It is a rivalry that originated in 1885 when the University of Arizona and Tempe Normal School were both founded. The rivalry then extended to the volleyball court in 1976.
In 2010, the rivalry presses on with more intense matchups, passionate fans, and pride on the line. This is the Territorial Cup Series, a yearlong battle between ASU and UA.
The ASU volleyball team kicks off this season’s Territorial Cup on Friday when they travel south to Tucson to face off against UA.
The Sun Devils (5-9, 0-2 Pac-10) hold the overall edge with a 40-38 all time record against the Wildcats (10-4, 0-2 Pac-10).
ASU’s freshmen will be called upon once again to play a vital role on the court. The six Sun Devil freshmen are poised to receive their first dose of the famous rivalry.
“We are all really excited and that only makes us play even better and work even harder together,” freshman libero Jenny Teslevich said. “Just the emotions of all the older classmen make you even more excited. It makes you realize this is a huge rivalry, and you just have to bring that extra something.”
Both teams head into Friday’s match having opened conference play with two losses against No. 1 Stanford and No. 8 California.
UA got off to a strong start with 10 victories during nonconference play. UA senior outside hitter Whitney Dosty leads a formidable attack for the Wildcats on offense with 197 kills so far this season.
ASU knows that the Wildcats’ attack on the court is similar to that of many Pac-10 foes.
“We expect what we get from everyone in the Pac-10: a really physical volleyball program,” ASU assistant coach Brent Aldridge said. “They’re going to be a physical team. They’re 0-2, we’re 0-2, and we’re both trying to get our first win in the Pac-10.”
Along with the added emotion of a rivalry, ASU will have its work cut out for them on Lute and Bobbi Olson Court.
“Just like any other team, they are going to come out hard,” sophomore middle blocker Erica Wilson said. “Especially since we are each other’s rivals, they’re not going to give us anything so we’re going to have to work hard. We just have to make sure we watch their tendencies and make sure we know what we are doing out there.”
In their first weekend of conference play, the Sun Devils struggled to prepare for their second match against Cal.
With only one match this weekend, that shouldn’t be an issue.
“We have one game this weekend so we are going to go all out, and make sure we focus on every tendency they have,” junior setter Cat Highmark said. “We are covering everything that we possibly can.”
While the athletes are focused on defeating their in-state rivals, coaches realize that the Territorial Cup results may affect far more than their win-loss record.
“There is a lot at stake with them for us,” ASU coach Jason Watson said. “We want to keep that talent from Arizona in this gym. We’ve made a little breakthrough with that, with some classes coming up especially in 2012 and in 2013, and that’s good for us.”
While his focus will be on the game at hand, Watson recognizes the importance of community relations and the younger volleyball programs.
“The bulk of the junior volleyball in this state occurs right here in the East valley, and most of them come to our matches,” Watson said. “It’s important for us to keep it here, and that we have these good ties in the community.”
ASU takes the court in Tucson on Friday at 7 p.m.
Reach the reporter at gregory.dillard@asu.edu
