Bittersweet.
That was the word that senior outside hitter Malia Bachynski and senior middle blocker Sonja Markanovich used many times to describe their emotions as their ASU volleyball careers come to an end.
“It’s bittersweet, it’s excitement, you’re a senior and you’re a leader on the team,” Markanovich said. “But then you are also sad because it is a life you knew and it’s over.”
Both seniors are looking forward to some of the sweet parts of life after volleyball.
Markanovich is excited and a little worried for the amount of free time that she will have. She said she is going find a new way to manage her time. Bachynski is also looking forward to some time off.
“I am going to sleep in a little bit,” Bachynski said.
The break from volleyball also gives Bachynski more time to spend with her husband, Jordan Bachynski, a sophomore center for the ASU basketball team. She is really excited to support him more.
The seniors may admit that they are happy they do not have to go to practice anymore. In reality, however, they will miss workouts a lot.
Markanovich and Bachynski said that the aspect of the team they will miss the most is spending time with the other players and the bond they felt with their teammates.
“It’s not going to be the same because you are not going to be seeing each other every single day,” Bachynski said. “We are like sisters right now, we fight like sisters and we love each other a lot.”
Markanovich said that it would be hard for her to stay away from practice. She said she would probably find herself visiting the team to see how they are doing.
The seniors may miss the team, but the ASU volleyball team will certainly miss their presence next year.
Coach Jason Watson said the skills and experience that both seniors brought to the team will very much be missed.
“They have been in some situations and they have been able to help us,” Watson said. “We probably won’t really truly realize how much we leaned upon them until they are not here.”
The senior talked about how much they enjoyed being in that leadership role.
Most of the freshmen called Bachynski, “Mom,” because of the way she supported the new players. Markanovich also said she enjoyed being looked up to.
“It’s definitely been a fun experience because I have always looked up the seniors when I was an underclassman,” Markanovich said. “We have always had great leaders. Following in their footsteps and what they did you try to build upon that.”
Now that both seniors’ volleyball careers are over, they are trying to switch their focus to their careers off the court.
Markanovich is an interdisciplinary studies major with a focus on education and psychology, and hopes to become a high school counselor in the future.
She plans on going to graduate school to study counseling and is working to secure an internship working at a local high school.
Bachynksi is a communications major and will take on an internship with the Sun Devil Athletics media relations department next semester.
The athletes said that they would take away many lessons from playing on the team that will help them in their future careers.
Markanovich said that volleyball taught her mesh with others on a team. She said working with athletes with different skills and different backgrounds taught her how to adjust to work well with different people.
Bachynski said that lesson she learned on the team will transmit to other parts of her life.
“I think from my whole experience here I am going to take excellence in every part of my life,” Bachynski said. “In the weight room in the classroom we just strive for excellence, in my future work and my family that is what I am going to push for.”
Markanovich was a defensive stable in her four years at ASU. She totaled 358 blocks during her four years. Bachynski was always an offensive threat with 329 total kills during her career.
Watson said that he is happy that the seniors had so much athletic success on the team, but he is most proud that the two players went through his program and will receive a degree this May.
“For any athlete the single most important thing that they can leave any institution with is their degree,” Watson said. “The fact they have nice GPAs means that school is important to them. A degree from Arizona State is a valuable thing and we hope they put it to good work.”
Before their final match against UA both seniors said that one of their favorite memories was when ASU upset then No. 2 Cal in Berkley.
Their favorite memory might have changed when ASU beat their rival UA at home on Senior Night.
When the seniors thought about their last game at ASU they described it yet again as bittersweet.
Reach the reporter at ehubbard@asu.edu
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