During practice on Wednesday, a string of broken plays had the ASU volleyball team frustrated.
The team came together, and after a brief huddle and some encouraging words, the Sun Devils spread back out, and then played three near perfect serves.
ASU coach Jason Watson then called an end to practice, ending the session on a high note.
The Sun Devils are two weeks into their preseason training camp. It is a grueling three weeks with practice every day but the hard work should pay off during the season. Training camp offers a time for players to improve on their specific skills but also come together as a team.
Check out a slideshow from Saturday's Alumnae scrimmage.
“We went to Payson this past weekend,” said redshirt freshman libero Katie Fontes, “I think it was a really good bonding experience for us, and helped us get ready for the preseason tournaments.”
As the team comes together, the beginning of the season rapidly approaches. The Sun Devils are battling hard in practice because starting positions are on the line.
With all the in house competition, the overall play of the Sun Devils is improving.
“We have depth this year, which we didn’t have in the past,” said senior middle blocker Sonja Markanovich, “so everyone is not entitled to their position and everyone is pushing each other in each position.”
Even returning starters are fighting for their spots. Nothing is guaranteed in the next few weeks.
“You definitely have to earn it, just because you are a starter doesn’t mean that you are going to start again,” said junior middle blocker Erica Wilson.
The expectation is that intense competition will translate to great play against future competition. The Sun Devils want to hit the ground running this season. The goal is to have a good record going into Pac-12 play, which is something they struggled with last year.
“Last season we have a pretty nice Pac-10 season, but the problem was in the first couple weeks we didn’t play to level of volleyball that we needed,” Watson said. “It’s important for us to come and start playing volleyball well from the first moment we get an opportunity to play.”
In 2010, ASU served as Pac-10 giant killers, knocking off ranked teams like UCLA, USC, and then-No. 2 Cal.
But the poor non-conference record ultimately doomed the Sun Devils to another year away from the NCAA tournament.
“Everyone thinks that preseason is just a warm-up,” said Markanovich, “for our program those preseason games count and every single one we need to be playing our best so that it increases our chances for the tournament.”
At the Sun Devils practice there is a lot of noise, and the players are always in constant communication. If the ball is in the air, during a time out or right before a serve, the Sun Devils are talking. Watson said he is impressed with you his team communicates and the leadership he has.
Throughout the year the main objective is going to be simple: get to the national tournament. In the past couple years the Sun Devils have missed the opportunity to go to the tournament and they would like that to change this year.
“The goal remains the same, we certainly feel like this is a team that should always have aspirations to get to the postseason,” said Watson.
The first step toward a postseason appearance starts at home on Friday against Denver University.
Reach the reporter at ehubbard@asu.edu
