Isanovic, ASU volleyball come up short
Sophomore hitter Iman Isanovic did all she could to carry Arizona State volleyball to a win in its home opener Thursday.
She took 70 attempts and had a career high 22 kills against Washington State but not enough help in a narrow five-set loss at Desert Financial Arena. The Cougars (2-1) won 17-25, 26-24, 25-10, 23-25, 16-14. ASU dropped to 1-2.
“The offense has to be a lot more balanced,” coach Sanja Tomasevic said. “We can’t have one player with 70 swings and the next most with 34. Ella (Snyder) did a better job in the last two matches distributing to make it more even. We need to get better at serve/receive so she can start the offense.”
ASU was in position to go up 2-0, leading 21-17 in the second set. Instead, the Cougars went on a 6-0 run that included
a pair of Penny Tusa aces. The Sun Devils pulled even at 23 and 24 but could not take the second.
“This is a really young team and our
first time playing together,” Isanovic said. “A lot of it has to do with the inexpe
All fall under the responsibility of Gorski, ASU athletic facilities maintenance coordinator, who will direct a team of 12 to 15 people in setting up the venues and keeping them clean to meet COVID guidelines.
Gorski’s next four works days will go something like this:
Thursday
● 6:30-7 a.m. — Set up arena for volleyball.
● Noon — ASU volleyball vs. Washington State.
● 2-3 p.m. — Set up arena for basketball.
4 p.m. — Check on Whiteman Tennis Center set up.
● 6 p.m. — ASU men’s tennis vs. Florida Atlantic (originally scheduled for Friday but changed to rain forecast).
● 9 p.m. — ASU men’s basketball vs. California.
Midnight or
later — End of work
day.
Friday
● 5 a.m.-noon — gymnastics.
● 5 p.m. — ASU gymnastics vs. Oregon State.
● 7-10 p.m. — Take down gymnastics equipment.
Saturday
● 6:30-7 a.m. — Set up arena for volleyball.
● 11 a.m. — ASU volleyball vs. Washington State.
● 1-2 p.m. — Set up arena for basketball.
● 8 p.m. — ASU men’s basketball vs. Stanford.
● 11 p.m. or later — End of work day. Sunday
● Morning — Set up Whiteman Tennis Center.
● Noon — ASU women’s tennis NAU.
It’s approximately 86 hours that won’t include much sleep for the 27year-old Gorski and will be repeated through April. From Feb. 2-7 alone, ASU is hosting 16 events in eight sports, including the only home hockey games in an otherwise all-road schedule.
Set up
arena
for
vs.
“We’ve been preparing as much as we can,” Gorski said. “The spring is always a big stress around the arena with all the flips, this one especially because of the additional sports going on. I have as many of my student workers on hand this weekend as I can. More hands make light work. We’re trying to staff appropriately and hope everything goes smoothly.
“The most difficult element is incorporating (COVID-19 precautions) into an already busy schedule. Obviously it’s the upmost importance that everything stay clean and sanitized. So making sure everybody pays attention to safety and wearing their masks when we’re spraying, so there’s no cross contamination.”
ASU is only allowing a limited number of spectators (primarily family and friends) due to COVID-19. Otherwise the facility work would be even more daunting.
ASU has multiple supervisors and crews for its athletic facilities, all of whom assist others when needed.
“I’m getting help from the football crew and softball crew this weekend,” said Gorski, in his sixth year working in ASU facilities starting when he was a student. “Whoever isn’t busy, we pool the the resources together to might these tight turnarounds happens. We somehow always get it done. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy it. Weird as that sounds, it makes for an entertaining time. It’s very rewarding to see what can be done especially on weekends like this is a very challenging year.”