Ana Heath was a setter when she came to Arizona. Sydnie Vanek was a pin. As upperclassmen, Heath has become a pin and Vanek a middle blocker. Those were just some of the changes rolled out by Arizona volleyball at the 2025 Red-Blue scrimmage on Saturday.
The team was split into two groups that were roughly numerically equal, but the Blue team began the match with almost all of the returning starters from last year. All of Arizona’s newcomers were on the Red team.
As expected from such an arrangement,
the Blue team dominated the first set—but the first point of the 2025 season was scored by one of those newcomers.
Freshman opposite Renee Jones bided her time. Her twin Ryla made her debut with the Pittsburgh Panthers last season, making it all the way to the Final Four with her team. Renee reclassified from the 2024 class and spent a prep year at IMG Academy before coming to Arizona. She was ready to get on the court as a collegiate player and put the first point on the board for the Red team.
“My my sister’s playing volleyball in college and all my siblings are in college athletics, so it was definitely worth the wait,” Jones said. “I had a lot of fun out here. The nerves were starting before the game, but once I got here, I felt like it came naturally.”
She ended her day with six kills, tying outside hitter Paige Thies for the most among the freshmen.
Jones is battling with Heath and transfer Britt Carlson for time at opposite. They all had their strong points during the scrimmage, but Jones and Heath got most of the playing time. Both were extremely active. Heath also brought the leadership of a senior with a background in setting. Her input was obvious even when she was on the bench.
“Britt and Renee both bring size, which is something that we know we’re going to need at some point when you play the bigger teams,” said head coach Rita Stubbs. “And Ana is able to run a faster offense than either one of them, and so it just brings a different dynamic. And then you have two lefties and a righty. And so just trying to work and see which one works best, and it really is going to depend upon who our opponent is.”
It was something that Heath had been preparing for.
“We kind of made the decision after last season, and then been working through it all spring,” Heath said. “I just wanted another opportunity, like a different opportunity to help the team a little bit more. Do some different things and get moved around a little bit, and do what I can to help. So it’s kind of my goal. And just have fun my senior year and see where it goes.”
The decision to put Vanek at middle blocker was more of a surprise. She wasn’t listed that way on the official roster until recently. As recently as June, Stubbs had made no mention of the possible change in interviews.
“I hadn’t heard about it either, until I showed up on the first day of our two-a-days,” Vanek said. “I walked in the gym. Rita looked at me. She said, ‘I’m gonna move you around a little bit. Just go with the flow.‘ Of course, I nodded my head. I said yes. So, work in progress, but I’ve been having a lot of fun learning a lot about playing a new position. I think it definitely helps I have experience from the outside and the right side, now in the middle, but it’s been super fun learning under Rita. She has a lot of tips and tricks. Definitely not perfect, but it’s getting there.”
While it’s a new position in college, Vanek does have some experience in the middle. Stubbs said that she had played the position until early in high school when she was moved to pin.
“She’s comfortable, and at the end of the day, she wants to play,” Stubbs said. “So she’s like, put me where you need me everyday, and I’ll make it work. So, pretty excited for her.”
Vanek’s move to the middle not only takes advantage of that athleticism, but like Heath, her input was loud and clear during the match. Her voice could be heard above all others as she relayed information to the rest of her team.
The athleticism was certainly useful, though. Vanek led all players with three blocks, but it wasn’t just about stuff blocks. She was able to keep her opponents off balance for most of the match and make repeated touches on the ball by getting up quickly.
What was crystal clear was the importance that setter Avery Scoggins and outside hitters Jordan Wilson and Carlie Cisneros will play. The Blue team won the match 4-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-20, 15-8). While all of the other players were moved from one team to the other between sets, Scoggins was always on the Blue team.
“She has the best brain as a setter, you know, the dynamics, the chemistry with the team,” Stubbs said. “She’ll push the envelope a little bit and, and that’s okay. I was reading an article, and I sent it to her the other day, and it was Terry Pettit talking about the relationship between the setter and the head coach and how important it is. And I sent it to her. She goes, ‘Yes, I completely understand.’”
Stubbs was most impressed by the fact that she found a lot of different scorers, although Wilson (16 kills) and Cisneros (14 kills) led the match.
“I thought Jordan did a phenomenal job,” Stubbs said. “I mean, offensively, she was just able to score in any place she was on the court. I thought that Avery’s abilities to put the ball in the hands of a terminator at the right time was really important. And that’s one of the things that’s super intriguing for me, is knowing that. Because we know that for a fact people are going to key in on Jordan, but then is she able to put the ball in someone else’s hand at the right time? And she was.”
The Red team was most competitive in the third set when Cisneros moved to that team, even taking a short lead in the middle of the set.
“At times, it wasn’t as competitive as I would want it to be,” Stubbs said. “However, when Carlie went to the other side and showed me that she was able to change some dynamics up and give us a good chance to fight. So seeing a lot of good things. I’m happy where we are right now.”
The Wildcats were down one player for the scrimmage. Junior middle blocker Journey Tucker sat out with a boot on her foot.
“She’ll be fine,” Stubbs said. “More safety than anything at this point in time.”
There is still a lot to work out before next week’s exhibition against Northern Colorado and the start of the regular season in two weeks. Arizona took advantage of the new libero rule by using both Haven Wray and Brenna Ginder at the position last year. That is not the plan this year.
“Haven and Brenna, they’re fighting to kind of see who’s going to actually be that libero,” Stubbs said.
That will leave one of them to join Giorgia Mandotti, Brookelyn Hatton, and Shea Davis as defensive specialists.
There are also floor issues to address. It was obvious from first glance that the new floor design in McKale Center did not take the logistics of volleyball into account. On the south half of the court near the net, the stylized mountains use alternating colored and white stripes. The tape for the sidelines passes over the white stripes, making them difficult to see for both fans and the lines people.
“This was the first time we actually were able to put tape down on the floor,” Stubbs said. “And so white is what we always have, but I think we’re gonna have to try black because I don’t want any neon colors or anything like that. But from a television standpoint, I think the black would work best and for everyone to be able to see.”
