These days, the quickest way to success for a program that’s been struggling is to stock the cupboards with high-level transfers. One need only look up I-10 to Big 12 champion ASU, which features six players who transferred in this season and several more who transferred in previous seasons. Arizona hasn’t taken that route.
The Wildcats’ first tournament team since 2018 features two transfers, outside hitter Jordan Wilson and opposite Britt Carlson. Only Wilson regularly plays for the Wildcats. She has been at Arizona for three of her four years of college after transferring to be closer to her family in the Phoenix area following her freshman season at USC.
Wildcat head coach Rita Stubbs has largely built her program the old-fashioned way. She’s brought in freshman recruits and developed them. Some were highly touted All-Americans, like the sophomore trio of Carlie Cisneros, Avery Scoggins, and Brenna Ginder. Others were overlooked or had to sweat out the recruiting process.
Junior middle blocker Journey Tucker was waiting for a scholarship offer late into the recruiting cycle after battling a brain tumor while in high school. Former head coach Dave Rubio finally gave her that opportunity and she jumped at it. Freshman right side Renee Jones should be a sophomore, but she also ran into health problems in high school.
“I had gotten Type I diabetes around, like, middle of my junior year of high school, and it was just, it’s very difficult to figure out, because…it switches up your entire world,” Jones said. “So reclassifying really gave me an extra year to be able to figure everything out, gain my skill of volleyball back, because once I got back on the court, felt like I’d never played volleyball a day in my life.”
Jones watched her twin Ryla go to Pitt and play in the national semifinals last year while she was finishing her time at IMG Academy.
“My twin, she’s my best friend,” Jones said. “It was very hard, but we both decided, because she was gonna graduate early and…go to Pitt early. And when she said that, I was like, Well, I want to do something fun, so I decided to go to IMG.”
Jones underwent surgery early in the season and spent some time rehabbing. Since coming back, she has been Arizona’s starting opposite. Senior Ana Heath and Carlson still sub in at times, but Jones has stepped in as one more of the homegrown players who helped the Wildcats break through to the promised land.
Up Next for Arizona Volleyball
Arizona Wildcats (16-12, 10-8 Big 12) vs
South Dakota State Jackrabbits (23-4, 16-0 Summit League)
What: NCAA Tournament First Round
When: Friday, Dec. 5 at 5:30 p.m. MST
Where: Maples Pavilion in Stanford, Calif.
Stats: Arizona Live Stats
While this team is almost exclusively made up of players who committed to Arizona as high schoolers and have been developed by Stubbs and her staff, it’s not to say that the head coach is opposed to the transfer portal. She recognizes the importance of transfers—both into and out of the program—these days. She looks for pieces every year. She just isn’t always able to fill the needs of the program that way.
This past offseason, Stubbs needed an opposite to replace five-year star Jaelyn Hodge. She got Carlson from UCF. The 6-foot-4 right side hitter was recruited by Arizona out of high school, but she opted to go to Washington State at the time. When she transferred the first time, Arizona was not in a position to take her, but this time it worked out for both sides.
Carlson has been primarily a reserve, though. Heath got most of the starts and playing time during Jones’ recovery, and she still goes into the game when the Wildcats are in need of quick offense.
Stubbs has also regularly looked for middle blockers in the portal. She had success last year with getting starter Kiari Robey, but in the end, Robey opted to forego the NIVC run and longtime starter Alayna Johnson returned to that role. Johnson turned her performance into a pro career overseas.
The hit-or-miss nature of the portal for Arizona means that Stubbs has had to get creative. Fortunately, she has players who care more about getting on the floor and helping their team than what position they play.
Heath has moved from serving sub to starting setter to starting opposite over the course of her four years as a Wildcat. Sydnie Vanek has played both pins in the past, but she moved to middle blocker this year. It was vital when Tucker was injured and Arizona was down to two healthy players who were recruited as middles.
That versatility and willingness to do whatever for the team is part and parcel of what makes this iteration of the Wildcats so special to Stubbs. It shows up both on and off the court.
“They care about one another,” she said. “I mean, you say it all the time. We’ve had teams in the past where I thought the culture was good, and we have some where the culture was not good, but they’re willing to speak up. I mean, they’re always doing things off to court together, and I don’t necessarily, I’m not crazy enough to think that they all get along all the time, but it never carried into the gym.”
That closeness enabled new leaders and ways of leading to emerge.
“There’s always someone on the team that wants to talk, and they’re loud and they’re aggressive, but if they don’t have that street credit or they don’t play, people tend to go, okay, whatever. You’re not out there. You don’t know what’s going on. And they’ve gotten rid of that. They are willing and able to listen to everyone,” Stubbs said.
The leadership style allows for versatility, much as the play on the court has relied on versatile players.
“I didn’t, per se, name captains. You just kind of organically watch and see who they listen to and how things go, and then they run with it. And then the key is to put everyone in their best place, get the best version of them, and sometimes that’s that person coming off the bench. Sometimes it’s the person that played in the beginning that’s not playing now, or the person that wasn’t playing before, that’s playing now. It just gives that ability for our team to grow as a result of it, and I think that starts at the top. You know, it’s me recognizing that the person that doesn’t play as much still is valuable,” Stubbs said.
The bench even gets to have input into the coaching decisions.
“When we were calling the challenges, the bench were the reason why I called the challenges,” Stubbs said. “I called because they were dialed in and they were focused. And then you go over there and give them high fives for it, and that makes them feel good. It allows everyone else to say, okay, all right, I do have a role, and for me, that’s what’s most important, is that everyone feels that they’re valuable.”
The players recognize that value, too.
“This team is really special,” Cisneros said. “Last year, we were definitely upset when we didn’t make it, because that was our big goal coming in as freshmen, and the goal is to just keep getting better every year. So this year, we’re in the tournament, and we want to see how far we can go. And I’m glad we did it with this team, because it’s just the energy and the vibe on the team right now is just really, really positive and really good. So it’s exciting.”
Arizona is holding a viewing party for the first round game in Tucson at The Neighborhood Bar DWTN, which is located at 61 E. Congress. There is no entry fee but appetizers will be served. The party starts at 5 p.m. MST and the match starts at 5:30 p.m.
