ASU Beach Volleyball: Devils finish 1-2 in Sun Devil Challenge

TEMPE, AZ - NOVEMBER 14: The Arizona State Sun Devils mascot 'Sparky' performs during the college football game against the Washington Huskies at Sun Devil Stadium on November 14, 2015 in Tempe, Arizona. The Sun Devils defeated the Huskies 27-17. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TEMPE, AZ - NOVEMBER 14: The Arizona State Sun Devils mascot 'Sparky' performs during the college football game against the Washington Huskies at Sun Devil Stadium on November 14, 2015 in Tempe, Arizona. The Sun Devils defeated the Huskies 27-17. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

ASU beach volleyball took some steps forward in day two of the Sun Devil Challenge, knocking off Nebraska and falling just short against No. 14 Cal Poly.

The Sun Devils are four-fifths of the way there.

After their 1-1 day two of the Sun Devil Challenge at the PERA Club in Tempe, Arizona State assistant coach Kristal Harris noted how at the moment, four of the team’s five starting lineups seem to be secured.

“For the most part, the other lineups are set,” Harris said. “Obviously, if there’s an injury at a lower level or any level, we would switch it up.”

So, which lineup would be that outlier?

The one that’s changed in every match so far: the No. 2 team.

In their opening three matches, a total of five Sun Devil players have had their hands at the No. 2 position: Kara Woodard, Halle Harker, Sydney Palmer, Natalie Braun and Frances Giedraitis.

Outside of the No. 1 team, ASU’s No. 2 team has had the widest margin of defeat through three matches, losing all six sets by a combined average of 6.7 points.

“For our no. 2’s, we’re still trying to figure out who is going to be there,” Harris said. “Nobody’s really stepped up to earn that spot yet.”

Today, one player who may have earned the spot in that lineup would be Giedraitis. After playing in the No. 6 lineup for the first two matches, Giedraitis impressed against Cal Poly, mixing up a combination of shots down the line and at an angle while getting up to block the Mustangs’ Emily Sonny and Samantha Manley.

“I felt like Fran played pretty good,” Harris added. “I didn’t get to watch a lot of her earlier games because I wasn’t coaching her, but I felt like she made the adjustments that I asked her to make in this match against Cal Poly.”

Having played tough competition, the Sun Devils will look to use their strong performances this weekend to their advantage as they’ll travel to play in the TCU Tournament in Fort Worth, Texas, next weekend.

Let’s take a look at how ASU fared against both of their opponents today.

Nebraska (3-2 W)

The Sun Devils got off to the right start in their second day of the Sun Devil Challenge, defeating the defending indoor volleyball champions in Nebraska by a score of three matches to two.

The No. 3 and No. 5 pairs of Ellyson Lundberg and Katelyn Carballo and Samantha Plaster and Kate Baldwin picked up their second victories of the season, while the No. 4 duo of Katie Cross and Cierra Flood dominated a two set victory for their first win of the season.

In the No.5 game, times looked wary in the first set, as Plaster and Baldwin fell in a five point deficit to Nebraska’s Allie Havers and Jasmine Schmidt at 17-12.

However, the two hallmates would stay composed, as a pair of aces and a tip kill from Plaster would ignite a 5-0 run for the Sun Devils and lead to a 21-19 victory in set one.

After holding a 7-6 lead in the second set, the pair unleashed their will on the Cornhuskers, going on a 9-2 run to open up an eight point advantage in the set.

Havers and Schmidt would never near any closer than six points, and Plaster and Baldwin would win the second set by a score of 21-14.

Coach Brad Keenan noted how the chemistry between Plaster and Baldwin isn’t a coincidence.

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“They live right across the bathroom from each other, so they spend a lot of time together,” Keenan said. “It’s relatively new, we put them together maybe a week or two ago, but they don’t have any fear. They’re just freshmen, there’s no conscience of it.”

“It works out a lot,” Baldwin said of the proximity. “When you live with someone, you just know when to give them space, you know when to get in their face, so it works out. We’re friends on and off the court, so hopefully that makes us better teammates too.”

In the No. 2 game, Palmer stepped in for Halle Harker in the Sun Devils’ first change of the lineup. Her pairing with Woodard led to 21-17 and 21-16 set losses to the Cornhuskers’ Kenzie Maloney and Anni Albright.

Braun and Giedraitis would win the No.6 exhibition game by scores of 21-12 and 21-10.

No. 14 Cal Poly (L 2-3)

The Sun Devils put up another strong fight against a tough opponent, this time falling one game short of beating a Cal Poly team that had already defeated No. 2 Pepperdine and No. 10 Grand Canyon.

The No. 3 pair of Lundberg and Carballo picked up their third consecutive victory of the season, while the No. 4 duo of Cross and Flood won their second game of the day to lead the Sun Devils.

After dominating the first set by a score of 21-12, Cross and Flood had their hands tied in set two, as the Mustang No. 4 pair of Adlee Van Winden and Brayden Gruenewald fought back to tie the set at 13 points apiece.

Then, the Devils took off, as an 8-1 run consisting of tip kills, roll shots and blocks from Cross helped ASU pick up their first win of the match.

On court three, Lundberg and Carballo would make quick work of Cal Poly’s Raeann Greuen and Hannah Hubbard, using a 9-5 run in the first set and an early seven point advantage in the second set to win the No.3 game, 21-14 and 21-15.

Following losses from ASU’s No. 1 and No. 5 team, the match would come down to the decisive game between the No.2 pair of Giedraitis and Braun versus Cal Poly’s Sonny and Manley.

A 21-9 loss doomed Giedraitis and Braun and the first set, but newfound life from being the last team standing allowed them to take an 18-17 second set advantage following a Giedraitis ace.

However, the momentum wasn’t enough, as a pair of kills and tough serves from Poly led to their 4-0 run to close the set and match, 21-18.

In spite of the close loss, the Sun Devils put themselves in another position to knock off one of the nation’s top teams.

When asked how this weekend would help the team going forward, Baldwin said it would remind ASU to only focus on how they can strategize against their opposition.

“Just to not focus on the school’s name, focus on the players,” she said. “We came in nervous because USC’s a top team, Cal Poly’s a top team, Nebraska won the national championship for indoor, but you just got to think about the players that you’re playing against rather than the team’s name.”

“To me, it shows that we are there at that level,” coach Harris added. “The losses that we’re having are 2-3, which is way better than a 4-1 or a 5-0 loss. So that tells me that we’re right there and we can compete with all these teams at that level.”

Next: ASU Beach Volleyball: Sun Devils fall 3-2 to No.1 USC

The Sun Devils will return to action next weekend in the TCU Tournament against the Horned Frogs, Tulane and Cal Poly for a second time.

All quotes in this article were obtained firsthand by Devils in Detail unless otherwise noted.