TEMPE, Ariz.—The No. 6 Arizona State volleyball team (13-0, 2-0 Pac-12) wraps its nine-match home stand this week with another top-10 showdown as No. 8 Stanford (7-3, 1-1 Pac-12) comes to Wells Fargo Arena on Friday at 6 p.m. PT. On Sunday, the Sun Devils will host California (6-7, 0-2 Pac-12) at 1:30 p.m. PT.
Both matches will air on the Pac-12 Networks with Krista Blunk (pbp) and Amy Gant (color) on the call for the match against the Cardinal, while Kevin Barnett (pbp) and Tammy Blackburn (color) will cover Sunday’s match against the Bears.
Updates throughout the Sun Devils’ matches will also be available via Twitter by following @SunDevilVB.
ASU WITH BEST CONFERENCE START SINCE 1999
Last week the Sun Devils opened Pac-12 Conference competition with a 2-0 record, marking the best league start since the 1999 season.
ASU has started league play at 2-0 four times since 1989. In 1986, the first year in the Pac-10, ASU went 3-0 with wins over Oregon, Oregon State, and USC.
ASU’S TOP PAC-10/12 STARTS
1986 - ASU def. Oregon (3-2), Oregon State (3-2), USC (3-1)
1989 - ASU def. Oregon (3-1), Oregon State (3-0)
1994 - ASU def. Oregon (3-0), Oregon State (3-2)
1999 - ASU def. Oregon (3-0), Oregon State (3-0)
2015 - ASU def. Arizona (3-1), Oregon State (3-0)
THE GARDNER-GARNER CONNECTION
Dating back to the beginning of the 2012 season, the Sun Devils have won 72 matches, the most since ASU won 80 matches from the 1992-95 seasons.
On the team from 1992-95 - ASU’s kills record-holder, Christine Garner (1,871).
The 2015 Sun Devils are on pace to match or surpass that mark of 80 wins in four seasons, while Macey Gardner is close to breaking Garner’s 20-year-old record.
Since the first year of the program, the Sun Devils have won 75 or more matches 11 times, and 80 or more seven times. The most matches ASU has won in a four-season span is 85, which ASU did three times: between 1985-88, 1982-85, and 1980-83.
ABOUT THE CARDINAL (Oct. 2, 6 p.m. PT)
Stanford split its matches last week, defeating rival California in nearby Berkeley, 3-1, before dropping a five-set decision to USC at home.
In the win over Cal, Hayley Hodson led the way with 18 kills, while Brittany Howard added 14, while hitting .462. As a team, the Cardinal out-blocked the Bears, 11.0 to 5.0.
Against USC, three Cardinal recorded double-digit kills, led by Merete Lutz’ 16 kills, while Hodson added 14, and Howard totaled 12 on .355 hitting.
In ASU’s last meeting with Stanford, the Sun Devils fell in a five-set battle on the road. Three Sun Devils recorded double-digit kills, with Macey Gardner at 21, Mercedes Binns at 12, and Bree Bailey with 10.
This Friday’s contest marks the first time the Sun Devils are ranked ahead of the Cardinal in the AVCA poll since 1986 when ASU was ranked at No. 7 and Stanford was ranked at No. 13.
Prior to the match in Tempe, the Cardinal will take on Arizona in Tucson on Wednesday night.
ABOUT THE BEARS (Oct. 4, 1:30 p.m. PT)
California dropped its conference opener to Stanford in four sets before falling at home to UCLA, 3-0.
In the loss to the Cardinal, the Bears’ Lara Vukasovic and Christine Alftin led the way with 13 kills each, while Lillian Schonewise added 11 on a time-high .375 hitting. Against the Bruins, the duo of Alftin and Vukasovic each recorded eight kills.
Last season, the Sun Devils went 2-0 over the Bears, winning both matches in four sets. In the most recent meeting, on the road in Berkeley, Macey Gardner led the way with 22 kills, while Mercedes Binns added 11 and Bree Bailey added 10.
Prior to the match in Tempe, the Bears will take on Arizona on Friday at 8 p.m. PT.
LAST TIME OUT
For the first time since the 1999 season, the Sun Devils opened the 2015 Pac-12 slate with a pair of wins, first knocking off rival Arizona in four sets before sweeping Oregon State.
In the win over the Wildcats, the Sun Devils snapped a three-match losing streak, led by Macey Gardner’s 19 kills. Cassidy Pickrell added 16 kills, along with 12 digs, while Whitney Follette, Bree Bailey, and Mercedes Binns each added seven kills.
