No. 12 Sand Devils sweep rival Arizona, debuting new pairings

(Photo Courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics)

TEMPE, Ariz. — No. 12 Arizona State (10-8) brought the competition back home after a weekend in Austin and pulled off a big win against its cross-state rival, sweeping the Arizona Wildcats (11-7). The Sand Devils showcased new pairs in the matches against Arizona.

The Sand Devils came back strong coming off of two straight losses against No. 12 LSU and Texas last weekend. The team’s complete victory in all sets over the Wildcats proves Arizona State has what it takes to defeat top teams in the Big 12 conference.

After struggling in its last couple duals, Arizona State debuted new pairings against Arizona. Some pairs have been playing together consistently for multiple seasons, so the change brought a new energy to the sand.

“We have a bunch of new partnerships as of Monday and I was really proud of how they came out and fought hard together,” head coach Kristen Gladttfelder said.

The new pair of sophomore Ava Williamson and junior Ava Kirunchyk are in the No. 2 spot. Together they played an impressive two sets against the Wildcats. Williamson was able to secure the No. 14 spot in program history for the most individual career wins.

Junior Daniella Kesninger and redshirt junior Samaya Morin also made their debut against Arizona. The pair had a close duel with the Wildcats but were able to pull off a win thanks to their communication with each other during the match.

“Samaya and I really wanted to come in and play hard and show what we have to offer,” Kensinger said regarding her new partner.

Arizona State had only been practicing in their new pairings for two days prior to the matchup. The pairs were able to iron out any issues they had to keep pushing forward to meet their end goal of defeating their rivals.

Glattfelder emphasized that the team has been focussing on setting the tone, going out and playing like they know how to. The Wildcats pushed back at the Sand Devils but they did not let that stop them from embracing the moment and picking up the sought after win.

“We were in the locker room and watched the football “stomp the bus” video, which really fired them up,” Glattfelder said.

The pair of senior Anya Pemberton and sophomore Kaydon Meyers quickly asserted dominance over the Wildcats scoring 21-13 in the first set. They secured the first win of the day for Arizona State on court two in the second set scoring 21-15.

Kirunchyk and Williamson quickly followed suit taking the first set 21-13. The Wildcats quickly responded and put up a fight in set two. However, the Sand Devils were able to pull off an upset, scoring 21-19 and grabbing the second win of the day.

On court two, sophomores Olivia McElroy and Ava Haughy kept their energy up for the entire match. The pair was tied with Arizona at 14 points but were quick to change things for Arizona State. They were in an intense battle with the Wildcats in the second set but ultimately ended up defeating them in two sets 21-18.

The pair of freshman Zoë Taylor and junior Arden Besecker played on court three for the second round of matches. They wasted no time taking charge in order to beat the Wildcats in two sets with a score of 21-12 both times.

Big 12 Pair of the Week juniors Tori Clement and Kendall Whitmarsh put up a fight against Arizona in two sets. They won their first set 21-18 against the Wildcats. They kept switching off the lead with Arizona in the second set but eventually won 21-19.

To bring the cross-state rivalry to a close, Kensinger and redshirt junior Samaya Morin played two sets taking the win with a score of 21-18.

On top of the Sand Devils victory over the Wildcats, Kensinger earned her 50th career win.

“It was everything I’ve ever hoped for, and it’s just really nice to have it against our rivals,” Kensinger said.

The Sand Devils finished off the day with a 5-0 win over Arizona. They will look to keep the momentum going into the next few days.

“We want this to be the start of us coming in really strong this whole weekend,” Glattfelder said. “The mindset I want them to have is that we’re going in and pushing first, and that we’re gonna play the way we know how.”