TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Arizona State volleyball team (10-14, 0-12 Pac-12) returns to the road this weekend, heading to Los Angeles to take on No. 17 Southern California (16-7, 8-4 Pac-12) and No. 18 UCLA (13-8, 6-6 Pac-12), on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
Both matches are slated for 7 p.m. PT starts, and will be live-streamed via the respective host institutions' Pac-12 Live platforms.
How To Follow The Action
USC - Live Stream | Stats
UCLA - Live Stream Stats
Scouting The Opposition:
No. 17 Southern California (16-7, 8-4 Pac-12)
Season Averages/Conference/National Ranking -- Hitting Percentage (.258/4/32); Kills/s (14.36/2/15); Assists/s (13.43/2/16); Digs/s (14.26/7/209); Aces/s (1.11/7/240); Blocks/s (2.06/11/156); Opponent Hitting Percentage (.206/9/189).
Categorical Leaders -- Kills/s (Khalia Lanier, 4.08); Assists/s (Renni Meyer-Whalley, 6.25); Aces/s (Khalia Lanier, 0.34); Digs/s (Victoria Garrick, 4.05); Blocks/s (Jordan Dunn, 1.00).
No. 18 UCLA (13-8, 6-6 Pac-12)
Season Averages/Conference/National Ranking -- Hitting Percentage (.231/9/76); Kills/s (13.43/8/80); Assists/s (12.59/9/78); Digs/s (16.49/1/53); Aces/s (1.11/6/239); Blocks/s (2.14/9/126); Opponent Hitting Percentage (.198/7/148).
Categorical Leaders -- Kills/s (Reily Buechler, 3.22); Assists/s (Sarah Sponcil, 10.70); Aces/s (Mac May, 0.29); Digs/s (Zana Muno, 4.88); Blocks/s (Madeleine Gates, 1.15).
All-Time Series Records
USC - Trojans Lead, 65-13-1 (H: 8-31, A: 5-34, N: 0-3-1)
UCLA - Bruins Lead, 72-10 (H: 7-31, A: 2-38, N: 1-3)
Last Time Out_The Sun Devils played host to No. 2 Stanford (Oct. 27) and California (Oct. 29), dropping both matches by a count of 3-1...
-@SunDevilVB Battles To Four Sets; Falls To No. 2 Stanford: The Arizona State volleyball team (10-13, 0-11 Pac-12) dropped a four-set match to No. 2 Stanford (18-2, 11-0 Pac-12), 22-25, 16-25, 25-21, 13-25 on Friday night at Wells Fargo Arena. Senior Oluoma Okaro provided a steady force offensively for the Sun Devils, helping them take a set from the defending national champion. It was just the seventh set the Cardinal have dropped in Pac-12 play (11 matches). She finished the night with 19 kills, hitting at a .300 clip. After tallying another double-digit kill performance, she has now reached that plateau in 21 of her 23 games this season. The Sun Devils bounced back after dropping the first two sets, the first of which came down to the wire, jumping out to a 5-0 lead in the third set. Arizona State would never look back, using a pair of service aces to bring Wells Fargo to their feet. The Sun Devils would go on to take set 3 against No. 2 Stanford, 25-21, before falling in the final set.
-@SunDevilVB Takes California To Four Sets: The Arizona State volleyball team (10-14, 0-12 Pac-12) fell in four sets to California, 14-25, 25-22, 22-25, 11-25, on Sunday at Wells Fargo Arena. Senior Oluoma Okaro led the way for the Sun Devils with 14 kills. She has now reached the double-digit kills mark in 22 out of her 24 games this season. Freshman Griere Hughes posted an additional 10 kills for her 13th match this season with double digits in that category. Sophomore setter Nicole Peterson provided a solid performance, picking up 30 assists to go along with 7 digs. Senior libero Halle Harkerprovided 19 digs, bringing her career total to 1,861, which remains the third best in school history.
