie," Anderson said.
Mussie served as the assistant coach for Penn State women's volleyball for two years, winning the National Championship in 2014 under 37-year PSU coach Russ Rose, who has won seven championships since 1999.
"If you think about 'The Godfather,' that's him," she said. "The things that come out of his mouth are super witty, and you're trying to grab anything you can throughout the whole experience."
She said that coaching under him taught her to not coach in a system, the way she had formerly coached and played while in college. Instead, she'll tailor the offense to specific personnel.
Mussie's hire to ASU was announced on Feb. 3, and she had an introductory press conference on Monday afternoon at the Karsten Golf Center.
She said she plans on changing the culture of the indoor and beach volleyball teams to have more energy and a tighter connection with the alumni. She said alumni email her "two or three times" daily, which is different from the past.
Additionally, she wants the community to be more involved. She is confident she can do it through recruitment of local talent.
"I think it's really important to understand that volleyball is huge in this area," she said. "You have probably 10 kids going to top 25 schools in the country living in a two-mile radius."
This culture change comes at an ideal time for ASU. The five woman senior class that made up the core of ASU volleyball during its time in the program is scheduled to graduate in May, opening the door for young players to take charge. Freshman Kylie Pickrell, Jasmine Koonts and Lexi MacLean got extensive playing time during the season.
Only three seniors are expected to be active next year.
Despite the young players, Mussie sees the team as a budding one.
"This place can be something very, very special," she said. "I'm excited about the girls and what's coming, and I can tell you guys it's going to be a fun ride."
Mussie is one of two female African-American head coaches in a Power Five conference. The other one? Former ASU assistant coach Linda Hampton-Keith, who was hired at North Carolina State University earlier this year.
"I think volleyball is continuing to grow across the board from all economical stances so that's important as kids can get more involved and then they see that, 'hey, this is a real thing,'" Mussie said. "It's not just white males that are coaching volleyball, it's women, men of color, women of color, and so it's just kind of a nice thing for everyone to see, and I think it'll continue to trend upward."
Mussie said that she and Hampton-Keith have spoken about it and how they "pave the way" for future athletes of color to have coaching positions. They're trying to map it out.
"I want my girls to see that it's possible," Mussie said. "A lot of my former teammates are still playing, and they're always asking what's the route."
Anderson said he's happy that ASU could provide Mussie with her first head coaching job and "have that woman be a minority" is something he's proud of. However, he said that it was not the reason she was hired.
"One of our core values is inclusion," he said. "To have the kind of opportunity to kind of hit on all of them was a real plus for us, but make no mistake about it: Stevie Mussie is our head volleyball coach because she was the best person available."
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