Senior middle blocker Erica Wilson (10) and sophomore outside hitter Kylee Terhune elevate to block a spike. The Sun Devil volleyball team begins its season Friday against Idaho State. (Photo by Sam Rosenbaum)The long journey of the volleyball season begins for the ASU women’s volleyball team Friday night at the El Paso Sports Commission Invitational.
The Sun Devils are participating in a three-game, two-day tournament against Idaho State, Fresno State, and host University of Texas at El Paso. This will serve as a barometer to see how the team has progressed since their 9-22 finish last season.
“We wanted to put together a non-conference (schedule), where we had to go play some people and we had to go play well if we’re expected to get the results and I think this weekend is going to be a nice test for us,” coach Jason Watson said.
The first game is against the Idaho State Bengals, who finished the season with a 14-14 record in the Big Sky Conference. Despite posting a .500 record, the Bengals captured titles in the Utah Valley Spring Tournament and Boise State Tournament in the spring.
ASU has two games on Saturday, with the first coming against former WAC member Fresno State. The Bulldogs lost to No. 3 Hawaii in five sets in the semifinal of the WAC Tournament Championship in Las Vegas. Fresno State will play this season in its inaugural year as a member of the Mountain West.
The final game of the doubleheader and tournament will come against the UTEP Miners on Saturday night. The Miners had a solid overall record of 19-14, but finished just 9-11 record in Conference USA play. UTEP will feature junior middle blocker Xitlali Herrera, who has been named a member of the volleyball All-Conference USA First Team.
“It doesn’t matter who’s on the other side of the net,” sophomore outside hitter Nora Tuioti-Mariner said. “We got to worry about what we’re doing on our side and then we can go from there.”
The Sun Devils were unable to take care of business in the preseason last year, as they went into the conference schedule with a 4-5 record. The team has a chance of getting off to a solid start this season with winnable games in El Paso.
“It would feel great, it would be a great start to our season (to sweep), and I know we can do it,” senior middle blocker Erica Wilson said. “We just have to push ourselves and when we are down we have to lift each other up.”
ASU feels it’s ready for the challenge, as it has come together this offseason.
“There will be times when certain people don’t play, and others play over them and we just have to be a ‘giving tree,’” Wilson said. “Which means we have to be there for one another, even if we’re not there on the court because you can still help a teammate out.”
Reach the reporter at talopez3@asu.edu