New Year, Same Oly_In each of Arizona State's four tournaments during the non-conference slate Oluoma Okaro garnered all-tournament team recognition. After collecting MVP honors at the Arizona State-hosted Sun Devil Classic, Aug. 25-26, Okaro went on to net placement on the all-tournament teams of the Gonzaga Invitational (Sep. 1-2) and Lumberjack Classic (Sep. 8-9), and Maverick Classic (Sep. 15-16), respectively. Having paced the Sun Devils on the attack in 19 of the team's 24 matches on the season, Okaro boasts a kills per set average of 4.48, marking the third-best tally in the conference and the 15th-best in the country. Her points per set average of 5.13 accounts for the third-best in the league and 13th-best in the country, while her nine double-doubles on the campaign sits in a tie for the seventh most in the Pac-12.
Okaro's Career Day_Oluoma Okaro was a bright spot in Arizona State's five-set, 3-2 loss to No. 7 Washington on Sep. 24, recording a career high 30 kills on .414 attacking. The senior's 30 kills tie for the most kills in a single match by a Sun Devil in the rally scoring era (since 2001) with current assistant coach Macey Gardner (9/24/14 at Arizona) and former standout Sarah Reaves (9/20/08 vs. W. Kentucky). Okaro now holds the season best mark for kills in the Pac-12 Conference, surpassing Stanford's Kathryn Plummer's 27 kills from Sept. 1.
Pac-12 Individual Match Highs | Kills
-- 30 (30- 6-58) 5s Okaro, Oluoma (Arizona State) vs Washington (Sep 24, 2017)
-- 28 (28-6-55) 5s Mosser, Jenny (UCLA) at Colorado (Oct. 21, 2017)
-- 27 (27- 5-50) 4s Plummer, Kathryn (Stanford) vs Penn State (Sep 01, 2017)
-- 26 (26- 6-57) 5s Anae, Adora (Utah) at Kentucky (Aug 25, 2017)
-- 25 (25-9-61) 5s Anae, Adora (Utah) at Washington (Oct. 6, 2017)
-- 25 (25-10-68) 5s Smith, Alexa (Colorado) vs Stanford (Sep 24, 2017)
-- 25 (25- 7-58) 5s Smith, Alexa (Colorado) at Colorado State (Sep 16, 2017)
Arizona State Individual Match Records (Rally Scoring Era) | Kills
-- Macey Gardner (9/24/14 at Arizona) 30
-- Sarah Reaves (9/20/08 vs. W. Kentucky) 30
-- Oluoma Okaro (11/24/17 vs. UW) 30
-- Macey Gardner (11/21/14 at WSU) 29
-- Macey Gardner (10/24/13 at Utah) 29
-- Macey Gardner (11/15/14 vs. Oregon) 28
-- Macey Gardner (8/31/12 at UC Irvine) 28
-- Sarah Reaves (9/27/07 vs. Oregon) 28
Hark! The Halle Digs_Sun Devil senior libero Halle Harker's career digs tally of 1,861 marks the third-best in Arizona State program history, and also constitutes the 11th most in the NCAA among active players. The Pac-12 conference's current leader in digs per set at a clip of 5.33, Harker sits 25th in the nation in that category.
ASU Career Digs Leaders
-- Sydney Donahue, 2004-07-- 2385
-- Stephanie Preach, 2010-2013—2010
-- Halle Harker, 2014-present—1861
-- Christy Nore, 1985-88 –1597
-- Jami Coughlin, 1998-2001—1528
Harker's Digs By Season
-- 2014: 521
-- 2015: 423
-- 2016: 459
-- 2017: 458 and counting...
Harker Earns Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week Honors_Following a historic outing at UT Arlington's Maverick Classic (Sep. 15-16), Harker garnered Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week honors, as announced by the league office on Sep. 18.The recognition represents the first of Harker's career, while marking the 22nd player of the week nod in Sun Devil program history. Buoying the Sun Devil defensive effort on the weekend, Harker compiled 61 digs (6.10 dps), while adding 18 assists, to help propel the Sun Devils (10-2), to perfect, 3-0 showing at the UT Arlington-hosted Maverick Classic. Most notably her 23-dig outing in Arizona State's 3-1 victory (25-20, 25-23, 17-25, 25-19) over Houston Baptist on Sep. 16, moved her into third in Sun Devil program history in career digs.
