(Photo courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics)
Following their biggest weekend in program history, taking down No. 2 Stanford and No. 19 Arizona at home, the Arizona State beach volleyball team traveled to Long Beach, California for the Long Beach State University Tournament. The two-day tournament saw the Devils go 3-1, picking up wins against Pepperdine, CSUN, and Texas. The team’s lone loss on the weekend was a battle against No. 7 Long Beach State that came down to the final dual.
The biggest win of the weekend was a 4-1 victory over Pepperdine, a program that has made four NCAA championships. Despite the overall win against Pepperdine, ASU’s No. 1 pair, sophomore Daniella Kensinger and junior Anya Pemberton, fell in straight sets.
Their struggles continued against No. 7 Long Beach State. With the match coming down to their result, Kensinger and Pemberton lost in three sets to the Sharks’ Malia Gementera and Taylor Hegnah. The loss marked their fifth to a ranked team this season while the team’s was their third of the year, all of which have been against top 10 opponents.
The Devils bounced back in a big way on Saturday, beating CSUN 5-0 and winning every dual in straight sets. In the victory, senior Taryn Ames and graduate student Lexi Sweeney added to their already impressive resumes, each picking up their 50th career wins. The duo became the eighth and ninth Devils in program history to reach that mark.
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The Devils finished off the weekend with a less commanding, but still solid, win over Texas. The 3-2 victory saw the Devils picking up wins at the ones, twos, and fives.
Combined on the weekend, ASU went undefeated at both the No. 2 and No. 5 pairings. Sophomore Arden Besecker and freshman Ava Williamson went 4-0 at the No. 2 spot while the No. 5’s used four different pairings across the weekend.
Now at 11-3, the Sun Devils have matched their win total from a year ago and have done so in 10 less matches.
The Sand Devils’ next action will come this weekend at the Fight in the Fort in Fort Worth, Texas, where the team will take on Florida Gulf Coast, Washington, Florida International, and TCU.
