After playing in three straight road tournaments, the ASU women’s volleyball team finally makes its home debut this weekend, as it hosts its annual tournament.
“I’m so excited, I’ve never played on this court before,” freshman setter Allison Palmer said. “I’m excited to see the band and the crowd, and just have our own school energy.”
The Sun Devils hosts their annual ASU Sheraton Invitational this weekend against Villanova, UC Riverside, Florida Atlantic University and Gonzaga. The tournament serves as ASU’s final test before it heads into its difficult Pac-12 conference schedule.
“We’re looking at this weekend as, ‘Hey let’s go be better,’” coach Jason Watson said. “Because we know (the) conference is looming and then it just gets a little bit harder once that conference season starts.”
The first game for ASU will come at noon on Friday against Villanova (5-4). The Wildcats got off to a nice start to their season, winning games in each of their first two tournaments. Villanova however dropped two games in the Yale Invitational last weekend. Friday afternoon’s game marks the first-ever match-up between these two programs.
Friday night’s primetime matchup will feature ASU against UC Riverside (3-6). The Highlanders have gotten off to a slow start this year, as they recently lost all three games in the Molten Classic held in Berkeley, Calif. — with one of those losses coming against fellow Pac-12 member Cal. UCR has participated in the tournament before, dating back to 2010 when it went 1-2 and lost its game against ASU, 3-0. The Sun Devils are 5-0 all-time against the Highlanders.
ASU kicks off Saturday with an early afternoon match-up against FAU (2-3). The Owls finished playing in their only tournament of the season so far, the Stetson Clarion Classic, earlier this week. When the Owls take on the Sun Devils, it will be the first time the two teams have ever met on the court.
The tournament comes to a close Saturday night when ASU takes on Gonzaga (5-4) in another primetime matchup. After losing two games in their first tournament of the year, with one of those coming against Pac-12 member Washington, the Bulldogs have bounced back, winning two games in each of their last two tournaments. Saturday is the first matchup between ASU and Gonzaga since 2003, a game the Sun Devils won.
With this weekend being the first chance for the Sun Devils to show their talents in front of their home crowd, nervousness can sometime overcome the players as they prepare to play.
“No jitters over here, it’s all excitement,” sophomore outside hitter Nora Tuioti-Mariner said. “I’m ready to go get everything going.”
Reach the reporter at talopez3@asu.edu
