Culture for the ASU women's volleyball program goes far beyond the court.
After coming off a disappointing season in 2016, the Sun Devils began to rebuild. This transition into the 2017 season included a new set of coaches as well as 10 new players, leaving only eight returning from the spring.
Senior libero Halle Harker said one of the biggest transformations the program made from spring to fall was focusing on defining what the team's culture means to them.
“Our coaches gave us the responsibility, and we had to sit down as a core group of girls, and we were like, ‘Ok what does the culture even mean? What do we want to represent? What are our core values?,’ and one of our biggest core values is family,” Harker said.
The coaching staff promotes team bonding experiences and different workouts that build family values, but the biggest point that Harker advocates is unconditional love.
“That word is definitely thrown around loosely in today’s society, but we take it very seriously,” Harker said. “What it means to us is (that) it doesn’t matter what the statistic is, what the result looks like; at the end of the day we’re going to love you unconditionally."
Harker said that while the team still has room to grow, she’s seen a transformation from previous seasons to now, and fellow senior middle blocker Oluoma Okaro agrees.
“I think since we’re a lot more integrated this year it helps us stay together on the court in those critical moments,” Okaro said after the North Dakota State win on Friday.
“I think that was our big problem last year. Even though we had so much skill, it was skill diverted there and there; it was so many repulsive forces."
Okaro said that while last year was “cliquey,” the integration of the new players has run smoothly. The women often hang out with one another, which Okaro said helps them in practice.
“The best part about it is we have one freshman from Serbia, one from Canada, so we have people from all over,” Okaro said. “I personally think it’s very interesting to learn about their different cultures, where they’re from, what they do. We’re always trying to get to know one another better.”
The coaches have prioritized inclusiveness on the team, and while they gave their players the responsibility of creating the bond, they have helped facilitate in other ways.
“They’re not about seniority versus freshman, they’re not about singling us out, so I think the culture really helps our team,” Okaro said.
This can already be seen with the number of underclassmen that received playing time in the Sun Devil Volleyball Classic, most notably freshman setter Shelbie Dobmeier, who picked up 36 assists on Saturday and was selected for the all-tournament team alongside Okaro.
With the coaching staff being entirely new, the players are not resisting the coach's decisions. Junior transfer hitter Peyton Grahovac knows that by trusting in the coaches, the team has a chance to build something special.
“We know that they have the best intentions for us ... it’s like a whole new environment. Even the type of volleyball we’re doing is new for us,” Grahovac said. “We like that we’re at the beginning of a new culture. It’s our chance to start something fresh here at ASU.”
The new beginning for the Sun Devils may illicit struggles, but if the team remains undivided they will be a force to be reckoned with.
“No matter how you play, all we really care about is your attitude and effort, and that goes to show for every single person,” Harker said.
The Sun Devils hope to continue their winning streak this weekend at the Gonzaga Invitational in Spokane, Washington. The tournament begins Friday at 11 a.m. where ASU will face the University of Nevada-Reno before taking on Gonzaga at 7 p.m.
Reach the reporter at klbroder@asu.edu or follow @KellyB1459 on Twitter.
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