TEMPE, Ariz. – The Arizona State volleyball team (7-2) wraps up its non-conference slate this weekend traveling to Arlington, Texas for the Maverick Classic, Sep. 15-16.
The weekend tournament is set to be hosted at UT Arlington's College Park Center, and will feature Southland affiliates Lamar and Houston Baptist, as well as tournament-host UT Arlington.
The Sun Devils will open play on Friday, Sep. 16 with a 3 p.m. PT tilt with Lamar. Arizona State will then round out the tournament with a pair of matches on Saturday, Sept. 17, slated to take on Houston Baptist (8 a.m. PT) and UT Arlington (4 p.m. PT).
Last time out, the Sun Devils pieced together a 3-0 outing at the 2017 Lumberjack Classic in Flagstaff, Ariz. The Maroon and Gold capped play with a straight-set (28-26, 25-20, 25-15) victory over Utah State, Saturday, Sep. 10. Arizona State's Saturday morning victory was preceded by Friday wins over Cal State Bakersfield (3-0) and Northern Arizona (3-1), granting Arizona State a three-match win streak. Senior libero, Halle Harker netted Lumberjack Classic MVP honors, while senior Oluoma Okaro and junior Peyton Grahovac earned selection to the event's all-tournament team.
How To Follow This Weekend's Action…
Lamar: Live Stats | Live Stream
Houston Baptist: Live Stats | Live Stream
UT Arlington: Live Stats | Live Stream
Head-To-Head...
Arizona State's meeting with Houston Baptist on Sep. 17 willl represent's the program's first with the Southland affiliate. The Sun Devils will look to bolster their all-time, 2-0, series lead versus Lamar on Sep. 16, while aiming to improve on their 4-0, series deficit to UT Arlington on Sep. 17.
Hark! The Halle digs...
Compiling 43 digs at this past weekend's Lumberjack Classic, en route to earning recognition as the tournament's MVP, Sun Devil senior, libero Halle Harker now has 1,572 career digs to her credit, 25 digs shy of Christy Nore's third-place mark of 1,597. The career tally now accounts for the 12th most in the NCAA, among active players. Her digs per set season average of 5.28 marks the second-best in the Pac-12 Conference and 30th best in the NCAA.
ASU Career Digs Leaders...
True freshmen Griere Hughes and Shelbie Dobemier have made their presence known in the early going of the 2017 season. Hughes, an outside hitter from Fishers, Indiana, has notched double-figure kills tallies in six of Arizona State's nine outings on the season. Her kills per set average of 3.13 marks the tenth-best in the conference and second-best among freshmen. Dobmeier, a setter, from Lakewood, Calif, remains the Pac-12 leader in assists per set, with a tally of 12.04 to her credit. The mark also accounts for the ninth-best in the country, and has propelled the Sun Devils to a league-best average of 13.53.
New Year, Same Oly…
In each of Arizona State's three tournaments (nine matches) on the season Oluoma Okaro has garnered all-tournament team recognition. After collecting MVP honors at the Arizona State-hosted Sun Devil Classic, Aug. 25-26, Okaro has gone on to net placement on the all-tournament teams of the Gonzaga Invitational (Sep. 1-2) and Lumberjack Classic (Sep. 8-9), respectively. Having paced the Sun Devils on the attack in each of the team's nine matches on the season, Okaro boasts a kills per set average of 4.78, marking the third-best tally in the conference and the 13th-best in the country. Her points per set average of 5.61 also accounts for the third-best in the league. Okaro's four double-doubles on the campaign sits tied for the most in the Pac-12 Conference with Lindsey Vander Weide of Oregon.
There's A New Sheriff In Town, Last Name Grahovac…
A transfer from Long Beach State, Sun Devil junior Peyton Grahovac has been a steady force for the Maroon and Gold since arriving in Tempe. After compiling 23 kills, nine digs and eight total blocks in Arizona State's outing at the Lumberjack Classic, Sep. 8-9. Grahovac netted selection to the event's all-tournament team.
Top Dog In The Pac…
The Sun Devils are statistical leaders in two categories in the Pac-12 conference, pacing the league in digs (16.94) and assists (13.53). The Maroon and Gold also notably rank fifth in the conference in kills (14.19).
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.
Tomasevic Garners First Career Win...
