Spring Has Sprung

Hi Everyone! Our spring season is complete, so I wanted to give you an update on all things ASU volleyball. First of all, I would like to welcome the three newest members of the ASU family. Debbie Ohl, Madison Huth and Julie Kennedy have all signed National Letters of Intent to play for the 'Belles next fall. They join our early signees, Kaelen Valdez, Teal Mahan and Shelby Warick along with our 10 returners, Emily Booth, Claire Chomout, Caroline Cleveland, Katie Coleman, Chelsea Gibson, Alisa Meredith, Kayla Smith, Kaitlyn Standard, Alexa Williams and Alex Woolsey to form a roster full of talent, skill and athleticism.

Ohl, is a junior college All-American coming to us from Hutchinson Community College. Last season, she was one of the best blockers in the country and has helped lead her team to two straight top 10 finishes at the junior college national championships. Huth is a very explosive athlete coming to us from The Colony HS in the Dallas area. She has high level club experience and some of the best natural block timing I have seen in a long time. Kennedy is a two time all-state performer from Brownwood HS. She helped lead her team to the state finals as a junior and wants to bring that same level of success to ASU. A gifted athlete, Julie has the tools to be one of the best players to come through our program.

Now that our spring season is over, we are beginning our end of the year meetings with our returners. We talk about where they have improved, what areas they need to continue to develop, how their classwork is going and what their plans are for the summer. The players are also gearing up for final exams and pushing to have a strong finish to their semesters in the classroom.

Over the course of our spring, I think that an area that our team really showed improvement in was our team defense. In the fall, we averaged about 14 digs per set. In the spring however, we were averaging nearly 20 digs per set and blocking several more balls for points. We have always felt that we have the offensive firepower to compete with the best teams out there, but were just a little bit behind in how we defended. I feel that our team has a much better understanding of how we need to play defense in order to be successful at the highest level. Six more digs per set, means six more opportunities to score points. That could equate to a lot more wins next fall.

I would also like to take this opportunity to publicly thank Allen McCreary for his time, dedication and effort over the past two years. Allen has accepted the 1st assistant position at Towson University, a Division I school located in Maryland. It is a great opportunity for Allen and his family and something that he really could not pass up. We will miss you Allen! A national search for his replacement is currently underway. I will update you when we make a decision.

Camp is just around the corner. We will be holding position camps for setters, hitters and defenders on June 14-15 on the ASU campus. We also will have all skills camps for kids in grades 4-7 and 8-12 June 16-18. Our team competition camp will be held July 29-30. For more information, check out www.asuvolleyball.com.

That's all for now! Just remember the next time you are playing, if you have a chance, make sure you Take it to Spike Town!!