Dishing On Peterson_Sun Devil sophomore Nicole Peterson has begun to assert herself as a force at the setter position for ASU. The Portland, Ore. native who has logged 10 starts on the season, boasts an assists per set tally of 10.25, good enough for the fifth-best mark in the conference. Her five double-doubles on the campaign account for the second-most on the team.
Hughes & Peterson Record Career Days In Sun Devils' Four Set Loss To No. 13 Utah_Sun Devil freshman outside hitter Griere Hughes recorded a career-best/match-best 18 kills in Arizona State's four-set loss to No. 13 Utah this past Sunday. She has now recorded double-figures kills tallies in 11 of the Sun Devils' 20 outings on the season. Sophomore setter Nicole Peterson recorded a career high 53 assists and added 14 digs for her fourth career double-double and third this season.
Taking The Reins_Coach Tomasevic is one of four newcomer head coaches in the Pac-12 conference this season. Tomasevic joins Matt Ulmer (Oregon), Matt McShane (California) and Kevin Hambly (Stanford) as first-year head coaches in the conference.
Been There, Done That_Arizona State's coaching staff - Sanja Tomasevic (head coach), Carlos Moreno (assistant coach), Macey Gardner (assistant coach), Nellie Coleman (director of operations) and Kyle Breitbarth (volunteer assistant coach) - boasts an impressive, collective playing resume. Head coach Sanja Tomasevic, was a two-time All-American and the 2005 Asics and CVU.com National Player of the Year at the University of Washington, and led the Huskies to four NCAA tournament appearances, including the 2005 National Championship, and a pair of Pac-10 Conference titles. In October of 2016, Tomasevic became just the second individual volleyball player to be inducted into the Husky Hall of Fame. The former outside hitter ended her collegiate career as Washington's all-time leader in points (2,159.5), kills (1,795) and service aces (156). She is one of only five players in Huskies history to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs. Assistant Carlos Moreno compiled a prolific playing career as a setter at Brigham University, garnering essentially every national award possible, including AVCA and MPSF Player of the year honors. A three-year starter for the Cougars, Moreno amassed 4,628 career assists, marking the second-most in program in history, while adding 78 career aces (4th-most in program history). Spearheading BYU NCAA Championship runs in 2003 and 2004, Moreno earned a plethora of Player of the Year and MVP honors while also being placed on MSPF's and AVCA's respective first-teams. A two-time All-American and the 2004 AVCA National Player of the Year, Moreno led the Cougars to two NCAA tournament appearances, including the 2004 National Championship, and a pair of MPSF Conference titles. Assistant Macey Gardner is widely considered as of the greatest to ever don the Arizona State maroon and gold, and concluded her collegiate career as Arizona State's all-time kills leader with 1,882 to her credit. Arizona State's second ever three-time All-Pac-12 honoree, she was just the 17th Sun Devil to record 1,000 career digs, and just the 10th to record 1,000 or more kills and digs in her career. Director of operations Nellie Coleman compiled a prolific four-year career at UCLA as a setter, garnering a laundry list of accolades. A three-time AVCA First Team All-American, a three-time All-Pac-10 selectee, and three-time All-Pacific Region member, Coleman concluded her career as one of the best to ever don the UCLA gold and blue. Amassing exceptional career marks in assists (6,000/2nd most in program history) and digs (1,299/3rd most in program history), Coleman, formerly known as Nellie Spicer, anchored the Bruins to four postseason appearances including a Final Four Appearance in 2006. Sun Devil volunteer assistant Kyle Breitbarth competed as a member of the University of Illinois men's club volleyball team from 2010-16. Boasting an impressice collegiate career donning the Illini blue and orange, he was a member of the 2013 NCVF University of Illinois national championship team, while helping propel the squad to a Big Ten championship and program-best 71-11 record in 2016.
Youth Movement_A trio of Sun Devil true freshman including Griere Hughes, Shelbie Dobmeier and Megan Beedie, have shined over the course of the 2017 season. Hughes, an outside hitter from Fishers, Indiana, has notched double-figure kills tallies in 13 of Arizona State's 24 outings on the season. She currently boasts a kills per set average of 2.94. Dobmeier, a setter, from Lakewood, Calif, qualified as the Pac-12 assists leader for a span of six weeks, and sits with season tally of 10.73 to her credit. Beedie, a middle blocker from Cambridge, Ontario, has made five starts while making appearances in 10 matches on the season for the Sun Devils, logging 37 kills and 13 total blocks in that span.