In her first match at the helm of the Sun Devil volleyball program, first-year head coach Sanja Tomasevic guided the Sun Devils to a 3-0 straight-set sweep of visiting Weber St on Aug. 25. The statement victory preceded two additional wins, seeing the Sun Devils exit the weekend at a perfect 3-0 season mark.
Meet The Team...
The Seniors: Libero Halle Harker, middle blocker Oluoma Okaro and defensive specialist Blair Robalin return for their respective senior seasons. Joining the crop of seniors is transfer outside hitter Isabel Miller, who previously competed at Boise State and San Diego Mesa.
Harker has led the Sun Devils in digs in each of her previous three seasons donning the Maroon and Gold and appeared in all 120 sets for Arizona State in 2016. Her career tally of 1,403 digs sits at No. 6 in the all-time ASU record book.
Okaro made an immediate impact last season after transferring to the program from San Francisco, ultimately earning All-Pac-12 honorable mention honors. Posting a team-best 336 kills, Okaro also notched 128 blocks and 39 service aces to highlight a strong Junior campaign.
Robalin who enters her third season with the team appeared in 10 sets while tallying 11 digs in 2016.
Miller who most recently spent two seasons at San Diego-Mesa College averaged 4.89 kills per set overall and 5.49 in conference while holding a .228 hitting percentage last season for the Olympians.
The Juniors: Middle blocker Carmen Unzue is back for her second season with the Sun Devils, joined by transfers Peyton Grahovac (Opposite Hitter/Long Beach State) and Alexa Lister (Middle Hitter/Louisiana Tech).
Unzue posted 26 kills and 15 total blocks while appearing in 28 sets for the Sun Devils in 2016.
Grahovac joins the Sun Devils after two exceptional seasons at Long Beach State, that saw the Orange, Calif., native accumulate 321 kills and 85 blocks, while appearing in 165 sets and making 44 starts.
Alexa Lister, daughter of Arizona State Hall of Fame basketball player Alton Lister, last spent two seasons under Adriano de Souza at Louisiana Tech University. She appeared in 87 sets while making 21 starts as a Sophomore in 2016, pacing the Lady Techsters in blocks with 46 to her credit and finishing the season third in kills (154).
The Sophomores: Libero Courtney Leffel, setter Nicole Peterson, defensive specialist Halle Johnson and outside hitter Ivana Jeremic return for their sophomore seasons, joined by Santa Clara transfer Callie Jones.
Leffel, who appeared in 116 of 120 total sets for the Sun Devils in 2016, notched 196 digs, accounting for the second most in that category on the season.
Peterson who saw playing time in 47 total sets, posted 264 assists (second-most on the team), while adding 68 digs and nine service aces for Arizona State in 2016.
Johnson appeared in 78 total sets while tallying 120 digs in 2016.
Jeremic heads into 2017 coming off a strong freshman campaign in 2016, that saw her post 246 kills, an average of 2.4 per set, while adding 127 digs.
The Freshmen: The Sun Devils' 2017 roster features four freshmen: Griere Hughes (Outside Hitter/Fishers, IN./Hamilton Southeastern), Danica Krstonošic (Outside Hitter/Novi Sad, Serbia/Jovan Jovanovic Zmaj), Shelbie Dobmeier (Setter/Lakewood, Calif./Lakewood) and Megan Beedie (Middle Blocker/Cambridge, ON./Jacob Hespeler Secondary School).
Meet The Staff...
Head Coach/Sanja Tomasevic: Tomasevic was named the eight coach of the Arizona State volleyball program on Dec. 21, 2016. She moves into the role after serving the program as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for ASU's indoor program in 2016, where the Sun Devils capped the year with three straight home wins, including a five-set thriller over Pac-12 rival Arizona.
Prior to her time in Tempe, Tomasevic spent two years at the University of Miami, where she helped the Hurricanes reach back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. The 2015 season also marked Miami's second straight season with 20-plus wins. Tomasevic went to Miami after spending two seasons at Texas-San Antonio (UTSA) as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Roadrunners.
The Serbia native played eight years professionally, including the final two as a co-captain of POMI Casalmaggiore in Italy. She was named to four All-Star Games and was named the Best Server at the 2010 European Challenge Cup. She won three league championships, including back-to-back Greek titles with Panathinaikos in 2009 and 2010.
