Story was originally published on ASU News.
Before Mary Littlewood could speak, clutching a microphone as she stood in Carson Ballroom at Old Main, she first had to wait for the applause to subside.
A standing ovation had interrupted her message to the crowd. Or maybe it bought her time.
“I’m not even sure what to say,” the 89-year-old said with a chuckle before a crowd north of 100 attendees, all of whom stood to pay their respects to the first head coach in Sun Devil Volleyball history.
On an afternoon like this, in which past players, coaches and staffers gathered to celebrate the team’s 50th anniversary, it was necessary to pay extra respect to Littlewood, the woman who laid the foundation for volleyball at Arizona State University in the fall of 1973.
An emotional Littlewood encapsulated the magic of this year’s Affinity Reunion, an annual event held by the ASU Alumni Association to invite alumni of a particular school, academic affiliation, organization, club or group back to campus to reconnect and celebrate the legacy they shared at ASU.
It was a weekend, as some former players referred to it, that served as a perfect balance between “tears and cheers.” Old teammates gathered once more, trading stories and reminiscing on what it meant to be Sun Devils.
They convened for a two-hour luncheon on Saturday, plus an on-field recognition that evening at the Sun Devil football game.
But no event summarized the ascension of the volleyball program — and women’s sports at-large — more than the invitation to watch the Sun Devils beat Pac-12 rival Washington at Mullett Arena on Sunday.
To some, it was a sight they never thought imaginable.
Former players whose careers began in the 1970s remembered a different game-day scene. When they repped the maroon and gold, they played in PE East (now known as Bulldog Hall), a condensed, stuffy gymnasium with collapsed bleachers.
But today, Sun Devil Volleyball plays in the 5,000-person-seat Mullett Arena. Fans across the Valley nearly filled the stadium to see the red-hot Sun Devils, just days after recording a sell-out for a mid-week match against in-state rival Arizona.
How times have changed.
This was more evident than ever when, during the luncheon, five players from different decades took part in a panel led by emcee Paola Boivin. Nancy Corea (1977–80), Mindy…
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