By Craig Morgan, TheSunDevils.com Writer
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Brad Keenan believes the 2017 Sun Devil beach volleyball team created the first legitimate momentum for the four-year-old program when it went 16-16 and finished 3-2 in Pac-12 play.
Sustaining that momentum will be a tall task for ASU's second-year coach. The Sun Devils lost four top seniors -- Bianca Arrelano, Cassidy Pickrell, Whitney Follette and Madison Berridge -- to graduation.
Keenan's 2018 roster includes six freshmen: Kate Baldwin, Sierra Ellett, Bailey Anderson, Cierra Flood, Cassidy Schilling and Samantha Plaster.
"It's not going to be easy," Keenan said. "A lot of them will probably play this year which is a good sign for the future, but we're going to be young."
"We lost some size but we did gain a lot of ball control with our freshmen, and a lot them have been playing beach for a long time. Some of our older kids came in with very little experience because it was a new college sport. Most of these young kids played all through high school so you're starting to see a bigger talent pool coming in with each class."
One of those freshmen, Plaster, has witnessed the growth of the sport at the prep and club levels, mainly for its cool factor.
"I started beach my sophomore year in high school because it's a lot more fun than indoor," she said. "You're outdoors in the sun practicing, and I always looked forward to the beach tournaments back home because you could invite your friends to come on a Friday night."
Keenan has likely settled on his top two pairs, with seniors Kwyn Johnson and Mia Rivera forming the No. 1 team and sophomores Katelyn Carballo and Ellyson Lundberg forming the No. 2 team. Baldwin and Flood may be the most polished of the freshmen, but Keenan said he is still tinkering with the lineup.
"We've got some good kids, but I'm still getting a feel for where I want to put them," he said. "It's just about performing when the lights are on. We'll see what happens when the whistle blows and there's a team on the other side."
To shepherd the freshmen though their first season, Keenan is relying heavily on seniors such as Johnson. No captains have been named, but Johnson has already taken over the team's social media accounts and has organized self-defense classes for the team.
Johnson said the freshmen have injected energy into the program.
"We didn't know what they could do coming in but they have really proven that they can play this year and they are capable of playing at this level," Johnson said. "It's been fun to watch."
"We have some girls who are so fast that they can make plays happen. They have raw talent they need to hone in on but they are so quick that there have been times when I was like, 'whoa', I would play with any of these girls.'"
Johnson is facing her own challenge, moving up to the top pair where she has never played before.
"It's definitely a little bit intimidating if we are the 1s because we will play the best of each team, but I'm excited for the challenge," she said.
Like Keenan, Johnson hopes the Sun Devils can build off last season's momentum despite their youth movement.
"I don't think anybody took us seriously before last year," she said. "We were a new team and only a few players had actually played beach for long but after our win over Arizona people took notice of us. We kind of put our names on the map."
"I feel like our freshman class gets stronger every year and before long we'll be able to recruit the level of players that USC and UCLA are getting right now. We're getting more scholarships as we grow, which helps, too. I really think the program is headed in the right direction."
Follow Craig Morgan on Twitter
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Brad Keenan believes the 2017 Sun Devil beach volleyball team created the first legitimate momentum for the four-year-old program when it went 16-16 and finished 3-2 in Pac-12 play.
Sustaining that momentum will be a tall task for ASU's second-year coach. The Sun Devils lost four top seniors -- Bianca Arrelano, Cassidy Pickrell, Whitney Follette and Madison Berridge -- to graduation.
Keenan's 2018 roster includes six freshmen: Kate Baldwin, Sierra Ellett, Bailey Anderson, Cierra Flood, Cassidy Schilling and Samantha Plaster.
"It's not going to be easy," Keenan said. "A lot of them will probably play this year which is a good sign for the future, but we're going to be young."
"We lost some size but we did gain a lot of ball control with our freshmen, and a lot them have been playing beach for a long time. Some of our older kids came in with very little experience because it was a new college sport. Most of these young kids played all through high school so you're starting to see a bigger talent pool coming in with each class."
One of those freshmen, Plaster, has witnessed the growth of the sport at the prep and club levels, mainly for its cool factor.
"I started beach my sophomore year in high school because it's a lot more fun than indoor," she said. "You're outdoors in the sun practicing, and I always looked forward to the beach tournaments back home because you could invite your friends to come on a Friday night."
Keenan has likely settled on his top two pairs, with seniors Kwyn Johnson and Mia Rivera forming the No. 1 team and sophomores Katelyn Carballo and Ellyson Lundberg forming the No. 2 team. Baldwin and Flood may be the most polished of the freshmen, but Keenan said he is still tinkering with the lineup.
"We've got some good kids, but I'm still getting a feel for where I want to put them," he said. "It's just about performing when the lights are on. We'll see what happens when the whistle blows and there's a team on the other side."
To shepherd the freshmen though their first season, Keenan is relying heavily on seniors such as Johnson. No captains have been named, but Johnson has already taken over the team's social media accounts and has organized self-defense classes for the team.
Johnson said the freshmen have injected energy into the program.
"We didn't know what they could do coming in but they have really proven that they can play this year and they are capable of playing at this level," Johnson said. "It's been fun to watch."
"We have some girls who are so fast that they can make plays happen. They have raw talent they need to hone in on but they are so quick that there have been times when I was like, 'whoa', I would play with any of these girls.'"
Johnson is facing her own challenge, moving up to the top pair where she has never played before.
"It's definitely a little bit intimidating if we are the 1s because we will play the best of each team, but I'm excited for the challenge," she said.
Like Keenan, Johnson hopes the Sun Devils can build off last season's momentum despite their youth movement.
"I don't think anybody took us seriously before last year," she said. "We were a new team and only a few players had actually played beach for long but after our win over Arizona people took notice of us. We kind of put our names on the map."
"I feel like our freshman class gets stronger every year and before long we'll be able to recruit the level of players that USC and UCLA are getting right now. We're getting more scholarships as we grow, which helps, too. I really think the program is headed in the right direction."
Follow Craig Morgan on Twitter