As the ASU volleyball team competed in the annual Maroon vs. Gold scrimmage under the bright lights of the Wells Fargo Arena, ASU coach Jason Watson watched intently from the sideline as his team geared up for the 2010 season.
So far, Watson likes what he sees.
“The quality of play in our gym has sharply risen since our last season,” Watson said. “They are competitive and they work incredibly hard. I am greatly enjoying coaching this group, more so than I have any other group.”
Under Watson’s watchful eye, the Sun Devils continue to improve as they head into his third season in Tempe.
While a winning record and top half finish in Pac-10 Conference play would be worthy of excitement and satisfaction, ASU has its sights set on collegiate volleyball’s biggest stage: the NCAA tournament.
“It’s been the theme since we got here, and certainly we want to be able to go put ourselves in a position,” Watson said. “We would love for it to be this group.”
For ASU’s two seniors, outside hitter Sarah Reaves and libero Sarah Johnson, knowing this is their final chance at making the tournament has provided extra motivation.
“I haven’t made the NCAA tournament since I’ve been here so that is a big goal to definitely go out with a bang,” Reaves said. “I want to do it for me, but also just to see this program grow.”
Watson believes that the two seniors are more than capable of leading the Sun Devils to the NCAA’s.
“We feel strongly that it would be a statement for both Sarahs that they end their career getting us into the tournament, and then the goal is to remain in there and make this constant threat,” Watson said. “I know they feel a responsibility to have it start with them, and we think that is a great place to start.”
Determined to play against the nation’s elite in December, the Sun Devils began putting in the hard work at practice months ago.
“Our practices were definitely intense,” freshman setter Stephanie Preach said. “We were in the gym pretty much all day, just playing volleyball as much as we can.”
Throughout the offseason and into practice this year, the Sun Devils narrowed their focus to several specific ways in which they can improve on the court.
“There are two key areas that we have identified that we’ve significantly upgraded,” Watson said. “One is our ability to side out. The opponent serves to us and [we’re] able to win that rally. On the other side, we need to score more points in transition.”
The Sun Devils embark on the 2010 season this week when they travel to Dayton, Ohio to compete in the University of Dayton Invitational. ASU’s non-conference schedule will be considerably more competitive this season, something it hopes the NCAA tournament committee will take notice of.
“It’s significantly harder than it was last year. That is a little bit by design,” Watson said. “We felt like we needed to challenge ourselves and see if we can get some significant wins in the non-conference and then roll into the conference season.”
Conference play will be no easy task either. The Pac-10 will again be one of the strongest volleyball conferences in the nation.
Watson and the Sun Devils hope to climb into the top half of the conference throughout the year.
“I think that you got Stanford, you got Washington, you got [Southern California], and physically they’re kind of at the top end of the conference,” Watson said. “I think for us the challenge is to get into that top half and push. We are going to have to play really good ball over long periods of time to do that.”
While the Sun Devils welcome several new players to the program, several key contributors return this season. Johnson will continue to be a vocal leader for the Sun Devils not only during games, but also during practice.
“One of the things that I really enjoyed about [Johnson] as she’s developed is that she is the same in practice as she is in matches,” Watson said. “This continuity of intensity that she has — I really like that.”
The youth on the Sun Devil squad will play an integral role this season. Watson hopes the younger players can continue to compete and be essential pieces for the team.
“I think both the [2009] recruiting class that are sophomores now and the [2010] class that we have coming in have helped us increase this mean level of play in the gym,” Watson said.
Watson believes that several of his younger players are poised for breakout seasons, including freshman outside hitter Ashley Kastl.
“I really like the work Ashley Kastl is doing,” Watson said. “Toward the latter stages of last year she kind of started to develop this identity. I think she is this kind of vocal leader, gets us kind of excited.”
Although the 2010 regular season starts Friday, the Sun Devils’ quest for the NCAA tournament has already begun.
“We were happy with our practices, but there’s obviously a lot more work to be done,” Preach said.
Reach the reporter at Gregory.Dillard@asu.edu
