Freshman setter Kylie Pickrell did not play in ASU volleyball's match Thursday against Cal. She was not injured. Her absence was a coach’s decision and it came down to two things.
One, ASU is missing two of its top four hitters to injury, limiting the appeal of having three hitters on the court at all times.
Two, which seemed to be the main reason, is that head coach Jason Watson is trying to avoid having three freshmen on the floor at one time like he did on Wednesday.
There’s an overarching theme: ASU is having an identity crisis.
"Clearly, we had, when we started this, this really nice identity,” Watson said. “Everyone knew their jobs, everyone knew their roles.”
He said the team is starting to create a new identity. It’s tough to tell what it is, though.
It’s near impossible to say who the Sun Devils are as a team, and even harder to know when they’ll compete well against a superior team (like its 23-25 loss against Stanford on Oct. 28) or just break to pieces against an inferior one (25-19 loss to Cal on Oct. 29).
The offense can go on a rampage, hitting above .300. Or, something seldom seen often in its three-year NCAA-run, the team hits around the zero percent mark in at least one set almost every match over the last month.
Defensively, the team still has strong players. Sophomore libero Halle Harker has improved and is now one of the better liberos in the conference. Senior setter Bianca Arellano is nearing her 1,000 dig mark in her third year on the team.
On the front line, senior middle blockers Mercedes Binns and Whitney Follette, along with junior outside hitter BreElle Bailey, are among the top blockers in the conference.
The loss of senior outside hitter Macey Gardner has forced junior outside hitter Cassidy Pickrell to play more defense, and she’s not as strong at that point as the aforementioned players.
Arellano used the word “emotional” to describe the team.
“We’re kind of on this emotional roller coaster,” Arellano said. “It’s just a mater of being thrown out there and not knowing what to expect.”
Bailey is becoming a bigger piece of ASU’s identity. She’s getting more involved in the offense.
“I’ve just kind of been given a new role on the team and I’m just ready to step up and fill it,” Bailey said on Oct. 26.
A month ago, ASU was a senior-dominated team with strong freshman potential.
Now, the junior hitters lead the attack. Three freshmen have been playing half the rotations on the court.
“We’re going to try to avoid having three freshmen on the floor at one time,” Watson said.
He’s planning to go back to the 6-2 offense this week. To avoid having three freshman on the court, freshman middle blocker Jasmine Koonts will likely play with Arellano as the setter instead of Kylie. Binns will potentially transition to Kylie’s rotation.
Watson says he’s optimistic, and that the team just “has to play better, longer.”
That’s tough to do against the Pac-12.
It’s safe to say that ASU is an above-average team. Its inconsistencies are likely the product of playing in a conference as tough as the Pac-12, one with four teams in the Top-10 — two of which are in the top-3 — and six are ranked.
Only one team has a sub-.500 record against non-conference teams this season.
It was bound to happen: Gardner is set to graduate, Arellano, Binns and Follette were about to hand the reigns to Bailey, Pickrell and Harker.
It’s just half-a-season sooner than expected. And because of that, the identity is in limbo.
Related Links:
No. 14 ASU loses to Cal; Kylie Pickrell sits
No. 14 ASU women's volleyball continues slide, swept by No. 7 Stanford
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