![]Junior outside hitter Cassidy Pickrell, left, greets her teammates as she enters the court before the game against Oregon State on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2015, at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. The Sun Devils defeated the Beavers three games to none to improve to 13-0 on the season (25-18, 25-19, 25-20).](https://snworksceo.imgix.net/asp/844406f7-3c93-4924-ab58-d0dfc683ab92.sized-1000x1000.JPG?w=1000)
Junior outside hitter Cassidy Pickrell quietly waits on the white cushioned ASU chairs after practice at Weatherup Center. It’s a departure from her typical bubbly personality; she’s exhausted, and is icing her jammed thumb.
“I’m really tired,” she said.
She’s been putting in work to improve. She’s had to become a leader on the team a year earlier than expected.
“This is something that both (junior outside hitter) BreElle (Bailey) and Cassidy have to become in order for us to continue doing what it is that we’re doing,” head coach Jason Watson said. “Not only for this season to make a run for the NCAA tournament, but for next season.”
Bailey begins her sprint on the left side of the court as the ball was passed to senior setter Bianca Arellano. As Arellano hits the ball, Bailey springs in the air. Her right arm extends backward, well past her ear in a long backswing, and she swipes forward to hit the ball between blockers.
It falls for a kill.
Her swing has been refined in the month without senior outside hitter Macey Gardner or junior Kizzy Ricedorff.
“Bre’s getting super comfortable staying on the outside, which I like,” Arellano said. “In my rotation one I like to side her out on the outside.”
Her mechanics are more consistent. In the past, her backswing would often be short or angled too close to 90 degrees.
“You’ve seen her cut, it’s so sharp,” Arellano said. “No one else, I think, can do that in the Pac-12. If it’s a nice, high set, she can cut it so sharp.”
Bailey said she’s been discovering who she is as a player.
“I play a high volleyball game,” Bailey said. “My strength is my length and how tall I am.”
The hit goes between blockers. She is working on that skill, Arellano said.
“(Bailey) had a couple seam shots,” she said. “She did it for the first time last weekend.”
The pass to Pickrell comes out of system. She’s not ready to get a good hit on the ball.
Standing at the net on the right side, Pickrell taps the ball cross-court to the opposite side. The ball doesn’t land far from mid-court; it finds a hole near the left side.
Pickrell laughs as she jogs to the center of her side to huddle with her teammates.
This creativity has allowed Pickrell to become a more efficient hitter. She rarely airs the ball anymore, and pulls it to the side less often than earlier in the year.
Her hitting percentage remains low, but this is more of a construct of usage, not due to technique.
Since the match against Washington in which Gardner got injured, Pickrell has averaged more than 33 attempts per match. One of every four passes will go to her.
“Cassidy’s just been a great addition overall,” Arellano said. “I can’t even thank her so much for coming to ASU.”
If Pickrell hadn’t transferred ASU would be dealing with hitters’ injuries differently.
The team would be relying more heavily on Bailey. Her usage is inconsistent. In the last four games, her attempts per set average are 6.3, 5.2, 9.25 and 5.6, respectively.
Gardner’s injury didn’t just affect the offense; the defense suffered as well. ASU and Washington were fighting for the best opponent’s hitting percentage. On Oct. 9, Washington’s was at .117 and ASU’s was at .119.
Since, ASU’s has risen to .169.
Bailey has been instrumental in keeping it from rising more with her net defense.
She averages 0.88 blocks per set this year, the highest amongst ASU non-middles. 17 are solo, the second-highest on the team.
“It’s height a little, but I think it’s mostly eye-work,” she said. “Having good eyes and finding the hitter really soon.”
The net presence allows the back row to dig better.
Pickrell has recorded double-digit digs in four of the last five matches. She racked up 21 against Washington State, her career-best.
She said her increased dig count comes from improving on retrieving deflections from the net.
“We’re playing a lot better off-block on defense,” she said.
Ricedorff’s return still has not been announced. She, Pickrell and Bailey are expected to lead the team next season when the seniors who have cemented themselves into ASU’s game plan — Arellano, Binns, Follette, Gardner — have graduated.
They’ve begun to take over this year.
“If anything, next season came a little early for them,” Watson said. “What they’re able to do and the way they’re responding and the way they understand the urgency behind what it is that we’re doing. … It’s only going to help them be better when they get to do it next year.”
Related Links:
Jason Watson earns 200th career win as ASU volleyball tops Utah
ASU women's volleyball improves last week's errors, falls in five to Colorado
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