2018 SUN DEVIL CLASSIC
8/24 ASU vs. UT Arlington @ 11 a.m.
NM State vs. Pacific @ 2 p.m.
ASU vs. NM State @ 7 p.m.
8/25 UT Arlington vs. NM State @ 10 a.m.
Pacific vs. UT Arlington @ 2:30 p.m.
ASU vs. Pacific @ 7 p.m.
TEMPE, Ariz. – In its first matchups of the season, Sun Devil volleyball plays host to the Sun Devil Classic, welcoming New Mexico State, UT Arlington and Pacific on Friday and Saturday.
"In the preseason, what you bring to the table is as important as your opponent," coach Sanja Tomasevic said. "This is the first time we're testing what we have against our opponents."
This year marks the second year of the annual tournament with Weber State, North Dakota State and Boise State rolling into Wells Fargo Arena for the inaugural classic last August.
"It's always good when you can play your preseason at home, especially when you have a lot of new girls coming in like we did this year and last year," Tomasevic said. "When you're traveling to Puerto Rico and traveling to Wyoming, it's good to have a tournament at home."
The Sun Devils will use the tournament as an early season tune up before jetting off to Puerto Rico for the Puerto Rico Clasico. ASU recently cemented an impressive signing class headlined by transfers Alyse Ford and 2017 WAC Freshman of the Year Claire Kovensky. A promising crop of freshmen including Avital Jaloba, Keelie LeBlanc, Tatum Rohme and Paige Denton are set to take the court as well.
"Our transfers like Alyse give us a lot of necessary experience to our roster," Tomasevic said. "She's been to the Elite 8 and Sweet 16 and that is a clear advantage. Our amazing young players are also still learning, but they are patient and hardworking."
The Sun Devils dust off their shoes in the opening match of the tournament, facing off against UT Arlington. The Mavericks finished the year with a 13-17 overall record and 7-9 in conference play in 2017.
The Sun Devils and Mavericks faced off once last season when ASU traveled to the UT Arlington Maverick Classic for their non-conference finale. ASU came out on top in the matchup, gliding to an easy 3-0 sweep while then-senior Oluoma Okaro earned All-Tournament honors after her 17-kill performance led the Sun Devils to a .358 hitting percentage in the contest.
UT Arlington rounded out the 2017 season with a berth to the Sun Belt tournament as the No. 6 seed. The squad faced off against Appalachian State in the opening round, dropping the match up, 3-2, to bow out in the first round. They open their 2018 campaign with a match against Stephen F. Austin before heading to Tempe.
ASU and New Mexico State are set to face off in an evening showdown on Friday as well. The Aggies are a dominating force in the WAC, powering to a 21-8 overall record and 12-2 in conference play. Their lone two loses were both in five sets, one against UT Rio Grande Valley and the other against Utah Valley. NM State went into the WAC tournament as the No. 1 seed, but suffered a lost to No. 4 seeded Cal State Bakersfield in the semifinal round, 3-1.
"New Mexico State is a really good team who usually has a good RPI," Tomasevic said. "They're a really scrappy team who plays really good defense and rallies. They're definitely going to test our patience."
In the finale of the Classic, ASU and Pacific face off at 7 p.m. on Saturday night. The Tigers had an impressive 9-3 home record last year, with their final home loss coming in the second round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) Tournament.
Pacific notched a straight-set sweep of Boise State in the opening round, but could not keep up with UC Irvine, resulting in a five set loss to bow out of the postseason. That loss amounted to a 17-14 overall record and 11-7 in conference play last season.
"Pacific is traditionally a very good team in their conference," Tomasevic said. "They've had good RPI in the past, so we're excited to play them."
Fans can follow all the action of the tournament by following @SunDevilVB on Twitter. See below for the full tournament schedule.
8/24 ASU vs. UT Arlington @ 11 a.m.
NM State vs. Pacific @ 2 p.m.
ASU vs. NM State @ 7 p.m.
8/25 UT Arlington vs. NM State @ 10 a.m.
Pacific vs. UT Arlington @ 2:30 p.m.
ASU vs. Pacific @ 7 p.m.
TEMPE, Ariz. – In its first matchups of the season, Sun Devil volleyball plays host to the Sun Devil Classic, welcoming New Mexico State, UT Arlington and Pacific on Friday and Saturday.
"In the preseason, what you bring to the table is as important as your opponent," coach Sanja Tomasevic said. "This is the first time we're testing what we have against our opponents."
This year marks the second year of the annual tournament with Weber State, North Dakota State and Boise State rolling into Wells Fargo Arena for the inaugural classic last August.
"It's always good when you can play your preseason at home, especially when you have a lot of new girls coming in like we did this year and last year," Tomasevic said. "When you're traveling to Puerto Rico and traveling to Wyoming, it's good to have a tournament at home."
The Sun Devils will use the tournament as an early season tune up before jetting off to Puerto Rico for the Puerto Rico Clasico. ASU recently cemented an impressive signing class headlined by transfers Alyse Ford and 2017 WAC Freshman of the Year Claire Kovensky. A promising crop of freshmen including Avital Jaloba, Keelie LeBlanc, Tatum Rohme and Paige Denton are set to take the court as well.
"Our transfers like Alyse give us a lot of necessary experience to our roster," Tomasevic said. "She's been to the Elite 8 and Sweet 16 and that is a clear advantage. Our amazing young players are also still learning, but they are patient and hardworking."
The Sun Devils dust off their shoes in the opening match of the tournament, facing off against UT Arlington. The Mavericks finished the year with a 13-17 overall record and 7-9 in conference play in 2017.
The Sun Devils and Mavericks faced off once last season when ASU traveled to the UT Arlington Maverick Classic for their non-conference finale. ASU came out on top in the matchup, gliding to an easy 3-0 sweep while then-senior Oluoma Okaro earned All-Tournament honors after her 17-kill performance led the Sun Devils to a .358 hitting percentage in the contest.
UT Arlington rounded out the 2017 season with a berth to the Sun Belt tournament as the No. 6 seed. The squad faced off against Appalachian State in the opening round, dropping the match up, 3-2, to bow out in the first round. They open their 2018 campaign with a match against Stephen F. Austin before heading to Tempe.
ASU and New Mexico State are set to face off in an evening showdown on Friday as well. The Aggies are a dominating force in the WAC, powering to a 21-8 overall record and 12-2 in conference play. Their lone two loses were both in five sets, one against UT Rio Grande Valley and the other against Utah Valley. NM State went into the WAC tournament as the No. 1 seed, but suffered a lost to No. 4 seeded Cal State Bakersfield in the semifinal round, 3-1.
"New Mexico State is a really good team who usually has a good RPI," Tomasevic said. "They're a really scrappy team who plays really good defense and rallies. They're definitely going to test our patience."
In the finale of the Classic, ASU and Pacific face off at 7 p.m. on Saturday night. The Tigers had an impressive 9-3 home record last year, with their final home loss coming in the second round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) Tournament.
Pacific notched a straight-set sweep of Boise State in the opening round, but could not keep up with UC Irvine, resulting in a five set loss to bow out of the postseason. That loss amounted to a 17-14 overall record and 11-7 in conference play last season.
"Pacific is traditionally a very good team in their conference," Tomasevic said. "They've had good RPI in the past, so we're excited to play them."
Fans can follow all the action of the tournament by following @SunDevilVB on Twitter. See below for the full tournament schedule.