No. 15 ASU volleyball has three more games in the coming weekend, but the team’s main focus is on No. 9 Colorado State.
“They’ve got that caliber of play that we’ll see when we get to the Pac-12,” freshman setter Kylie Pickrell said. “That’s the match that we’re really looking forward to.”
The Rams went 31-3 last season. The final loss came against Texas in the Sweet 16, just one round after the Longhorns defeated ASU.
The Rams' season was highlighted by an 18-game winning streak. They were so dominant, they didn’t lose a single set from Sept. 4 through Oct. 25 — for almost two straight months, every CSU match ended with a 3-0 Rams victory.
ASU contributed to CSU’s winning streak, when the Sun Devils fell 3-2 to the Rams in mid-September.
Accuracy was vital for CSU. Then-senior Marlee Reynolds had 13 kills and hit .385. Then-senior Kelsey Snider had 14 kills while hitting .400.
Lucky for ASU, Reynolds, Snider and CSU’s starting setter all graduated. Also lucky, senior middle blocker Whitney Follette is healthy.
Last season, she was sitting against CSU after receiving appendicitis surgery a week earlier.
Her absence was felt. In the first two sets, CSU hit a whopping 47 percent.
On Tuesday, Arellano said the new 6-2 system helps ASU play better defense.
“Our blocking stats went way up,” she said, referring to last weekend when ASU recorded 19 blocks against New Mexico State.
CSU will rely on sophomore outside hitter Jasmine Hanna, who had the second-most kills for the Rams last year (328).
“They have some athletic outside hitters,” Arellano said. “We’re just expecting the best from them.”
ASU’s Saturday matches come against Western Michigan and Northern Colorado.
Western Michigan also made the NCAA tournament, getting swept in the first round by fourth-seed Wisconsin.
Also like CSU, WMU saw key players graduate during the offseason. Setter Lexie Pawlik is no longer on the team, being replaced by freshman setter Mary Murphy. Murphy was ranked as a Senior Ace Top 250 by PrepVolleyball.com.
Murphy is living up to the hype so far. She has 178 kills in four matches, averaging more than 10 per set.
Ali Gossen, the player with the second-most kills, also graduated. The team’s depth could negate the loss of her, though; two other players hit at least 300 kills, including junior outside hitter Alysia Baznik, who had 403.
ASU wraps up the three-game weekend against Northern Colorado. The Bears lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament, falling 3-1 to in-state rival Colorado.
NCU is 1-2 so far this season. It still has its leading killer and starting setter from last season, signaling potential to snap a losing streak before it truly begins.
However, NCU’s second- and third-best hitters, in terms of total kills, graduated. Only one person remaining on the team had more than 200 kills last season.
ASU will have to play against a trio of NCAA-tournament-caliber teams in the early stages of the season. Head coach Jason Watson said that with CSU in particular, the environment will be fun.
“It’s going to be this fun little matchup for us early in the season to go into an environment with lots of people,” he said. “I’m excited to just throw it up and see where we’re at.”
Reach the reporter at logan.newman@asu.edu or follow @Logan_Newsman on Twitter.
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