Beach Volleyball

Sand Devils bounce back in day two to stay alive in Pac-12 Championship

(Photo courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics)

Tempe, Ariz. – After Stanford swept the Sand Devils into the contenders bracket, they needed back-to-back wins to stay alive in the final Pac-12 championship. They kicked off the day against their rivals Arizona. The Wildcats lost to UCLA Friday in three straight sets then bounced back against Oregon to win in four sets. 

ASU (21-8, 5-2 Pac-12) swept the Wildcats (21-12, 5-4 Pac-12) and advanced to play fourth seeded California. They beat the Golden Bears (21-13) in dramatic fashion by a score of 3-2. They now move on to a rematch with Stanford Friday morning to continue their streak. With the two wins Thursday, the Sand Devils tied the program record with 21 wins and extended their record with 11 ranked wins. 

In game one against Arizona, it was clean and simple. They swept the Wildcats and straight sets, not losing once. The Wildcats couldn’t even reach 20 points, only reaching 18 points in three of eight complete sets. California was up next on the checklist, after they lost 3-1 to the number one seed USC.

The deciding match against California was the No. 4 pair of senior Kate Fitzgerald and sophomore Ava Kirunchyk. They were the only pair to go all three sets against Stanford on Wednesday and started off hot with a 26-24 win in set one before dropping the second set 21-16. The third set was an exhilarating one that was close to the very end. The Sand Devils came out on top 20-18, and will look to ride their momentum into Friday morning. 

After sweeping the Sand Devils on Wednesday, the Cardinal were immediately swept by UCLA Thursday morning. The Cardinal and ASU now play for the third time this season, each taking a game so far. With the Sand Devils upsetting the four seed California, they joined the top three seeds in USC, UCLA, and Stanford in the final day of the last Pac-12 Championship ever.

Use Facebook to Comment on this Post

Jake Sloan

Recent Posts

ASU Men’s Tennis takes down BYU in Clutch Finisher

(Photo: Sun Devil Athletics) TEMPE — No. 35 Arizona State men's tennis team continued its…

19 hours ago

Sun Devils fall short at home for the first time in 2025

(Photo/ WCSN: Zina Garcia) Before the Sun Devils face their next opponent in the Big…

1 day ago

Sun Devils set to face tough challenge in Seattle Regional

(Photo credit: Elizabeth Agazaryan/WCSN) The Arizona State Gym Devils are preparing for the NCAA regional…

1 day ago

JJ Van Niel Extended Through 2029 After Historic Two-Year Start

(Photo: Sammy Nute/WCSN) With just two days left in the year 2022, then-athletic director Ray…

1 day ago

ASU sizing up marquee matchup against No. 7 Maryland

(Photo: WCSN/ Zina Garcia) Fresh off of its first Big 12 win in program history,…

1 day ago

Sun Devils look to get back in win column in series versus Kansas

(Photo credit: Joshua Eaton/WCSN) Following Arizona State softball's loss to No. 18 Oklahoma State, the…

1 day ago