This article was originally posted on December 12, 2022.
Six years after arriving in the valley as the new head coach for Arizona State volleyball, Sanja Tomasevic is departing Tempe.
In a press release sent out on Friday, Vice President for University Athletics Ray Anderson announced the change in direction for the Sun Devils.
“We are making a leadership change with our volleyball program in a mutual agreement,” Anderson said. “We thank Coach Tomasevic and the staff for the six seasons. Our department looks forward to working with the volleyball and Sun Devil community in a national search for our next head coach.”
The parting of ways comes after Arizona State went 13-19 overall and 7-13 in conference play this past season. It was the fifth time in Tomasevic’s six seasons that the Sun Devils finished with a below .500 record. The only time ASU achieved a winning record under Tomasevic was in 2019, when the maroon and gold finished with a 17-14 overall record.
While consistent results were a challenge for Tomasevic, the Sun Devils still achieved some great things in her time in Tempe. ASU had a total of eleven wins over ranked teams in her six seasons in the desert, the last of which was a five set victory over No. 15 Washington this past season, which ironically is where Tomasevic graduated from in 2006.
Her tenure also saw the emergence of some great talent, such as outside hitter Iman Isanovic, who just completed her senior season. Isanovic certainly left her mark on Desert Financial Arena, finishing her career in 11th place for career kills at Arizona State.
Before getting into coaching, Tomasevic was an accomplished volleyball player at Washington. While in Seattle, Tomasevic had an incredible career, finishing as the career leader in kills, aces and points for the Huskies. In 2016, she was inducted into the Husky Hall of Fame.
Prior to joining the Sun Devils, Tomasevic served as an assistant coach at UTSA and Miami (FL). She came to Tempe originally as an assistant under former head coach Stevie Mussie, but was later promoted to head coach after Mussie and ASU parted ways.
Unlike that time however, Arizona State intends to have a nationwide search for a new head coach instead of promoting from within. The departure of Tomasevic is the second recent head coaching change to happen in Tempe, coming three months after former head football coach Herm Edwards parted ways with ASU.
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