Hoping to get its season started on a positive note, the ASU volleyball team opens up its 2006 campaign hosting the Hilton Phoenix/East Mesa Sun Devil Volleyball Classic this weekend.
The Sun Devils begin play Friday night against Northeastern and finish the round-robin tournament on Saturday by facing both Utah Valley State and Loyola Marymount.
After losing two of its first three matches last year, coach Brad Saindon is hoping his team can get off to a better start this time around.
"We want to win this tournament," he said. "That would give us a lot of momentum."
Saindon said he expects Loyola Marymount to be the best team the Sun Devils will face this weekend. He added the match takes on additional significance because the two teams are in the same region.
"That match is very important in terms of our regional ranking," Saindon said. "They have a great volleyball tradition and they are going to be a really good team. We're going to have to play really well to beat them."
The Lions are coming off a successful 2005 season, making the NCAA tournament for the third straight year. Their 19-11 overall record made for their 16th straight winning season under coach Steve Stratos.
Loyola Marymount also returns five starters from last year's squad, including junior Heather Hughes, a first-team All-West Coast Conference selection in 2005 when she led the team with 370 kills.
The match against Northeastern will bring two siblings together on opposing sides, as Huskies' senior captain Ashley Reeves is the younger sister of ASU senior outside hitter Nina Reeves.
"I think it's great," Nina Reeves said. "We never thought it would happen. We're both seniors now, but I redshirted. It's funny that it's both our last seasons. Whoever thought that would happen; playing your younger sister in the same year?"
The Huskies went 11-16 overall in 2005, and will be led this year by Ashley Reeves, who appeared in all 27 matches last season and led the team with 99 blocks. ASU must also watch out for senior outside hitter Whitney Turner, whose 2.64 kills-per-game average was best on the squad.
"They're a very good team out of the East Coast, but they are a team that we should beat," Saindon said.
Utah Valley State comes into the 2006 season having won eight straight matches at the end of last year, and will look to senior Lacee Koelliker, the school's all-time assist leader, to lead them in 2006.
One concern for the Sun Devils this weekend is the absence of junior outside hitter Kristin Trayser, who has a herniated disc in her back, an injury Saindon said will keep her out indefinitely.
"That's a big blow for us because she's a very important player," he said. "It's disappointing for us, and I know it's disappointing for her because she was really looking forward to this year."
Reach the reporter at matthew.storey@asu.edu