There's No Place Like Home_Arizona State officially rang in the 2017 season playing host to the Sun Devils Classic, Aug. 25-26. The team exited the outing unscathed, garnering straight-set victories over Weber State, North Dakota State and 2016 NCAA tournament team Boise State respectively. Senior Oluoma Okaro paced Arizona State in kills in each of the team's three weekend matches to earn tournament MVP honors, while freshman setter Shelbie Dobmeier notched consecutive double-doubles to cap the tournament and earn selection to the Sun Devil Classic All-Tournament team. The Sun Devils are now 14-1 in home openers, dating back back to 2002.
Tomasevic Garners First Career Win_In her first match at the helm of the Sun Devil volleyball program, first-year head coach Sanja Tomasevic guided the Sun Devils to a 3-0 straight-set sweep of visiting Weber St on Aug. 25. The statement victory preceded two additional wins, seeing the Sun Devils exit the weekend at a perfect 3-0 season mark.
Pac-12 Slate_Next week, the Sun Devils will return to Tempe for their final home stand, welcoming Oregon (Thursday, Nov. 9th) and Oregon State (Saturday, Nov. 11th). Arizona State will honor the senior class during the final match on Nov. 11th against Oregon State. The Sun Devils will then hit the road to cap Pac-12 play with trips to Utah (Friday, Nov. 17th), Colorado (Saturday, Nov. 18), Washington State (Wednesday, Nov. 22) and Arizona (Saturday, Nov. 25).
Preseason Sun Devil All-Tournament Selections
--Sun Devil Classic (Aug. 25-26): Oluoma Okaro (MVP), Shelbie Dobmeier
--Gonzaga Invitational (Sep. 1-2): Oluoma Okaro
--Lumberjack Classic (Sep. 8-9): Halle Harker (MVP), Oluoma Okaro, Peyton Grahovac
--Maverick Classic (Sep. 15-16): Griere Hughes, Oluoma Okaro
Both matches are slated for 7 p.m. PT starts, and will be live-streamed via the respective host institutions' Pac-12 Live platforms.
How To Follow The Action
USC - Live Stream | Stats
UCLA - Live Stream Stats
Scouting The Opposition:
No. 17 Southern California (16-7, 8-4 Pac-12)
Season Averages/Conference/National Ranking -- Hitting Percentage (.258/4/32); Kills/s (14.36/2/15); Assists/s (13.43/2/16); Digs/s (14.26/7/209); Aces/s (1.11/7/240); Blocks/s (2.06/11/156); Opponent Hitting Percentage (.206/9/189).
Categorical Leaders -- Kills/s (Khalia Lanier, 4.08); Assists/s (Renni Meyer-Whalley, 6.25); Aces/s (Khalia Lanier, 0.34); Digs/s (Victoria Garrick, 4.05); Blocks/s (Jordan Dunn, 1.00).
No. 18 UCLA (13-8, 6-6 Pac-12)
Season Averages/Conference/National Ranking -- Hitting Percentage (.231/9/76); Kills/s (13.43/8/80); Assists/s (12.59/9/78); Digs/s (16.49/1/53); Aces/s (1.11/6/239); Blocks/s (2.14/9/126); Opponent Hitting Percentage (.198/7/148).
Categorical Leaders -- Kills/s (Reily Buechler, 3.22); Assists/s (Sarah Sponcil, 10.70); Aces/s (Mac May, 0.29); Digs/s (Zana Muno, 4.88); Blocks/s (Madeleine Gates, 1.15).
All-Time Series Records
USC - Trojans Lead, 65-13-1 (H: 8-31, A: 5-34, N: 0-3-1)
UCLA - Bruins Lead, 72-10 (H: 7-31, A: 2-38, N: 1-3)
Last Time Out_The Sun Devils played host to No. 2 Stanford (Oct. 27) and California (Oct. 29), dropping both matches by a count of 3-1...