Against the Beavers, Gardner notched her fifth double-double of the year while Arellano recorded her sixth at 35 assists and 14 digs.
UP NEXT
Next week, the Sun Devils will hit the road for the first time since the first weekend of September, taking on Pac-12 foes Washington and Washington State on Friday, Oct. 9 and Sunday, Oct. 11, respectively.
The match against the Huskies in Seattle is set for a 7 p.m. PT first serve, while the match against the Cougars in Pullman will start at 11 a.m. PT on the Pac-12 Networks.
SUN DEVILS SET WATSON-ERA ATTENDANCE RECORD AGAINST ARIZONA
In the win over Pac-12 rival Arizona on Sept. 24, the Sun Devils set a new top-attendance in head coach Jason Watson’s tenure with 5,152 fans, surpassing the 2014 record of 4,185 fans against Washington (Oct. 17).
Additionally, the Sun Devils recorded a new student-section record on Sept. 24 with 2,011 fans.
Six of the top-10 Watson-era attendances have been against Arizona, while the remaining four have come in matches against Washington, USC, and twice against Oregon State.
A complete list of attendances and match dates is available on page 4 of the attached notes PDF.
ASU SECURES FIRST TERRITORIAL CUP SERIES ® OPPORTUNITY
With last Thursday’s four-set win over the rival Wildcats, the Sun Devils secured the first half-point up for grabs in the annual Territorial Cup Series ® with Arizona.
In 2014-15, the Sun Devils won the Territorial Cup Series® for the second straight year, 12.5-7.5. ASU was helped by the 6-point sweep from the track and field and cross country teams.
ASU and UA’s sports teams will compete against one another in 20 common varsity intercollegiate sports. For a school to be the winner of the Territorial Cup Series Trophy, they must accumulate 10.5 points.
BEST STARTS IN ASU HISTORY
1973: 21-0 (Mary Littlewood, Intermountain Conference)
2015: 13-0 (Jason Watson, Pac-12 Conference)
1976: 11-0 (Mary Littlewood, Intermountain Conference)
1985: 9-0 (Debbie Brown, Pacific West Conference)
1981: 8-0 (Dale Flickinger, WCAA)
1992: 8-0 (Patti Snyder-Park, Pac-10 Conference)
5x at 7-0 (1x Debbie Brown (1988), 3x Patti Snyder-Park (1993, 1995, 1997), Jason Watson (2013)
ASU IN THE AVCA POLL
After opening the Pac-12 slate at 2-0 and remaining undefeated on the year at 13-0, the Sun Devils moved up one spot in the AVCA Poll to No. 6.
This marks the highest ranking the Sun Devils have achieved in program history.
MACEY GARDNER AND THE ROAD TO 2000 Kills
In 2007, libero Sydney Donahue set a Pac-12 record with a career total of 2,385 digs.
In 2013, libero Stephanie Preach surpassed the 2,000 dig mark, finishing her career with 2010.
In 2015, Macey Gardner is on pace to become the first Sun Devil to surpass the 2000 mark in kills.
Gardner has recorded 500-plus kills in each of her three seasons with the Sun Devils: 577 in 2012, 506 in 2013, and 594 in 2014.
The school record for kills is 1,871, set by Christine Garner (1992-95), and Gardner needs just 34 to tie that mark.
After opening Pac-12 competition with a pair of wins over Arizona and Oregon State, Gardner amassed 160 kills, bringing her career total to 1,837, second-most in program history.
She is 163 kills from reaching the 2,000 milestone, and she will be the seventh player from the Pac-10/12 to reach that mark. The last time a Pac-12 athlete surpassed 2,000 kills was in 2010 when Stanford’s Alix Klineman finished her career with 2,008.
ASU TOP-3 CAREER KILLS
1. Christine Garner, 1992-95 (1,871)
2. Macey Gardner, 2012-present (1,837)
3. Sarah Reaves, 2007-10 (1,796)
ON THE 1,000+ CAREER DIG LIST
Along with being poised to set a new school record for kills, Macey Gardner became the 17th Sun Devil to surpass the mark of 1,000 career digs when she recorded her eighth of 15 total against Northern Arizona on Tuesday, Sept. 8
Gardner currently has 1,070 digs, all time.
The last Sun Devil to enter the 1,000+ career digs list was libero Stephanie Preach, who totaled 2,010 from 2010-13, second-most all time at ASU.
