(Photo courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics)
In their final tune-up before the Pac-12 Championships next week, the No. 13 Arizona State beach volleyball team had a chance to fix the mistakes they made Thursday night in Tucson.
The Devils’ final conference match-up came against No. 19 Arizona, and while they showed signs of promise, they ultimately fell 3-2, only picking up wins at the No. 1 and No. 2 pairs.
“Tough loss last night at U of A, a great rivalry match came down to just a couple sets.” Devils head coach Kristen Rohr said.
With a quick turn-around, ASU couldn’t afford to dwell on their mistakes, as they had a non-conference match-up against Ottawa University of Arizona, the No. 2 ranked NAIA school in the country.
Friday night was also senior night for the Sand Devils, and seniors Taryn Ames, Ivey Weber, and Kate Fitzgerald, as well as graduate student Lexi Sweeney, were all honored in the pregame ceremony. All four seniors got the start, and Weber and Fitzgerald made their season debuts, appearing at the No. 4 and 5 pairs, respectively.
“They executed really well,” Rohr said. “They had a lot of fun, and today was about the seniors and supporting them, and just honoring them for all they’ve done for the program and university.”
The night started off with a bang, as ASU’s No. 2 pair, junior Anya Pemberton and sophomore Arden Besecker and No. 4 pair, freshman Ava Haughy and Weber, both took the first set from OUAZ. Haughy and Weber went on a 15-1 run to end the first set, easily winning 21-7.
The second set from both the twos and fours offered more of the same, with both duos taking the second set and giving ASU an early 2-0 lead heading into the second wave.
The start of the second wave saw the No. 1 pair, sophomore Daniella Kensinger and freshman Ava Williamson and No. 3 pair, Ames and Sweeney, jump ahead to early leads, while the No. 5 pair, junior Rylie Kael and Fitzgerald, struggled early, but was able to pull out a close first set win, 21-19.
In the second set on all three courts, it was all Devils, as Kensinger and Williamson won 21-14, clinching the dual for ASU, Ames and Sweeney won 21-4, and Fitzgerald and Kael won 21-6, pulling off the clean sweep.
Speaking on the impact of Rohr in her first year here, Ames and Sweeney pointed at the multiple facets of the game that they have improved on since last season.
“There’s a lot of things that we’ve started doing or putting into our game like the optioning, “ Sweeney said. “We’ve really put emphasis on that this year and it’s really helped us and we just did it a bunch in that last game.”
That optioning, which is when the ball is sent over on the second contact rather than the third was a common occurrence for the pair and was one of a few things the pair keyed in throughout the year.
“We focus a lot on the little things, trying to fine tune all of those,” Ames said. “And then also she’s [Rohr] just super big on the culture and the family aspect. That’s why this team is literally like my second family.”
With the conclusion of the Devils regular season Friday night, the squad turns its sights to the Pac-12 Championships, which start on Wednesday at the Sun Devil Beach Volleyball facility in Tempe.
“We just preach, go in there, this is day one of defending our turf,” Rohr said. “Huge home-court advantage, people coming into our sand, hoping it’s gonna be as hot as possible next week. So, that’s what we’re used to playing in.”
Ames echoed Rohr’s sentiment. “We are ready to make a statement and make our name in this school known. So yeah, we’re defending our turf already.”
