TEMPE, Ariz -- The Arizona State volleyball team (10-20, 0-18 Pac-12) will cap its 2017 regular season slate on the road, paying a pair of visits to Washington State (16-14, 5-13 Pac-12) and Arizona (10-17, 4-14 Pac-12), on Wednesday and Saturday, respectively.
Wednesday's trek to Pullman will be streamed courtesy of Washington State's Pac-12 live stream, with the match slated to get underway at 8 p.m. MT. Saturday's Territorial Cup meeting with the Wildcats will be broadcast live via Pac-12 Networks with Daron Sutton and Dain Blanton on the call. First serve is set for 7 p.m. MT.
How To Follow The Action
Washington State - Watch | Live Stats
Arizona - Watch | Live Stats
Scouting The Opposition:
Washington State (16-14, 5-13 Pac-12)
Season Averages/Conference/National Ranking -- Hitting Percentage (.206/11/150); Kills/s (12.18/12/218); Assists/s (11.19/12/240); Digs/s (14.13/7/231); Aces/s (0.92/11/310); Blocks/s (3.00/3/9); Opponent Hitting Percentage (.191/3/112).
Categorical Leaders -- Kills/s (Taylor Mims, 4.04); Assists/s (Ashley Brown, 5.27); Aces/s (Jocelyn Urias, 0.22); Digs/s (Alexis Dirige, 4.55); Blocks/s (Jocelyn Urias, 1.42).
Arizona (10-17, 4-14 Pac-12)
Season Averages/Conference/National Ranking -- Hitting Percentage (.201/12/166); Kills/s (12.48/11/187); Assists/s (11.55/11/198); Digs/s (13.59/10/271); Aces/s (0.97/10/290); Blocks/s (2.38/7/56); Opponent Hitting Percentage (.223/10/250).
Categorical Leaders -- Kills/s (Kendra Dahlke, 3.30); Assists/s (Julia Patterson, 10.08); Aces/s (Katie Smoot, 0.22); Digs/s (Makenna Martin, 2.71); Blocks/s (Devyn Cross, 1.01).
All-Time Series Records
Washington State - ASU Leads, 34-28 (H: 21-10, A: 12-18, N: 1-0)
Arizona - ASU Leads, 50-49 (H: 34-16, A: 14-27, N: 2-5)
Last Time Out_The Sun Devils visited No. 17 Utah and Colorado, dropping the matches by counts of 3-0 and 3-2, respectively.
-- Utah: The Arizona State volleyball (10-19, 0-17 Pac-12) fell in three sets to No. 17 UTAH (20-8, 11-6 Pac-12), 21-25, 19-25, 15-25, Friday night at the Huntsman Center. Senior libero Halle Harker recorded 15 digs on the outing, bringing her season total to 559, a mark which now accounts for the seventh-best single-season tally in program history. With three matches remaining on the season slate and 1,962 career digs to her credit, Harker sits just 48 digs shy of Stephanie Preach's career second-place mark of 2,010. Offensively, senior outside hitter Oluoma Okaro led the Sun Devils with 13 kills. She has now recorded double-digit kills tallies in 25 of Arizona State's 29 matches on the season. Joining Okaro in double-figures was junior Peyton Grahovac, who logged 10 kills at an efficient clip of .375 (10-1-24).
-- Colorado: The Arizona State volleyball team (10-20, 0-18 Pac-12) fell in five sets to Colorado (21-8, 11-7 Pac-12), 28-26, 16-25, 26-24, 23-15, 11-15, on Saturday night at the Coors Events Center. Leading the way for the Sun Devils was senior right side hitter Oluoma Okaro, who finished the night with 25 kills, 15 digs, and three blocks. Okaro's double-double marks her team-leading 11th this season. Freshmen middle blocker Peyton Grahovac and outside hitter Griere Hughes added 12 kills each. Grahovac's mark was one off her career high of 13 kills, while Hughes posted a team-high attack percentage of .308 for the match. Sophomore setter Nicole Peterson posted her seventh double-double of the season with 51 assists and 21 digs, which is seven more than her previous career high in digs, set against Utah on Oct. 15. Peterson also added three kills and four blocks to her stat line. Junior middle blocker Carmen Unzue also a career high in blocks, finishing the match with nine total (two solo blocks and seven block assists). Her previous best of six was set on Oct. 7 against USC.
Coaching Note_With head coach Sanja Tomasevic not slated to travel due to the recent birth of her daughter Stella, Carlos Moreno will continue to serve as interim head coach.