A two-time All-American and the 2005 Asics and CVU.com National Player of the Year at the University of Washington, Tomasevic 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 Coach/Carlos Moreno: Named to the Sun Devil staff on Feb. 2, Moreno joins the program after previously serving as a graduate assistant under the direction of Amanda Berkley at Southern Mississippi University. During his one-year tenure at Southern Miss, Moreno operated in a number of facets including on-court coaching, recruiting, fundraising, and compliance. Moreno most notably worked extensively with the team's offensive systems and setters, including All-Conference honoree Sarah Bell.
Prior to his stint at Southern Miss, Moreno garnered coaching experience directing camps and clinics in his native country of Brazil, while also serving as the head coach of the University of Sao Paulo Women's Volleyball Team from 2000 to 2002.
Preceding his coaching career, 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 Coach/Macey Gardner: Former Sun Devil standout Macey Gardner was tabbed to the role of assistant coach on May 15, after serving one season as an assistant coach under Shane Pinder at Liberty University. Arguably one of the greatest student-athletes in not only the program's history, but Sun Devil Athletics' history, Garnder notched a plethora of accolades during her time as a Sun Devil.
Macey Gardner Sun Devil Trophy Case
This upcoming season, Arizona State will be one of six schools in the Pac-12 Conference to utilize instant replay systems at home matches. Instituted by the NCAA at the start of the 2016 season, the challenge review system is currently optional and not a requirement of competition. Outlined protocol for the systems is as follows: Each team will have three challenges per match; Challenges are not tied to timeouts; Only the team that lost the rally will be able to challenge; If the call is reversed, the team that lost the review will be able to challenge another aspect of the point. Each team will be limited to one challenge per rally; A coach will need to make the challenge before the referee extends his arm for service to begin the next point; There must be indisputable video evidence for the official to change the original call. Coaches will be allowed to challenge the following plays.
The weekend tournament is set to be hosted at UT Arlington's College Park Center, and will feature Southland affiliates Lamar and Houston Baptist, as well as tournament-host UT Arlington.
The Sun Devils will open play on Friday, Sep. 16 with a 3 p.m. PT tilt with Lamar. Arizona State will then round out the tournament with a pair of matches on Saturday, Sept. 17, slated to take on Houston Baptist (8 a.m. PT) and UT Arlington (4 p.m. PT).
Last time out, the Sun Devils pieced together a 3-0 outing at the 2017 Lumberjack Classic in Flagstaff, Ariz. The Maroon and Gold capped play with a straight-set (28-26, 25-20, 25-15) victory over Utah State, Saturday, Sep. 10. Arizona State's Saturday morning victory was preceded by Friday wins over Cal State Bakersfield (3-0) and Northern Arizona (3-1), granting Arizona State a three-match win streak. Senior libero, Halle Harker netted Lumberjack Classic MVP honors, while senior Oluoma Okaro and junior Peyton Grahovac earned selection to the event's all-tournament team.
How To Follow This Weekend's Action…
Lamar: Live Stats | Live Stream
Houston Baptist: Live Stats | Live Stream
UT Arlington: Live Stats | Live Stream
Head-To-Head...
Arizona State's meeting with Houston Baptist on Sep. 17 willl represent's the program's first with the Southland affiliate. The Sun Devils will look to bolster their all-time, 2-0, series lead versus Lamar on Sep. 16, while aiming to improve on their 4-0, series deficit to UT Arlington on Sep. 17.
Hark! The Halle digs...
Compiling 43 digs at this past weekend's Lumberjack Classic, en route to earning recognition as the tournament's MVP, Sun Devil senior, libero Halle Harker now has 1,572 career digs to her credit, 25 digs shy of Christy Nore's third-place mark of 1,597. The career tally now accounts for the 12th most in the NCAA, among active players. Her digs per set season average of 5.28 marks the second-best in the Pac-12 Conference and 30th best in the NCAA.
ASU Career Digs Leaders...
- Sydney Donahue, 2004-07-- 2385
- Stephanie Preach, 2010-2013—2010
- Christy Nore, 1985-88 –1597
- Halle Harker, 2014-present—1572
- Jami Coughlin, 1998-2001—1528
True freshmen Griere Hughes and Shelbie Dobemier have made their presence known in the early going of the 2017 season. Hughes, an outside hitter from Fishers, Indiana, has notched double-figure kills tallies in six of Arizona State's nine outings on the season. Her kills per set average of 3.13 marks the tenth-best in the conference and second-best among freshmen. Dobmeier, a setter, from Lakewood, Calif, remains the Pac-12 leader in assists per set, with a tally of 12.04 to her credit. The mark also accounts for the ninth-best in the country, and has propelled the Sun Devils to a league-best average of 13.53.
