Lineup changes and comeback efforts were not enough as the ASU beach volleyball team suffered a 1-3 weekend at the Stanford Invitational.
It was a rough time in the beaches of Palo Alto.
After winning their opening match against San Jose State, the ASU beach volleyball team fell in three consecutive matches to California, Tulane and Stanford to finish with a 1-3 record a the Stanford Invitational.
ASU is now 3-7 overall on the season.
The Sand Devils got their best performances out of the No. 4 and No. 5 pairings of Katie Cross and Cierra Flood and Samantha Plaster and Kate Baldwin, who each finished 3-1 on the weekend.
Sophomores Katelyn Carballo and Ellyson Lundberg won their first two matches against San Jose State and Cal, but following a switch of Natalie Braun and Lundberg, ASU’s No. 3 duo lost both matches against Tulane and Stanford.
ASU’s No. 2 pairing got their first victory of the season, as Braun and Frances Giedraitis defeated San Jose State’s Julia Golbeck and Ciara Reistad by a score of two sets to none. The pairing would then change to Sierra Ellett and Sydney Palmer on day two, but they would fall in matches to Tulane and Stanford.
After Saturday’s loss to Cal, coach Brad Keenan made the biggest change of the season by inserting Giedraitis into the No.1 lineup for senior Kwyn Johnson. However, not much would change, as the new pair failed to pick up a set in two matches against Tulane and Stanford.
The Sun Devils will now have one week off before they travel to Santa Monica for the Pac-12 South Invitational.
Let’s take a look at how the team performed in their four matches over the weekend.
San Jose State (4-1 W)
The Sun Devils got off to a good start in the Stanford Invitational, winning all but one game in their match against the San Jose State Spartans.
The No. 5 duo of Plaster and Baldwin set the tone early in the match, as they defeated seniors Summer Avery and Breann Robinson in two quick sets (21-18, 21-12).
Cross and Flood would follow suit with a comeback victory in the No. 4 game, coming back from a first set loss to win in three (19-21, 21-9, 15-6).
Lundberg and Carballo continued their strong stretch of play, as they defeated Hayley Sturgeon and Jamie Hirai in straight sets in the No. 3 game to improve their overall record to 6-1 on the year.
After losing their first three games together, Braun and Giedraitis picked up ASU’s first win at the No. 2 pairing, as they knocked off Golbeck and Reistad in two sets (21-16, 21-18).
The lone loss for the Sun Devils came from the No. 1 pairing of Johnson and Mia Rivera, who fell in a three set outing to Nandyala Gama and Lyndi Scholl (21-19, 16-21, 9-15).
Cal (1-4 L)
The Sun Devils ended Saturday with a 1-1 split after falling to the California Golden Bears.
Three games in the match (No. 2, No. 3, No. 5) went to a decisive third set, but ASU was only able to pick up their lone match victory in the No. 3 game with Carballo and Lundberg.
Plaster and Baldwin forced a third set after a 21-19 second set win in the No. 5 game, but came up short in a 15-9 third set loss at the hands of Maddie Micheletti and Grace Campbell.
More from Devils in Detail
- Sun Devils Primer: Game 2 vs Oklahoma State
- Sun Devil Insight: Quarterback Room
- Arizona State Spotlight: Kenny Dillingham
- Arizona State 2023 Season Opener: Off To A Good Start
- Arizona State vs USC Prediction and Promo (Expect Offensive Fireworks)
Braun and Giedraitis looked to pick up two consecutive victories for ASU’s No. 2 pairing after forcing a third set against Iya Lindahl and Jessica Gaffney. However, their effort would similarly fall short, as they fell by a score of 15-9 in set three.
Cross and Flood were unable to rally from their three-set victory in the the first match, as they lost two sets by scores of 21-16 and 21-15 to Mia Merino and Caroline Schafer in the No. 4 match.
The struggles continued for Johnson and Rivera at the No. 1 slot, as they dropped two sets by scores of 22-20 and 21-14 to Cal’s star freshmen pairing of Alexia Inman and Mima Mirkovic.
With inconsistency present in some of his lineups, coach Keenan would make some huge changes in day two of the tournament.
No. 18 Tulane (2-3 L)
ASU found themselves in a more competitive match with Tulane the second time around, but a tight loss in the No. 3 game would make the difference in another loss to the Green Wave.
Braun, who subbed in to play for Lundberg in the No. 3 slot, would fight with Carballo to the bitter end before they suffered a brutal 30-28 second set loss to Tarin Mergener and Lan Nguyen.
ASU’s No. 4 and No. 5 pairings, the only duos not to receive lineup changes, would pick up the Sun Devils’ with a 2-0 victory in the No. 5 game and a 2-1 win in the No. 4 game.
After strong performances in the No. 2 game, Giedraitis would replace Johnson in the No. 1 lineup to play alongisde Rivera. The new duo lost a tight 21-18 set one, but would fall to issues of unfamiliarity in a 21-6 second set loss.
In Ellett’s first appearance and Palmer’s third in the No. 2 slot, the pair would fall in two sets by consecutive scores of 21-8.
Stanford (2-3 L)
In another close match, the Sun Devils would drop their second conference matchup of the weekend against the Stanford Cardinal.
Cross and Flood led the way for ASU at the No. 4 spot, coming back from a second set loss to win a tight 15-13 third set against Payton Chang and Catherine Raquel.
Plaster and Baldwin, who fell in the first set against Kat Anderson and Caitlin Keefe, won the second set and would automatically win the No. 5 game after the Cardinal turned in a medical forfeit.
With Lundberg still out of the No. 3 pairing, Carballo and Braun would fall in their second game together in two sets to Courtney Bowen and Kate Formico (11-21, 15-21).
Ellett and Palmer would later fall in two sets to Morgan Hentz and Amelia Smith in the No. 2 game (10-21, 13-21). The loss dropped to 1-9 in the No. 2 pairing, a situation that coach Keenan will likely have to address in the near future.
In the No. 1 game, Giedraitis and Rivera would fall in two sets to Stanford’s talented pairing of Kathryn Plummer and Sunny Villapando (18-21, 9-21). It’s uncertain which combination of Braun, Giedraitis or Johnson will be at the No. 1 slot in ASU’s next match.
Next: ASU Beach Volleyball: Sand Devils go 1-2 in TCU Tournament
The Sun Devils will return to the sand in two weeks, where they’ll travel to face UCLA, USC, Washington and Stanford in the Pac-12 South Invitational.