1,000+ CAREER KILLS & DIGS
Against Northern Arizona (Sept. 8), Macey Gardner became the 10th Sun Devil to record more than 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in their career.
The last Sun Devil to move onto the list was Margie Giordano (2005-08), with 1,312 career kills and 1,218 career digs.
MORE CAREER RECORDS TO WATCH
Two other Sun Devils look to make moves in the career top-10 lists this season: Whitney Follette and Bianca Arellano.
Follette recorded 62 blocks in the first five weeks of competition, bringing her career total for block assists to 307, No. 3 all-time at ASU. She is 71 block assists from Tina Berg’s (1987-90) school record of 378.
Follette’s total of 366 total blocks also No. 4 all-time at ASU, behind Sonja Markanovich’s (2008-11) total of 329.
Arellano has amassed 2,793 assists in her Sun Devil career, placing her at No. 5 all-time, behind Jennifer Helfrich’s (1989-92) No. 4 mark of 2,956.
ASU PICKED TO FINISH SECOND IN THE PAC-12
For the first time since 1994, the Sun Devils were picked to finish second in the Pac-12 Conference in the preseason coaches poll, while returning AVCA All-American Macey Gardner was named to the Pac-12 Preseason Team for the third time in her career.
ON THE PAC-12 SLATE
The Sun Devils remain at home during the second week of conference play, hosting Stanford and California on Oct. 2 and 4.
The next two weekends, ASU hits the road for matches against the Washington schools, and then the LA duo of UCLA and USC.
ASU then hosts Utah and Colorado to round out the first half of conference action before taking on a pair of midweek road matches at Stanford and California, followed by a return trip home to host the Washington schools in the first week of November.
The Sun Devils hit the road to face Colorado and Utah before rounding out the regular season home slate against UCLA and USC on Nov. 20 and 22, before finishing off the regular season at Oregon on Nov. 25 and at Arizona on Nov. 27.
ON THE RETURNERS
Leading the Sun Devils this season are the class of five seniors: outside hitter Macey Gardner, setter Bianca Arellano, middle blocker Whitney Follette, middle blocker Mercedes Binns, and outside hitter Andi Lowrance.
Starting in each set and each match last season, AVCA All-American Gardner led the way with 594 kills—No. 2 in the single season top-10 at ASU, while Arellano added 1417 assists and a team-leading 28 service aces. Also getting the start in each of the 34 matches was Binns, who added 278 kills and 109 total blocks.
Follette missed action during the non-conference portion of the season and the beginning of last year’s Pac-12 slate, but returned strong and finished the year with 181 kills and 87 blocks, while Lowrance earned seven starts and appeared in 13 more matches, totaling 61 kills and 31 blocks.
Also back in action for ASU is sophomore libero Halle Harker, junior defensive specialist Mia Mazon, junior outside hitter Kizzy Ricedorff (Willey), and junior outside hitter Bree Bailey.
Harker finished her freshman season with 521 digs, the No. 10 mark in the single-season list, also the freshman record. Harker also recorded a career best total of 34 digs against Oregon on Nov. 15, the highest single-game total for a freshman. Harker is on pace to become the 17th Sun Devil to surpass the 1,000-dig milestone.
Bailey and Ricedorff combined for the rest of the Sun Devil offence with 527 kills. Ricedorff also added 13 aces and 44 blocks, while Bailey added 17 aces and 98 blocks. In her first year with the Sun Devils, Mazon saw action in 24 matches to boost the ASU defense.
ON THE NEWCOMERS
The Sun Devils welcome six newcomers to the roster in 2015, freshmen Kierstin Fowler (Flagstaff, Ariz./Coconino HS), Kylie Pickrell (Coppell, Texas/Coppell HS), Jasmine Koonts (Houston, Texas/Klein HS), Lexi MacLean (Frisco, Texas/Centennial HS), and Tia Philippart (Carlsbad, Calif./La Costa Canyon HS), and junior transfer Cassidy Pickrell (Coppell, Texas/Coppell HS/UC Irvine).
ASU looks to add depth in the middle with the additions of Fowler, Koonts, and Philippart. On the outside, ASU adds MacLean and Cassidy Pickrell, a transfer from UC Irvine, while her younger sister Kylie Pickrell joins the Sun Devils as a setter.
2015 All-Tournament Team Selections
Falcon Classic
MVP - Whitney Follette
All-Tournament Team - Kizzy Ricedorff (Willey)
All-Tournament Setter - Kylie Pickrell
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