New Year, Same Oly…
In each of Arizona State's three tournaments (nine matches) on the season Oluoma Okaro has garnered all-tournament team recognition. After collecting MVP honors at the Arizona State-hosted Sun Devil Classic, Aug. 25-26, Okaro has gone on to net placement on the all-tournament teams of the Gonzaga Invitational (Sep. 1-2) and Lumberjack Classic (Sep. 8-9), respectively. Having paced the Sun Devils on the attack in each of the team's nine matches on the season, Okaro boasts a kills per set average of 4.78, marking the third-best tally in the conference and the 13th-best in the country. Her points per set average of 5.61 also accounts for the third-best in the league. Okaro's four double-doubles on the campaign sits tied for the most in the Pac-12 Conference with Lindsey Vander Weide of Oregon.
There's A New Sheriff In Town, Last Name Grahovac…
A transfer from Long Beach State, Sun Devil junior Peyton Grahovac has been a steady force for the Maroon and Gold since arriving in Tempe. After compiling 23 kills, nine digs and eight total blocks in Arizona State's outing at the Lumberjack Classic, Sep. 8-9. Grahovac netted selection to the event's all-tournament team.
Top Dog In The Pac…
The Sun Devils are statistical leaders in two categories in the Pac-12 conference, pacing the league in digs (16.94) and assists (13.53). The Maroon and Gold also notably rank fifth in the conference in kills (14.19).
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.
Tomasevic Garners First Career Win...
In her first match at the helm of the Sun Devil volleyball program, first-year head coach Sanja Tomasevic guided the Sun Devils to a 3-0 straight-set sweep of visiting Weber St on Aug. 25. The statement victory preceded two additional wins, seeing the Sun Devils exit the weekend at a perfect 3-0 season mark.
Meet The Team...
The Seniors: Libero Halle Harker, middle blocker Oluoma Okaro and defensive specialist Blair Robalin return for their respective senior seasons. Joining the crop of seniors is transfer outside hitter Isabel Miller, who previously competed at Boise State and San Diego Mesa.
Harker has led the Sun Devils in digs in each of her previous three seasons donning the Maroon and Gold and appeared in all 120 sets for Arizona State in 2016. Her career tally of 1,403 digs sits at No. 6 in the all-time ASU record book.
Okaro made an immediate impact last season after transferring to the program from San Francisco, ultimately earning All-Pac-12 honorable mention honors. Posting a team-best 336 kills, Okaro also notched 128 blocks and 39 service aces to highlight a strong Junior campaign.
Robalin who enters her third season with the team appeared in 10 sets while tallying 11 digs in 2016.
Miller who most recently spent two seasons at San Diego-Mesa College averaged 4.89 kills per set overall and 5.49 in conference while holding a .228 hitting percentage last season for the Olympians.
The Juniors: Middle blocker Carmen Unzue is back for her second season with the Sun Devils, joined by transfers Peyton Grahovac (Opposite Hitter/Long Beach State) and Alexa Lister (Middle Hitter/Louisiana Tech).
Unzue posted 26 kills and 15 total blocks while appearing in 28 sets for the Sun Devils in 2016.
Grahovac joins the Sun Devils after two exceptional seasons at Long Beach State, that saw the Orange, Calif., native accumulate 321 kills and 85 blocks, while appearing in 165 sets and making 44 starts.
Alexa Lister, daughter of Arizona State Hall of Fame basketball player Alton Lister, last spent two seasons under Adriano de Souza at Louisiana Tech University. She appeared in 87 sets while making 21 starts as a Sophomore in 2016, pacing the Lady Techsters in blocks with 46 to her credit and finishing the season third in kills (154).
The Sophomores: Libero Courtney Leffel, setter Nicole Peterson, defensive specialist Halle Johnson and outside hitter Ivana Jeremic return for their sophomore seasons, joined by Santa Clara transfer Callie Jones.
Leffel, who appeared in 116 of 120 total sets for the Sun Devils in 2016, notched 196 digs, accounting for the second most in that category on the season.
