How Volleyball Metrics Helped Power Arizona State University to a Record-Setting Season
The Arizona State University Women’s Volleyball team used data to determine their optimal practice length, and it culminated in one of their best seasons in school history.
The Arizona State University women’s volleyball team is coming off an impressive season, finishing 28 – 7 overall. They started the season 14 – 0, went 9 – 1 at home, and earned a berth in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2015.
In the tournament, they shut out the University of Georgia in the first round, defeated the 4‑seed Brigham Young in the second round, and put up a strong fight against the number 1 seed Stanford in the regional semifinal.
This marked the first time in program history that the Sun Devil women’s volleyball team won two matches in the NCAA tournament.
With numerous records broken, two wins in the NCAA tournament, three All-Americans, and many other milestones, some are calling the 2023 – 24 season the best in program history.
Jake Garrity is the Assistant Sports Performance Coach for Arizona State women’s volleyball. He shed light on the crucial aspect of practice efficiency and its contribution to this record-setting season.
Coach Garrity believes in the mantra, “Practice smarter, not harder.” And after reviewing the data he collected on his team, he shifted from the traditional belief of longer practice sessions equating to better results.
Get Our Five-Step Guide to Collecting and Using Volleyball Analytics
Data Led to "Training Reassessment" at ASU
This sentiment resonates with the team’s experience, where a reassessment of training duration revealed a need for adjustment. Coach Garrity notes, “We understood the duration of practice was too long previously. And as a result, the intensity wasn’t high enough.”
He underscores the significance of quality over quantity, emphasizing the importance of understanding the physiological aspects of training load. This reflects a nuanced approach to optimizing player performance.
“Many people in training talk about Charlie Francis’ high-low model, which originated from track and field. While volleyball isn’t track and field, I explained to coach (Head Coach JJ Van Niel) that if we can align our intensities, the players will know what to expect and what is required of them each day,” Coach Garrity said.
“For instance, if we push them hard on the court, we can also push them hard in the weight room. Then, the next day, we provide more regenerative activities to help them recover. The key is to be synchronized, understanding our breakdown in terms of hours spent in each area, and planning our days to ensure we have both high-intensity and low-intensity days,” he added.
“We understood the duration of practice was too long previously. And as a result, the intensity wasn’t high enough.”
This perspective highlights the necessity for coaches to prioritize efficiency in practice routines.
Central to Coach Garrity’s philosophy is the concept of athlete well-being. He stresses the role of coaches in mitigating the risk of overtraining, which can lead to burnout and increased susceptibility to injuries.
“From fall ’22 to now, our athlete availability went up to 90% to 95%. That wasn’t the case previously,” he said. “Knowing that our (players) are healthy and performing at their highest levels at the end of the season definitely played a part in our success. We’re really fortunate that this was the case and are looking forward to continuing to build on this progress.”
By fostering an environment focused on quality training, coaches can enhance athlete availability and performance consistency.
Volleyball Analytics: Part of a Holistic Approach to Training
Moreover, Coach Garrity emphasizes the holistic approach to player preparation, highlighting factors such as sleep and nutrition. These elements are integral components of the team’s pre-match routine, ensuring that athletes are primed for peak performance when they step onto the court.
Garrity also acknowledges the role technology plays in providing valuable insights to coaches. While volleyball metrics serve as an influential tool, Coach understands its role is an informer-not a decision-maker. That’s where the coaches come in.
Volleyball metrics provide insights that make decisions easier for coaches. Coach Garrity emphasizes the significance of integrating data to enhance coaching strategies, all while being aware of each player’s unique needs. After all, the human element remains essential.
Get Insights on Volleyball Metrics and Coaching
The insights Jake Garrity shared on “The Xtra Edge” podcast highlight the evolving landscape of sports performance coaching, where the focus is shifting toward optimizing training efficiency.
He discussed how he Coach Van Niel meticulously aligned their practice schedules, resulting in the most successful season in Arizona State women’s volleyball history.
By prioritizing quality over quantity and embracing a holistic approach to athlete well-being, coaches can unlock the full potential of their players, leading to sustained success on the court. The Arizona State coaching staff may have just proven it.
If you’d like to start collecting data and using volleyball analytics, contact us at any time.
More stories
The Interconnected Nature of Basketball Performance
At the Basketball Coaching & Performance Summit 2026, Kostas Chatzichristos explored how basketball performance cannot be understood through isolated metrics alone. Injuries, recovery, workload, communication, psychology, and coaching decisions constantly interact, shaping performance in unpredictable ways across a season.