-@SunDevilVB Battles To Four Sets; Falls To No. 2 Stanford: The Arizona State volleyball team (10-13, 0-11 Pac-12) dropped a four-set match to No. 2 Stanford (18-2, 11-0 Pac-12), 22-25, 16-25, 25-21, 13-25 on Friday night at Wells Fargo Arena. Senior Oluoma Okaro provided a steady force offensively for the Sun Devils, helping them take a set from the defending national champion. It was just the seventh set the Cardinal have dropped in Pac-12 play (11 matches). She finished the night with 19 kills, hitting at a .300 clip. After tallying another double-digit kill performance, she has now reached that plateau in 21 of her 23 games this season. The Sun Devils bounced back after dropping the first two sets, the first of which came down to the wire, jumping out to a 5-0 lead in the third set. Arizona State would never look back, using a pair of service aces to bring Wells Fargo to their feet. The Sun Devils would go on to take set 3 against No. 2 Stanford, 25-21, before falling in the final set.
-@SunDevilVB Takes California To Four Sets: The Arizona State volleyball team (10-14, 0-12 Pac-12) fell in four sets to California, 14-25, 25-22, 22-25, 11-25, on Sunday at Wells Fargo Arena. Senior Oluoma Okaro led the way for the Sun Devils with 14 kills. She has now reached the double-digit kills mark in 22 out of her 24 games this season. Freshman Griere Hughes posted an additional 10 kills for her 13th match this season with double digits in that category. Sophomore setter Nicole Peterson provided a solid performance, picking up 30 assists to go along with 7 digs. Senior libero Halle Harkerprovided 19 digs, bringing her career total to 1,861, which remains the third best in school history.
New Year, Same Oly_In each of Arizona State's four tournaments during the non-conference slate Oluoma Okaro garnered all-tournament team recognition. After collecting MVP honors at the Arizona State-hosted Sun Devil Classic, Aug. 25-26, Okaro went on to net placement on the all-tournament teams of the Gonzaga Invitational (Sep. 1-2) and Lumberjack Classic (Sep. 8-9), and Maverick Classic (Sep. 15-16), respectively. Having paced the Sun Devils on the attack in 19 of the team's 24 matches on the season, Okaro boasts a kills per set average of 4.48, marking the third-best tally in the conference and the 15th-best in the country. Her points per set average of 5.13 accounts for the third-best in the league and 13th-best in the country, while her nine double-doubles on the campaign sits in a tie for the seventh most in the Pac-12.
Okaro's Career Day_Oluoma Okaro was a bright spot in Arizona State's five-set, 3-2 loss to No. 7 Washington on Sep. 24, recording a career high 30 kills on .414 attacking. The senior's 30 kills tie for the most kills in a single match by a Sun Devil in the rally scoring era (since 2001) with current assistant coach Macey Gardner (9/24/14 at Arizona) and former standout Sarah Reaves (9/20/08 vs. W. Kentucky). Okaro now holds the season best mark for kills in the Pac-12 Conference, surpassing Stanford's Kathryn Plummer's 27 kills from Sept. 1.
Pac-12 Individual Match Highs | Kills
-- 30 (30- 6-58) 5s Okaro, Oluoma (Arizona State) vs Washington (Sep 24, 2017)
-- 28 (28-6-55) 5s Mosser, Jenny (UCLA) at Colorado (Oct. 21, 2017)
-- 27 (27- 5-50) 4s Plummer, Kathryn (Stanford) vs Penn State (Sep 01, 2017)
-- 26 (26- 6-57) 5s Anae, Adora (Utah) at Kentucky (Aug 25, 2017)
-- 25 (25-9-61) 5s Anae, Adora (Utah) at Washington (Oct. 6, 2017)
-- 25 (25-10-68) 5s Smith, Alexa (Colorado) vs Stanford (Sep 24, 2017)
-- 25 (25- 7-58) 5s Smith, Alexa (Colorado) at Colorado State (Sep 16, 2017)
Arizona State Individual Match Records (Rally Scoring Era) | Kills
-- Macey Gardner (9/24/14 at Arizona) 30
-- Sarah Reaves (9/20/08 vs. W. Kentucky) 30
-- Oluoma Okaro (11/24/17 vs. UW) 30
-- Macey Gardner (11/21/14 at WSU) 29
-- Macey Gardner (10/24/13 at Utah) 29
-- Macey Gardner (11/15/14 vs. Oregon) 28
-- Macey Gardner (8/31/12 at UC Irvine) 28
-- Sarah Reaves (9/27/07 vs. Oregon) 28
Hark! The Halle Digs_Sun Devil senior libero Halle Harker's career digs tally of 1,861 marks the third-best in Arizona State program history, and also constitutes the 11th most in the NCAA among active players. The Pac-12 conference's current leader in digs per set at a clip of 5.33, Harker sits 25th in the nation in that category.
