TEMPE – For Arizona State volleyball coach JJ Van Niel, offense does not begin when a setter puts the ball in the air or when a hitter takes an approach toward the net.
It starts behind the service line.
Van Niel has emphasized aggressive serving as the Sun Devils move deeper into Big 12 play, viewing each serve as an opportunity to disrupt an opponent before ASU’s defense and traditional offense take over.
“I always tell the team that your first attack is you’re serving at them,” Van Niel said. “That’s an attack. It’s not just ‘Get the ball in.’”
That philosophy was on display Sunday as No. 11 ASU (11-3, 2-1 Big 12) combined pressure from the service line with balanced setting and production throughout its lineup in a four-set victory over Iowa State (9-6, 3-1 Big 12).
The performance offered a broader look at what ASU’s offense can become when all parts work together.
“We have plenty of pins (outside and opposite-side hitters),” Van Niel said. “We got middles (middle blockers) that score.”
The Sun Devils’ depth at the outside hitters position has provided their setters with several options. Junior outside hitter Una Vajagić led ASU with 18 kills against Iowa State while hitting .371. Senior opposite hitter Noemie Glover, while struggling in the first and third set, added 13 kills and graduate outside hitter Aniya Clinton finished with 12 while hitting .360.
Having three outside hitters reach double-digit kills made it more difficult for Iowa State to concentrate its defense on one attacker. That balance is something Van Niel sees as an important part of ASU’s offensive development.
“If you don’t have some balance, then teams can key on players,” Van Niel said. “It’s nice when things aren’t quite as good for one, and then someone else is stepping up.”
The balance extends beyond the hitters.
Senior Isabella Costantini and freshman Elle Mottola have settled into a two-setter system that gives ASU different options depending on its rotation. Against Iowa State, the distribution between the two was nearly identical. Costantini finished with 22 assists while Mottola had 21.
Van Niel said it was one of the most balanced assist totals between the setters since ASU switched to a five-two formation, with Mottola playing the front row and Costantini working in the back row.
“It just kind of shows they’re doing a good job running our offense,” Van Niel said.
Costantini believes ASU’s collection of hitters gives the setters freedom when deciding where to distribute the ball.
“I think we can score in every position on the court,” Costantini said. “It takes a little bit of pressure off of, maybe, the other hitters.”
Van Niel continues to encourage his setters to find the middle blockers, giving the offense another option that opposing defenses have to take into account.
“Having that reassurance from JJ and saying, ‘Keep finding your middles,’ is good,” Costantini said. “Knowing that, I can just put the ball up and they’ll bang the ball and put it away.”
Using two setters also gives Costantini and Mottola opportunities to observe the match from the sideline before returning to the floor. Costantini said those breaks allow her to see openings she might not recognize while actively running the offense and then she can communicate those observations to ASU’s hitters and passers.
“Of course everybody wants to be on the court all the time, but it’s really good sometimes just to see the game from the outside,” Costantini said. “Whenever it’s time to go back in, you have so many insights and things that you can talk to your hitters and passers about.”
Serving has been one of Costantini’s strengths throughout the season and was one of the qualities Van Niel noticed before ASU recruited her. Even when Costantini was not receiving regular setting opportunities, Van Niel trusted her enough to substitute her into matches specifically to serve.
That ability became another part of ASU’s attack Sunday. Costantini recorded two aces and served during extended scoring runs, including a 9-0 run in the fourth set that helped ASU create separation from the Cyclones.
Costantini said ASU has made aggressive serving a point of emphasis in practice, with the goal of applying pressure rather than simply putting the ball across the net.
“I don’t even know how to describe the feeling,” Costantini said. “It was just like I had the ball in my hands and I know I have control over it.”
The approach also affects what happens after the serve. A difficult serve can push an opponent out of system and make its attack more predictable, giving ASU’s defense more opportunities to control the next contact and transition into its own offense.
When that pressure drops, Van Niel sees the difference.
ASU’s serving was less effective during portions of the third set against Iowa State, allowing the Cyclones to operate in their system more frequently. Van Niel said ASU’s passing also declined before the Sun Devils reset and restored pressure in the fourth.
“We just need to be a little more consistent,” Van Niel said.
The Sun Devils displayed their offense in front of 3,953 fans on Youth Day at Desert Financial Arena. Van Niel said it gave his players a chance to connect with young volleyball players who could someday follow the same path.
“You were that age at one point,” Van Niel said. “You were watching those folks play, and how cool was it when someone came up and gave you a high five, helped you with a serve or signed an autograph?”
Vajagić said the players understand that their actions can resonate with the young athletes watching them from the stands.
“I think we are one of the people who young kids should look for as athletes,” Vajagić said. “Our behaviors on the court can, for sure, help other generations.”
What those young fans saw Sunday was an ASU offense with several ways to score. Vajagić, Glover and Clinton supplied production from the pins. Zoey Burgess and Ella Lomigora provided options through the middle. Costantini and Mottola shared responsibility for connecting those pieces.
But Van Niel’s vision for that offense starts before any of them swing.
It starts with the serve.
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