If two people trust each other enough to share a ride on the same bike, they must have a strong friendship.
Freshman outside hitter Nora Tuioti-Mariner and freshman setter Shannan McCready have formed a close bond on the ASU volleyball team and they do share a bike everywhere they go.
“We have been riding on one bike since summer,” Tuioti-Mariner said. “She will go on my handlebars and we’ll just ride everywhere. We don’t even stop, if we run over people it’s just like, ‘Whoa.’”
When the freshmen first arrived in Tempe they were nervous about meeting each other. Once they got to know each other, they realized they both loved the same kind of island music and have had a great relationship ever since.
Their friendship has allowed both players to improve. They said that they are always supportive of each other. Sometimes they even need to whip each other into shape.
But if an argument ever gets heated, they follow one simple rule.
“Sometimes we get mad at each other,” McCready said. “If we’re mad at each other we always have to end it hugging it out.”
This type of support helped the pair find their way into the starting rotation this year. Tuioti-Mariner said when McCready was competing for a starting position she would pump her up.
“I’d say, ‘Alright Shannan this is your time to shine, your enemy is on the other court and you’re trying to battle for your position,’” Tuioti-Mariner said.
McCready admitted being a little nervous being a new member of the team and competing for a starting spot.
“In the beginning I was a little nervous being a freshman,” McCready said. “(I thought that) I can’t tell people what to do because they’re older than me. But now, as everyone gets to know each other we just want to better each other.”
Once McCready got more confident and comfortable she competed for the starting setter job. Her chemistry with her hitters grew and she took over that position halfway through the season. She has never looked back since.
Tuioti-Mariner has been a starter since the first match. During preseason workouts she brought tenacity despite being new to the team, and that impressed the coaching staff. She began the season in the starting rotation and has even moved to the left outside hitter position to become more of a focal point for the offense.
“In the beginning I just told myself to work hard at each practice and not to slack off,” Tuioti-Mariner said. “From then on, I always had this mentality of going hard at every practice.”
Coach Jason Watson said their work ethic shown in practice helped both girls get a starting role.
“They come into practice and they work hard and compete,” Watson said. “Because of those two things you’re going to get opportunities here. I think they’ve embraced that.”
Both starters said they are not satisfied with their game at the moment and they would continue to work to improve during their time at ASU.
“We’ve set a standard now so every year we have to work even harder to go beyond that and be better for our team,” McCready said.
“Even though we are in the starting rotation we still have a lot of work to do,” Tuioti-Mariner said. “We can’t be complacent and we always have to strive to be the better us.”
With a starting role, the future looks bright for McCready, for Tuioti-Mariner and for ASU.
Watson is excited about the future of the program with such young talent.
“It says a lot about our program that we are willing to play people that are young,” Watson said. “We’re excited that they’re going to get these opportunities to continue to grow and develop as their careers go on. It going to be fun to see what they look like four years from now.”
Every night before their games, McCready and Tuioti-Marnier put on a movie. They lay down a blanket and watch on a laptop on the floor.
Both freshmen have high expectations and goals for their careers at ASU. They hope that sometime in the future they could be watching a movie the night before the national championship.
Reach the reporter at ehubbard@asu.edu
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