The ASU volleyball team is looking to shock the Pac-10 this season.
Coach Brad Saindon will begin his fifth season at the helm of the Sun Devils when they travel to Las Vegas for the UNLV Classic this weekend.
ASU is coming off the team's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2002.
"We feel like we turned a huge corner for the program last season, and considering the competition of the Pac-10, it's not an easy corner to turn," Saindon said.
After one of his most successful seasons as the Sun Devils' coach, going 16-5 (7-11 Pac-10) before losing to Florida in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Saindon said he likes the position his team is in going into this season.
The team returns six seniors, more than any other Pac-10 team, and also brought in some newcomers that should contribute early.
"We have some solid veteran leadership and some youthful enthusiasm and it's a nice combination," Saindon said. "I really like where we're at right now."
Of the seniors returning for a final season, none are more decorated than libero Sydney Donahue.
Last season Donahue broke the Pac-10 single-season record for digs, recording 742.
Donahue is ASU's all-time leader in digs and needs just 326 more to break the conference record for digs in a career, which was set last season by USC's Debora Seilhamer.
"Of course I want to get the digs to break the record, but I'm more focused on making it back to the tournament and chipping away at the elite teams in the Pac-10," Donahue said.
Saindon said without question the Pac-10 is the preeminent conference in college volleyball.
Four Pac-10 teams are ranked in the Top 10 of the CSTV/AVCA's preseason poll with No. 2 Stanford showing up once again as the cream of the crop.
The Cardinal returns three All-Americans in senior setter Bryn Kehoe, junior outside hitter Cynthia Barboza and junior middle blocker Foluke Akinradewo. The Sun Devils will face the trio on Oct. 19 at Wells Fargo Arena and Nov. 16 at Maples Pavillion in Palo Alto, Calif.
No. 6 USC and No. 5 UCLA were picked to finish second and third respectively to Stanford in the Pac-10 preseason poll and will also be difficult match-ups for ASU.
"I want to knock off a USC or a UCLA," Donahue said.
Saindon said he thinks the Sun Devils are on the fringe of cracking into the Pac-10 elite this season and knows they will have to play to their strengths to do so.
"We are, for sure, the fastest team in America. I think when people come watch us play they'll see a difference in the speed we play at compared to the speed our opponents," Saindon said.
Exceptional passing is another aspect Saindon pointed to that will help the Sun Devils this season.
"(Passing is) kind of a subtle thing, there's no volleyball fan that's going to say, 'Oh wow, that was a great pass,'" Saindon said.
Sophomore setter Marina Mercer will be the main Sun Devil passing the ball to the hitters. Saindon said Mercer stepped up to take over the position as a redshirt freshman last season and now has a stranglehold on it.
"I can safely say I feel really confident in her as the kind of 'quarterback' of our team," Saindon said.
ASU's main concern may be the lack of depth at the outside hitter position.
Junior outside hitter Kristin Trayser is back after redshirting last season due to back surgery, but Saindon said she is still weeks from being ready.
Although she may seem undersized, 5-foot-10-inch junior outside hitter Margie Giordano has proven herself as an asset offensively, averaging 2.9 kills per game last season.
Saindon said sophomore outside hitter Paige Mittelstaedt improved dramatically during the offseason and should play a key role this season.
"I'm looking forward to (the season). I've been anxious to get on the court and start playing again," Mittelstaedt said. "I'm definitely excited and going to play my best this season."
Because of a lack of depth, true freshman outside hitter Sarah Reeves, the 2006 Arizona High School Player of the Year, will get a shot at the starting lineup early.
Controlling the net will likely be the duty of senior middle blockers Staci Smith and Colette Meek, who averaged 0.93 and 0.91 blocks per game, respectively.
Smith and Meek are also among the returning kill leaders from last season, yet Saindon said it is going to be a challenge getting more kills this season.
"We have to find a way to put balls away," Saindon said. "We have some players that are pretty good at that, but we just need to find a way to get more kills."
After competing in the UNLV Classic, the Sun Devils will return home to host the Hilton Phoenix/East Mesa Challenge at Wells Fargo Arena and then travel to Orem, Utah for the UVSC Invitational before beginning conference play in mid-September.
Reach the reporter at: devin.hicks@asu.edu.