Peterson who saw playing time in 47 total sets, posted 264 assists (second-most on the team), while adding 68 digs and nine service aces for Arizona State in 2016.
Johnson appeared in 78 total sets while tallying 120 digs in 2016.
Jeremic heads into 2017 coming off a strong freshman campaign in 2016, that saw her post 246 kills, an average of 2.4 per set, while adding 127 digs.
The Freshmen: The Sun Devils' 2017 roster features four freshmen: Griere Hughes (Outside Hitter/Fishers, IN./Hamilton Southeastern), Danica Krstonošic (Outside Hitter/Novi Sad, Serbia/Jovan Jovanovic Zmaj), Shelbie Dobmeier (Setter/Lakewood, Calif./Lakewood) and Megan Beedie (Middle Blocker/Cambridge, ON./Jacob Hespeler Secondary School).
Meet The Staff...
Head Coach/Sanja Tomasevic: Tomasevic was named the eight coach of the Arizona State volleyball program on Dec. 21, 2016. She moves into the role after serving the program as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for ASU's indoor program in 2016, where the Sun Devils capped the year with three straight home wins, including a five-set thriller over Pac-12 rival Arizona.
Prior to her time in Tempe, Tomasevic spent two years at the University of Miami, where she helped the Hurricanes reach back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. The 2015 season also marked Miami's second straight season with 20-plus wins. Tomasevic went to Miami after spending two seasons at Texas-San Antonio (UTSA) as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Roadrunners.
The Serbia native played eight years professionally, including the final two as a co-captain of POMI Casalmaggiore in Italy. She was named to four All-Star Games and was named the Best Server at the 2010 European Challenge Cup. She won three league championships, including back-to-back Greek titles with Panathinaikos in 2009 and 2010.
A two-time All-American and the 2005 Asics and CVU.com National Player of the Year at the University of Washington, Tomasevic 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 Coach/Carlos Moreno: Named to the Sun Devil staff on Feb. 2, Moreno joins the program after previously serving as a graduate assistant under the direction of Amanda Berkley at Southern Mississippi University. During his one-year tenure at Southern Miss, Moreno operated in a number of facets including on-court coaching, recruiting, fundraising, and compliance. Moreno most notably worked extensively with the team's offensive systems and setters, including All-Conference honoree Sarah Bell.
Prior to his stint at Southern Miss, Moreno garnered coaching experience directing camps and clinics in his native country of Brazil, while also serving as the head coach of the University of Sao Paulo Women's Volleyball Team from 2000 to 2002.
Preceding his coaching career, 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 Coach/Macey Gardner: Former Sun Devil standout Macey Gardner was tabbed to the role of assistant coach on May 15, after serving one season as an assistant coach under Shane Pinder at Liberty University. Arguably one of the greatest student-athletes in not only the program's history, but Sun Devil Athletics' history, Garnder notched a plethora of accolades during her time as a Sun Devil.
Macey Gardner Sun Devil Trophy Case
- ASU record holder for career kills with 1,882, 11 more than the previous record holder.
- 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.
- Recorded eight matches with 27 or more kills.
- First Sun Devil to earn national honors from the AVCA since Amanda Burbridge was recognized on Oct. 23, 2000.
- 2015 Pac-12 Women's Volleyball Player of the Week.
- 2015 AVCA Player of the Week.
- 2014 AVCA All-Pacific South Region Honoree, ASU's first since 2000.
- ASU's second three-time selection to the Pac-12 All-Conference team (joining Christine Garner (1993-95)).
- 2014 Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable Mention Honoree.
- Selected to play on the Pac-12 volleyball All-Star team in China in 2013
- Owns the ASU freshman records for total kills (577), kills per set (4.40) and kills in a match (28).
This upcoming season, Arizona State will be one of six schools in the Pac-12 Conference to utilize instant replay systems at home matches. Instituted by the NCAA at the start of the 2016 season, the challenge review system is currently optional and not a requirement of competition. Outlined protocol for the systems is as follows: Each team will have three challenges per match; Challenges are not tied to timeouts; Only the team that lost the rally will be able to challenge; If the call is reversed, the team that lost the review will be able to challenge another aspect of the point. Each team will be limited to one challenge per rally; A coach will need to make the challenge before the referee extends his arm for service to begin the next point; There must be indisputable video evidence for the official to change the original call. Coaches will be allowed to challenge the following plays.