ASU Career Digs Leaders
-- Sydney Donahue, 2004-07-- 2385
-- Stephanie Preach, 2010-2013—2010
-- Halle Harker, 2014-present—1861
-- Christy Nore, 1985-88 –1597
-- Jami Coughlin, 1998-2001—1528
Harker's Digs By Season
-- 2014: 521
-- 2015: 423
-- 2016: 459
-- 2017: 458 and counting...
Harker Earns Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week Honors_Following a historic outing at UT Arlington's Maverick Classic (Sep. 15-16), Harker garnered Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week honors, as announced by the league office on Sep. 18.The recognition represents the first of Harker's career, while marking the 22nd player of the week nod in Sun Devil program history. Buoying the Sun Devil defensive effort on the weekend, Harker compiled 61 digs (6.10 dps), while adding 18 assists, to help propel the Sun Devils (10-2), to perfect, 3-0 showing at the UT Arlington-hosted Maverick Classic. Most notably her 23-dig outing in Arizona State's 3-1 victory (25-20, 25-23, 17-25, 25-19) over Houston Baptist on Sep. 16, moved her into third in Sun Devil program history in career digs.
Dishing On Peterson_Sun Devil sophomore Nicole Peterson has begun to assert herself as a force at the setter position for ASU. The Portland, Ore. native who has logged 10 starts on the season, boasts an assists per set tally of 10.25, good enough for the fifth-best mark in the conference. Her five double-doubles on the campaign account for the second-most on the team.
Hughes & Peterson Record Career Days In Sun Devils' Four Set Loss To No. 13 Utah_Sun Devil freshman outside hitter Griere Hughes recorded a career-best/match-best 18 kills in Arizona State's four-set loss to No. 13 Utah this past Sunday. She has now recorded double-figures kills tallies in 11 of the Sun Devils' 20 outings on the season. Sophomore setter Nicole Peterson recorded a career high 53 assists and added 14 digs for her fourth career double-double and third this season.
Taking The Reins_Coach Tomasevic is one of four newcomer head coaches in the Pac-12 conference this season. Tomasevic joins Matt Ulmer (Oregon), Matt McShane (California) and Kevin Hambly (Stanford) as first-year head coaches in the conference.
