By Craig Morgan, thesundevils.com Writer

TEMPE, Ariz. -- A few days after her ASU career had officially ended in December 2015, Macey Gardner was sipping hot chocolate at Bergie's Coffee in Gilbert and talking about the possibility of coaching college volleyball.
 
Her dream? Returning one day to coach at ASU.

Turns out that dream is a reality with all the qualities Gardner brings to the table. Arizona State head coach Sanja Tomasevic announced last Monday that Gardner would join the program as an assistant coach and the programs' recruiting coordinator. Sun Devil assistant Amanda Burbridge previously held the latter role, but the soon-to-be newlywed is taking another role within the program as an alumni relations volunteer while she focuses more on family.
 
"I got to know Macey on the recruiting trail when I was trying to convince her to play professionally for the longest time and she was convincing me she shouldn't go pro," Tomasevic said, laughing. "She told me her ultimate goal was to come back to ASU and coach so when the opportunity presented itself, she was so excited. She said she had unfinished business at ASU."
 
Gardner spent the past year as an assistant coach at Liberty University in Virginia, where she also learned the recruiting ropes.
 
"I think the biggest thing I learned was the importance of choosing the right kind of student-athlete you're going after," she said. "A lot of teams get caught up in getting the best kid or the most talented kid, but sometimes it might be better to go for the right kid. You want a kid that fits into your culture and fits with the team and program you already have there.
 
"It's hard to figure that out just from the recruiting process, but there are important questions you have to ask them. You can always teach them how to pass or set the ball in a better area, but sometimes it's hard to change their integrity so you hope to bring in kids who have it beforehand."
 
Gardner will be recruiting bigger fish in the Power-5, Pac-12 Conference and while she readily admits she has "so much more to learn" from Tomasevic and her staff, she carries an advantage into every recruit's living room in Arizona -- an advantage for the Sun Devils, who are placing a huge emphasis on local recruits. She grew up here, playing for Gilbert High, where she won a state championship, was a two-time First Team All-State honoree and won 2012 Arizona Republic and East Valley Tribune Player of the Year honors.
 
"I'm a dinosaur to these kids," Tomasevic said. "They don't know anything about my career, but when they look at Macey, they remember her. She was one of the best players in the country when she got hurt her senior year. She might have gotten player of the year that year and the people in the volleyball community remember that."
 
When the senior outside hitter went down with a season-ending ACL tear on Oct. 9, 2015 at Washington, ASU was 15-0, ranked No. 5 in the country and was about to take the second set against the No. 6 Huskies in Seattle. Without her, the Sun Devils lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Florida State.
 
Gardner still finished with the most kills in program history at 1,882. She hopes that some of those abilities will translate onto the court with the players she will be helping coach, but she has put thoughts of a professional playing career overseas and a potential Olympic spot on the backburner.
 
"This position will take so much time and energy and I want to put everything into it," she said. "In all honesty, I'm 23 and I don't have a lot of experience so when someone is saying 'can you come be an assistant coach in the Pac-12' I have to humble myself.
 
"I will be always be learning, but for Sanja to even give me the chance, I'm so grateful and I hope to make her proud and make this program proud. I want to represent ASU in the best way possible."
 
Gardner is already back in the Valley where she will live with her parents in Gilbert for the next couple months while she sorts out her daily schedule. Her parents don't seem to be in any rush to push her out the door.
 
"I went to office the other day and before I left my dad whipped up some biscuits and gravy for me to take for lunch," Gardner said, laughing. "It's so good to be home."