(Photo: Trey Lanthier/WCSN)
A new season means new players, and Arizona State volleyball head coach Jason Watson had a busy off-season bringing in the No. 20 freshmen class in the country. Adding six freshmen and one transfer, Watson’s 16-player roster looks stronger than ever as the Sun Devils are currently ranked No. 16 in the nation and are predicted to finish second in the Pac-12.
“Our freshmen are so strong,” ASU outside hitter Kizzy Ricedorff said. “They came in strong. They came in prepared. They came in ready mentally and physically. We are just rolling right now, it’s just really exciting to know what is ahead of us for this season.”
The young talent added to the roster will not only help the Sun Devils this year, but also in the future. With the likes of Bianca Arellano, Whitney Follette, Macy Gardner and two others graduating at the end of the year, Watson had to recruit players to make sure the next few years are bright.
“We don’t want to think about the future, we want to deal with what’s now.” Watson said. “But, the reality is at the end of the season, we lose some talented athletes, and to able to replace them now and to get them experience is going to be crucial. We certainly don’t want to be a program that peaks in 2015. We want to sustain some stuff. I think the 2015 recruiting class helps us a lot. They are remarkably talented.”
The Sun Devils did not lose any of their starters from last season, and with last year’s team consistently in the top-25, it is going to be a challenge to beat out some of the seasoned veterans. However, without an actual game being played, a handful of players who have shined and could make an immediate impact when they see the court.
Two names to look out for are the Pickrell sisters, Kylie and Cassidy. Kylie, a 6-foot-1-inch setter, was one of 18 Max Preps Player of the Year nominees as a senior. During her high school career, she helped Coppell High School win three Texas state championships and her club Texas Advantage Volleyball was on one of the best teams in the nation.
“The team I played for was one of the topped ranked in the country,” Kylie said. “And so practices and tournaments meant playing at a high level all the time. It wasn’t picking up where I left off, but it made the transition a lot easier.”
Her sister, Cassidy, is a 6-foot junior outside hitter transferring from UC Irvine. During her sophomore season as an Anteater, Cassidy led the team in kills with 407, tacking on 34 blocks and 328 digs.
“One of the things with her at Irvine was that she was the show over there,” Watson said. “It always makes me laugh when you see Macey and her hitting efficiency numbers aren’t so great because everyone knows the ball is going there, and her hitting efficiency keeps going up. It’s really impressive and Cassidy was the same way for Irvine. I think she doesn’t have the show here, so she’s freed up to go do her thing which is a nice deal for her and a great deal for us.”
Some other freshmen that should see some playing time early in the schedule are middle blockers Jasmine Koonts and Tia Philippart, outside hitter Lexi MacLean, Kierstin Fowler and libero Blair Robalin.
Having so many different players that Watson can utilize could be the difference between this year and Watson’s last seven seasons at ASU. He recently expressed some excitement in a recent tweet:
Today's scrimmage ended week 2 of practice. Been a productive week. Really like where @SunDevilVB is at right now.
— Jason Watson (@Coach_JDubVB) August 22, 2015
The Sun Devils kick off the season in Colorado Springs, Colorado, for the Falcon Classic on August 26-28 and will play Northeastern, New Mexico State and Air Force.