Been There, Done That_Arizona State's coaching staff - Sanja Tomasevic (head coach), Carlos Moreno (assistant coach), Macey Gardner (assistant coach), Nellie Coleman (director of operations) and Kyle Breitbarth (volunteer assistant coach) - boasts an impressive, collective playing resume. Head coach Sanja Tomasevic, was a two-time All-American and the 2005 Asics and CVU.com National Player of the Year at the University of Washington, and led the Huskies to four NCAA tournament appearances, including the 2005 National Championship, and a pair of Pac-10 Conference titles. In October of 2016, Tomasevic became just the second individual volleyball player to be inducted into the Husky Hall of Fame. The former outside hitter ended her collegiate career as Washington's all-time leader in points (2,159.5), kills (1,795) and service aces (156). She is one of only five players in Huskies history to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs. Assistant Carlos Moreno compiled a prolific playing career as a setter at Brigham University, garnering essentially every national award possible, including AVCA and MPSF Player of the year honors. A three-year starter for the Cougars, Moreno amassed 4,628 career assists, marking the second-most in program in history, while adding 78 career aces (4th-most in program history). Spearheading BYU NCAA Championship runs in 2003 and 2004, Moreno earned a plethora of Player of the Year and MVP honors while also being placed on MSPF's and AVCA's respective first-teams. A two-time All-American and the 2004 AVCA National Player of the Year, Moreno led the Cougars to two NCAA tournament appearances, including the 2004 National Championship, and a pair of MPSF Conference titles. Assistant Macey Gardner is widely considered as of the greatest to ever don the Arizona State maroon and gold, and concluded her collegiate career as Arizona State's all-time kills leader with 1,882 to her credit. Arizona State's second ever three-time All-Pac-12 honoree, she was just the 17th Sun Devil to record 1,000 career digs, and just the 10th to record 1,000 or more kills and digs in her career. Director of operations Nellie Coleman compiled a prolific four-year career at UCLA as a setter, garnering a laundry list of accolades. A three-time AVCA First Team All-American, a three-time All-Pac-10 selectee, and three-time All-Pacific Region member, Coleman concluded her career as one of the best to ever don the UCLA gold and blue. Amassing exceptional career marks in assists (6,000/2nd most in program history) and digs (1,299/3rd most in program history), Coleman, formerly known as Nellie Spicer, anchored the Bruins to four postseason appearances including a Final Four Appearance in 2006. Sun Devil volunteer assistant Kyle Breitbarth competed as a member of the University of Illinois men's club volleyball team from 2010-16. Boasting an impressice collegiate career donning the Illini blue and orange, he was a member of the 2013 NCVF University of Illinois national championship team, while helping propel the squad to a Big Ten championship and program-best 71-11 record in 2016.
Youth Movement_A trio of Sun Devil true freshman including Griere Hughes, Shelbie Dobmeier and Megan Beedie, have shined over the course of the 2017 season. Hughes, an outside hitter from Fishers, Indiana, has notched double-figure kills tallies in 13 of Arizona State's 24 outings on the season. She currently boasts a kills per set average of 2.94. Dobmeier, a setter, from Lakewood, Calif, qualified as the Pac-12 assists leader for a span of six weeks, and sits with season tally of 10.73 to her credit. Beedie, a middle blocker from Cambridge, Ontario, has made five starts while making appearances in 10 matches on the season for the Sun Devils, logging 37 kills and 13 total blocks in that span.
There's No Place Like Home_Arizona State officially rang in the 2017 season playing host to the Sun Devils Classic, Aug. 25-26. The team exited the outing unscathed, garnering straight-set victories over Weber State, North Dakota State and 2016 NCAA tournament team Boise State respectively. Senior Oluoma Okaro paced Arizona State in kills in each of the team's three weekend matches to earn tournament MVP honors, while freshman setter Shelbie Dobmeier notched consecutive double-doubles to cap the tournament and earn selection to the Sun Devil Classic All-Tournament team. The Sun Devils are now 14-1 in home openers, dating back back to 2002.
Tomasevic Garners First Career Win_In her first match at the helm of the Sun Devil volleyball program, first-year head coach Sanja Tomasevic guided the Sun Devils to a 3-0 straight-set sweep of visiting Weber St on Aug. 25. The statement victory preceded two additional wins, seeing the Sun Devils exit the weekend at a perfect 3-0 season mark.
Pac-12 Slate_Next week, the Sun Devils will return to Tempe for their final home stand, welcoming Oregon (Thursday, Nov. 9th) and Oregon State (Saturday, Nov. 11th). Arizona State will honor the senior class during the final match on Nov. 11th against Oregon State. The Sun Devils will then hit the road to cap Pac-12 play with trips to Utah (Friday, Nov. 17th), Colorado (Saturday, Nov. 18), Washington State (Wednesday, Nov. 22) and Arizona (Saturday, Nov. 25).
Preseason Sun Devil All-Tournament Selections
--Sun Devil Classic (Aug. 25-26): Oluoma Okaro (MVP), Shelbie Dobmeier
--Gonzaga Invitational (Sep. 1-2): Oluoma Okaro
--Lumberjack Classic (Sep. 8-9): Halle Harker (MVP), Oluoma Okaro, Peyton Grahovac
--Maverick Classic (Sep. 15-16): Griere Hughes, Oluoma Okaro