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 21 of the team's 30 matches on the season, Okaro boasts a kills per set average of 4.42, marking the second-best tally in the conference and the 17th-best in the country. Her points per set average of 5.04 accounts for the third-best in the league and 19th-best in the country, while her 11 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 1,981 marks the third-best in Arizona State program history, and also constitutes the 11th most in the NCAA among active players. With two matches remaining on the season slate, Harker sits 19 digs away from 2,000 and 29 digs shy of Stephanie Preach's career second-place mark of 2,010. The Pac-12 conference's current leader in digs per set at a clip of 5.30, Harker sits 22nd in the nation in that category. Harker continues to hold the seventh-best single-season digs tally in program history with 579, leaving her just 21 digs away from becoming seventh Sun Devil in program history to surpass the 600-dig mark.
ASU Career Digs Leaders
1. Sydney Donahue, 2004-07 – 2385
2. Stephanie Preach, 2010-13 – 2010
3. Halle Harker, 2014-present – 1981
4. Christy Nore, 1985-88 – 1597
5. Jami Coughlin, 1998-2001 – 1528
Harker's Digs By Season
-- 2014: 521
-- 2015: 423
-- 2016: 459
-- 2017: 578 and counting...
Arizona State Single-Season Digs Leaders
1. 742, Sydney Donahue, 2006
2. 640, Sydney Donahue, 2007
3. 628, Sydney Donahue, 2005
4. 619, Stephanie Preach, 2012
5. 610, Stephanie Preach, 2011
6. 601, Mindy Gowell, 1990
7. 578, Halle Harker, 2017
8. 556, Christy Nore, 1988
9. 550, Stephanie Preach, 2013
10. 538,Kelly Plaisted, 1990
11. 521, Halle Harker, 2015
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 20 starts on the season, boasts an assists per set tally of 10.16, good enough for the fifth-best mark in the conference. Her seven double-doubles account on the season account for the second most on the program behind Oluoma Okaro's 11. Of pertinent note, Peterson posted her seventh double-double of the season with 51 assists and a career-high 21 digs, against Colorado on Nov. 18.
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 19 of Arizona State's 30 outings on the season. She currently boasts a kills per set average of 3.00. 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 10.47 to her credit. Beedie, a middle blocker from Cambridge, Ontario, has appeared in 14 matches on the season for the Sun Devils, logging 60 kills and 15 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.
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
Wednesday's trek to Pullman will be streamed courtesy of Washington State's Pac-12 live stream, with the match slated to get underway at 8 p.m. MT. Saturday's Territorial Cup meeting with the Wildcats will be broadcast live via Pac-12 Networks with Daron Sutton and Dain Blanton on the call. First serve is set for 7 p.m. MT.
How To Follow The Action
Washington State - Watch | Live Stats
Arizona - Watch | Live Stats
Scouting The Opposition:
Washington State (16-14, 5-13 Pac-12)
Season Averages/Conference/National Ranking -- Hitting Percentage (.206/11/150); Kills/s (12.18/12/218); Assists/s (11.19/12/240); Digs/s (14.13/7/231); Aces/s (0.92/11/310); Blocks/s (3.00/3/9); Opponent Hitting Percentage (.191/3/112).
Categorical Leaders -- Kills/s (Taylor Mims, 4.04); Assists/s (Ashley Brown, 5.27); Aces/s (Jocelyn Urias, 0.22); Digs/s (Alexis Dirige, 4.55); Blocks/s (Jocelyn Urias, 1.42).
Arizona (10-17, 4-14 Pac-12)
Season Averages/Conference/National Ranking -- Hitting Percentage (.201/12/166); Kills/s (12.48/11/187); Assists/s (11.55/11/198); Digs/s (13.59/10/271); Aces/s (0.97/10/290); Blocks/s (2.38/7/56); Opponent Hitting Percentage (.223/10/250).
Categorical Leaders -- Kills/s (Kendra Dahlke, 3.30); Assists/s (Julia Patterson, 10.08); Aces/s (Katie Smoot, 0.22); Digs/s (Makenna Martin, 2.71); Blocks/s (Devyn Cross, 1.01).
All-Time Series Records
Washington State - ASU Leads, 34-28 (H: 21-10, A: 12-18, N: 1-0)
Arizona - ASU Leads, 50-49 (H: 34-16, A: 14-27, N: 2-5)
Last Time Out_The Sun Devils visited No. 17 Utah and Colorado, dropping the matches by counts of 3-0 and 3-2, respectively.
