As Senior Day approaches, the ASU beach volleyball team travels to Tucson for a three-match swing on Friday before returning to Tempe to face Stetson and Vanguard Saturday night.
For the ASU beach volleyball team, it’s almost like they’re hitting the road.
The Sun Devils (8-10) will return to their home state of Arizona for the first time in 40 days this weekend, travelling first to Tucson for a three-match slate against Cal, Colorado Mesa and rival Arizona Friday afternoon.
It will be the second time the Sun Devils have faced Cal this season and the third time in consecutive weekends that they’ll face Colorado Mesa. ASU fell in their first match to the Bears on March 9 by a score of 4-1, while the team has yet to drop a set to the Mavericks in two outings.
The Sun Devils’ first match against Arizona will determine who takes the first half of a Territorial Cup Point in beach volleyball.
The Sand Devils will then jump back through the Interstate 10 highway and arrive in Tempe on Saturday for their fourth and fifth home matches of the season against Stetson and Vanguard.
Following Saturday’s matches, the team will be honoring seniors Kwyn Johnson, Mia Rivera, Halle Harker, Frances Giedraitis and Sydney Palmer in their second-to-last appearances at home. Each senior has played a role in building the team’s No. 1 and No. 2 lineup’s this year.
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ASU enters the weekend on a five-match win streak, their second largest streak in program history. In those five matches, the Sun Devils have only dropped two sets and have swept their opponents a total of 21 times in individual matches.
For their three matches in Tucson, the Sun Devils hope to break some of the bad luck that eluded them in earlier meetings.
This season’s loss to Cal saw each of the No. 2, No. 4 and No. 5 matches go into a decisive third set. However, ASU would only grab one of those match victories, a feat that proved to be the difference in the total match.
The Sun Devils split last season’s two meetings in Arizona, falling in the second match by a score of two sets to three. Each set the Sun Devils lost in the No. 3-5 matches came by an average of 2.5 points.
With newfound momentum, the Sun Devils hope to persevere in tight matches and pursue a 3-0 day away from home.
The team will then kick off Saturday’s slate in Tempe with a match against No. 17 Stetson.
The Hatters boast a 20-6 record on the season, with notable victories coming against No. 20 Florida Atlantic and No. 18 Tulane.
One stat that ASU will be looking to break is Stetson’s 18-0 record against unranked opponents this season. The Hatters boast a 61-17 record throughout their top three duos as well as a 31-5 record at the No. 4 and No. 5 positions in the last 18 matches.
The Sun Devils will then conclude Saturday’s play with a matchup against the Vanguard Lions.
The Lions’ first year of existence has been a tough one. The team has accumulated a 1-13 record on the season with their lone victory coming against Cal State LA.
The Sun Devils and Lions have faced one common opponent in the University of Washington. In that match, the Lions dropped all five individual matches, picking up only one set victory at the No. 1 duo.
In comparison, ASU ousted the Huskies by a score of four matches to one on March 25.
The weekend will provide many tough challenges for ASU. However, if they play to their recent capabilities, it’s likely that the team can extend their match win streak, a positive sign with the Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Championships approaching at the end of the month.
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The Sun Devils will open the weekend in Tucson with a match against Cal at 1 p.m. PT, followed by matches against Colorado Mesa and Arizona at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. ASU will then return to the PERA Club in Tempe Saturday for a 3 p.m. match against Stetson and a 7 p.m. meeting with Vanguard.