The ASU beach volleyball team recovered from losses to No. 8 Cal Poly and No. 18 Tulane with a win over No. 14 TCU Sunday to close the Fight in the Fort Tournament.
It’s not how you start; it’s how you finish.
That’s what the ASU beach volleyball team will take away from their tournament at TCU this weekend, finishing 1-2 in another tough stretch of competition.
The Sun Devils’ No. 3 duo of Katelyn Carballo and Ellyson Lundberg led the team with a 2-1 record on the weekend, improving their overall record to 5-1 on the season. Mia Rivera and Kwyn Johnson also picked up their first victory of the season with a 2-0 win over TCU.
With the No. 2 team still in question after last weekend, the Sun Devils reverted back to Halle Harker and Kara Woodard in their opener against Cal Poly. After a lopsided loss, ASU switched back to Natalie Braun and Frances Giedraitis, who would fall in the remaining two games to keep the Devils winless at the No. 2 slot.
After two weeks of play, ASU now sits at 2-4 on the season with all four losses coming to teams ranked in the top 20.
Let’s take a look at how the Sun Devils fared against each opponent over the weekend.
No. 8 Cal Poly (1-4 L)
The Sun Devils would open the TCU Tournament with a rematch against the Cal Poly Mustangs.
After nearly knocking off the Mustangs in Tempe, the Devils would struggle in round two, amounting just one victory in the No. 3 game.
Katie Cross and Cierra Flood, who defeated Adlee Van Winden and Brayden Gruenewald in the first No. 4 game, fell in two sets (14-21, 12-21) to a new duo of Van Winden and Taylor Nelson.
Harker and Woodard, who started as the No. 2 duo in ASU’s first match against USC, started again for the Sun Devils in this game. They would fall two sets (7-21, 8-21) to Poly’s pair of Emily Sonny and Samantha Manley.
The freshmen pair of Samantha Plaster and Kate Baldwin would put up a tough fight in their No. 5 game, taking the first set against Heather Pembroke and Macy Gordon by a score of 21-17. However, after a 20-22 loss in set two, the duo couldn’t recover in the third set, falling by a score of 11-15.
Johnson and Rivera put up a better performance against Torrey Van Winden and Tia Miric in the No. 1 game, but would ultimately fall in two sets (15-21, 11-21).
No. 18 Tulane (0-5 L)
The Sun Devils suffered their first sweep on Saturday, failing to amount a victory in their second matchup against the Tulane Green Wave.
In this match, ASU switched their No. 4 and No. 5 teams, placing Plaster and Baldwin at the No. 4 slot and Cross and Flood at the No. 5 position.
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The change didn’t amount much success, as Cross and Flood would fall to Breana Correa and Lauren Orlich in two sets (11-21, 17-21). After fighting back to force a third set, Plaster and Baldwin would ultimately fall in the set to Anna Chin and Gabriella Becerra by a score of 10-15.
Carballo and Lundberg suffered their first loss of the season at the No. 3 slot, falling in three sets after rallying with a 21-12 victory in set two.
Giedraitis and Braun recaptured the No. 2 spot in the lineup, but would ultimately drop two close sets by scores of 16-21 and 18-21.
Kwyn Johnson and Mia Rivera again showed improvement at the No. 1 slot, but fell in two close sets by scores of 19-21 and 15-21.
No. 14 TCU (4-1 W)
The Sun Devils wouldn’t leave Forth Worth empty handed, as they were able to pick up their first victory against a ranked opponent this season by defeating tournament host TCU for the second straight time dating back to 2017.
ASU’s No. 1, No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 teams would all pick up victories on the day, with only the No.4 game for Cross and Flood going to a third set.
Cross and Flood, who followed an 18-21 first set loss with a 21-7 win in the second set, would take a forfeit from TCU in the third set to pull off the victory in the No. 4 game.
Back at the No. 5 slot, Baldwin and Plaster dominated TCU’s Claire Doyle and Jordan Terral with 21-14 victories in two straight sets.
Carballo and Lundberg would narrowly edge Molly Scheel and Hannah Rodgers in the No. 3 game, using consistent play down the stretch of two sets to win 21-17 and 21-19.
Giedraitis and Braun would start at the No. 2 game again for ASU, looking to help pick up the Sun Devils’ first sweep of the season. After a 12-21 loss in the first set, the pair would fight back, but would ultimately fall 17-21 in set number two.
Johnson and Rivera were able to cash in on their gradual improvement, picking up their first victory of the season with 21-13 and 21-18 set victories to cap off the match.
Next: ASU Beach Volleyball: Devils finish 1-2 in Sun Devil Challenge
The Sun Devils will hit the road again this weekend as they’ll get set to take on Cal and Stanford in their first two conference matches of the season. The match against Cal will be at 3:30 p.m. MT Friday, and the match against Stanford will be at the same time on Saturday.