-- Utah: The Arizona State volleyball (10-19, 0-17 Pac-12) fell in three sets to No. 17 UTAH (20-8, 11-6 Pac-12), 21-25, 19-25, 15-25, Friday night at the Huntsman Center. Senior libero Halle Harker recorded 15 digs on the outing, bringing her season total to 559, a mark which now accounts for the seventh-best single-season tally in program history. With three matches remaining on the season slate and 1,962 career digs to her credit, Harker sits just 48 digs shy of Stephanie Preach's career second-place mark of 2,010. Offensively, senior outside hitter Oluoma Okaro led the Sun Devils with 13 kills. She has now recorded double-digit kills tallies in 25 of Arizona State's 29 matches on the season. Joining Okaro in double-figures was junior Peyton Grahovac, who logged 10 kills at an efficient clip of .375 (10-1-24).
-- Colorado: The Arizona State volleyball team (10-20, 0-18 Pac-12) fell in five sets to Colorado (21-8, 11-7 Pac-12), 28-26, 16-25, 26-24, 23-15, 11-15, on Saturday night at the Coors Events Center. Leading the way for the Sun Devils was senior right side hitter Oluoma Okaro, who finished the night with 25 kills, 15 digs, and three blocks. Okaro's double-double marks her team-leading 11th this season. Freshmen middle blocker Peyton Grahovac and outside hitter Griere Hughes added 12 kills each. Grahovac's mark was one off her career high of 13 kills, while Hughes posted a team-high attack percentage of .308 for the match. Sophomore setter Nicole Peterson posted her seventh double-double of the season with 51 assists and 21 digs, which is seven more than her previous career high in digs, set against Utah on Oct. 15. Peterson also added three kills and four blocks to her stat line. Junior middle blocker Carmen Unzue also a career high in blocks, finishing the match with nine total (two solo blocks and seven block assists). Her previous best of six was set on Oct. 7 against USC.
Coaching Note_With head coach Sanja Tomasevic not slated to travel due to the recent birth of her daughter Stella, Carlos Moreno will continue to serve as interim head coach.
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 21 of the team's 30 matches on the season, Okaro boasts a kills per set average of 4.42, marking the second-best tally in the conference and the 17th-best in the country. Her points per set average of 5.04 accounts for the third-best in the league and 19th-best in the country, while her 11 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 1,981 marks the third-best in Arizona State program history, and also constitutes the 11th most in the NCAA among active players. With two matches remaining on the season slate, Harker sits 19 digs away from 2,000 and 29 digs shy of Stephanie Preach's career second-place mark of 2,010. The Pac-12 conference's current leader in digs per set at a clip of 5.30, Harker sits 22nd in the nation in that category. Harker continues to hold the seventh-best single-season digs tally in program history with 579, leaving her just 21 digs away from becoming seventh Sun Devil in program history to surpass the 600-dig mark.
ASU Career Digs Leaders
1. Sydney Donahue, 2004-07 – 2385
2. Stephanie Preach, 2010-13 – 2010
3. Halle Harker, 2014-present – 1981
4. Christy Nore, 1985-88 – 1597
5. Jami Coughlin, 1998-2001 – 1528
Harker's Digs By Season
-- 2014: 521
-- 2015: 423
-- 2016: 459
-- 2017: 578 and counting...
Arizona State Single-Season Digs Leaders
1. 742, Sydney Donahue, 2006
2. 640, Sydney Donahue, 2007
3. 628, Sydney Donahue, 2005
4. 619, Stephanie Preach, 2012
5. 610, Stephanie Preach, 2011
6. 601, Mindy Gowell, 1990
7. 578, Halle Harker, 2017
8. 556, Christy Nore, 1988
9. 550, Stephanie Preach, 2013
10. 538,Kelly Plaisted, 1990
11. 521, Halle Harker, 2015
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 20 starts on the season, boasts an assists per set tally of 10.16, good enough for the fifth-best mark in the conference. Her seven double-doubles account on the season account for the second most on the program behind Oluoma Okaro's 11. Of pertinent note, Peterson posted her seventh double-double of the season with 51 assists and a career-high 21 digs, against Colorado on Nov. 18.
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 19 of Arizona State's 30 outings on the season. She currently boasts a kills per set average of 3.00. 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 10.47 to her credit. Beedie, a middle blocker from Cambridge, Ontario, has appeared in 14 matches on the season for the Sun Devils, logging 60 kills and 15 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.
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