What Post-Season Basketball Performance Reports Reveal Before Offseason Training Begins
For basketball performance coaches, the season does not end with the final game. The weeks that follow are some of the most important of the year, not because of what happens on the floor, but because of what gets decided off it. Plans built on assumptions tend to miss the mark. Plans built on evidence from the season that just ended tend to hit.
When the Game Speeds Up but Time Disappears for Coaches
At the Basketball Coaching and Performance Summit 2026, Jens Leutenecker, Analytics Coordinator at FC Bayern Basketball, showed how modern basketball is becoming faster, more demanding, and harder to control. More possessions, more shooting, and less practice time are forcing coaches to rethink preparation, tactics, and player management.
Injury Risk Starts Where Performance Data Stops
At the Basketball Coaching and Performance Summit 2026, Felix Hanika explored why injuries still occur despite advanced tracking and load monitoring. His research highlights what performance data misses and why connecting load, movement, and tissue is key to better injury prevention.
What 100 Games a Season Demand from Modern Coaches
At the Basketball Coaching & Performance Summit 2026, insights from EuroLeague coaching revealed how modern basketball is shaped by more than tactics. Managing player load, fatigue, and recovery has become essential to maintaining performance across long and demanding seasons.
Handball Performance Tracking & Load Monitoring
Germany’s silver medal at EURO 2026 underlined how crucial player availability is in elite handball. Monitoring external load, intensity, and recovery across congested match schedules is essential. KINEXON PERFORM delivers sport specific insights to structure training, optimise periodisation, and sustain performance throughout the season.
Setting the Standard for the Future of Basketball Performance
With over 55 on-site participants from 26 countries, including representatives from EuroLeague clubs, national leagues, academies, universities, FIBA and the EuroLeague, the 2nd Basketball Coaching & Performance Summit convened the decision-makers defining the next era of elite basketball performance.
How to Manage Basketball Training Load to Minimize Fatigue on Game Day
Player fatigue creeps in at the least opportune time. A step slower on a closeout. A shot hits the front of the rim. Instinct is to blame conditioning or workloads. Fatigue often comes from a mismatch between what players experience in practice and what the game demands from their bodies. Performance tracking technology helps coaches close that gap.
From Broadcast to Performance: Why Handball Needs One Continuous Data Story
European handball is fully tracked across leagues and tournaments, yet performance data still lives in silos. This article shows how federations and clubs are connecting match and training data to improve player availability, reduce injuries, and turn tracking from broadcast spectacle into true performance infrastructure.
Entering 2026: Why Sports Technology Is Shifting from Tools to Infrastructure
As sports enter 2026, technology is no longer evaluated by innovation alone. What matters is whether it fits real-world workflows. Organizations are shifting from isolated tools to connected infrastructure that delivers reliable, real-time insights under match pressure.
From Germany to the NBA and Back: Basketball Performance Analytics in the Modern Game
When the NBA comes to Berlin, it brings elite athletes, global attention, and a look behind the scenes of modern basketball. Today, professional basketball teams rely heavily on performance analytics to prepare for games, manage player load, and stay competitive throughout a long season. Basketball performance analysis has become a standard part of how teams train, compete, and recover at the highest level.
Why GPS Player Performance Data Makes Soccer Training More Effective for Match Day
In soccer, player readiness creates a competitive advantage that clubs can’t overlook. Winning second balls, sprinting while attacking the offensive zone during stoppage time, and executing decisive presses are the marginal moments that define matches. Clubs that keep more players prepared throughout the season consistently perform at a higher level.
How MTSU Women’s Basketball Automated Shot Tracking in Practice to Strengthen In-Game Shot Selection
The mantra “practice how you play” is echoed in locker rooms around the world. Basketball players can record thousands of shots during a week of practice or individual training sessions, but if shooting percentages only define if a player is consistent from a specific spot on the floor, why isn’t every athlete shooting at a high-level during games?
ACL Injuries in American Football: Why Data-Informed Return-to-Play Protocols Protect Athletes
ACL injuries are a constant in football. The question isn’t if they’ll happen, but how teams manage rehab and return-to-play. The best programs use performance tracking technology to guide recovery pace, reduce re-injury risk, and restore game-ready performance.
Smarter Volleyball Training: How KINEXON Transforms Load Management
In elite volleyball, athletes face up to 80 matches per year — a demanding schedule that requires precise load management. In the latest podcast episode of The Xtra Edge, Sebastiano Cencini shares how he uses KINEXON Sports technology to monitor player workload, prevent injuries, and optimize performance.