(Photo courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics)
Under the California sun this weekend in San Luis Obispo, the No. 12 Arizona State beach volleyball team stepped onto the sand at the Center of Effort Challenge to take on some of the top teams in the country. Facing three teams in the top five and one team in the top ten, the Sand Devils were dealt a tough three losses but were able to pull off one win to end the weekend.
The Sand Devils fell 4-1 against No. 1 TCU (20-4) and were swept 5-0 by No. 2 UCLA (26-4) on the first day of the competition. The team faced No. 4 LMU (28-5) on Saturday but could not manage a win falling to the Lions 4-1. Arizona State secured their single win of the competition against No. 7 Florida State (23-10) winning 3-2.
The challenge began with a competitive effort against TCU who Arizona State had already lost to twice this season.
Redshirt junior Ava Kirunchyk and sophomore Ava Williamson dominated on court two. The duo earned the lone point for the Sand Devils winning straight sets 21-14 and 21-13. They pushed their win streak to 10 matches before it ended later in the day. The streak stands as the second-longest by a pair and fourth-longest individually in program history. Williamson leads the team with 19 total victories this season, making her one of the team’s most consistent players.
TCU’s strength showed across the rest of the lineup. Though Arizona State claimed a couple of first set victories, TCU closed out tight matches on courts three and five.
On court five, sophomore Ava Haughy and freshman Layla Williams were the only pair to push their match to a deciding third set but ultimately fell 15-10 in the tiebreaker.
The second match of the day saw the Sand Devils take on powerhouse UCLA in a rematch of a previous loss this season. The Bruins swept all five courts without a single match going to a third set.
Arizona State’s strongest chance came once again from Kirunchyk and Williamson, but their impressive run ended with a straight-set loss of 21-15 and 21-16. On court four, the duo of juniors Tori Clement and Kendall Whitmarsh were overpowered by the Bruins in a 21-7 and 21-10 defeat.
The Sand Devils returned to the sand Saturday to play their final two duals of the weekend against LMU and Florida State. Arizona State earned its seventh ranked win of the season and their first top 10 triumph of the year, following a tough 4-1 loss to LMU earlier in the day. With the split on Saturday, the Sand Devils moved to 19-12 overall and 7-12 against ranked opponents.
The morning matchup against LMU saw a shuffled Arizona State lineup but familiar results. The single Sand Devil point came from the new pairing of sophomore Olivia McElroy and Williamson on court three, who pulled out a three set win scoring 15-11 to secure the match point.
That match marked Williamson’s 20th individual victory of the season, tying her for ninth in ASU single season history. She now ranks 10th in career individual wins as a Sand Devil with a 44-17 record.
Despite the early loss, The Sand Devils bounced back against FSU. Arizona State came out strong winning four of five first sets. Two points came quickly in sweeps from the pair of junior Arden Besecker and Clement on court five and junior Daniella Kensinger and senior Anya Pemberton on court three.
The match against Florida State on court five also marked a milestone for junior Tori Clement, who earned her 50th career win in the upset over the Seminoles. Clement and Besecker secured a straight set victory on court five scoring 21-14 in both sets, setting the tone early for Arizona State. Clement now has 19 wins this season, the second most on the team.
After Florida State evened the dual with wins on courts two and four, it came down to the top court. Kirungchyk and redshirt junior Samaya Morin delivered the match point Arizona State needed to win the dual. The pair rallied after a first set loss and won the next two sets 21-16 and 15-11 to seal the upset.
Arizona State now turns its attention to the final home weekend of the season before the team heads to Fort Worth for the Big 12 Championships. The Sand Devils will host UTEP and Benedictine Mesa next weekend.
