The ASU sand volleyball team (4-8) finished off its weekend falling hard to the undefeated Trojans (12-0) and dominating the Lobos (1-6) Saturday evening.
The day started out tough for the Sun Devils as their No. 2 pair of senior Jordy Checkal and graduate student Bethany Jorgensen were the only pair able to force a third set, and still ended up dropping 15-8. Every other pair was defeated in just two sets by USC.
No. 4 pair junior Whitney Follette and freshman Halle Harker fell to the Trojans 21-7 and 21-12, racking up their third loss in a row this weekend.
ASU’s No. 1 pair of juniors Bianca Arellano and Macey Gardner weren’t even able to walk away with a win after losing to the Trojans 21-15 and 21-12.
The Trojans shut out the Sun Devils 5-0, but the day turned around for ASU as it took on New Mexico later that evening.
ASU bounced back and defeated New Mexico 5-0 after every pair was able to walk away with a win.
It started as Follette and Harker got their first win of the weekend, defeating New Mexico 21-13 and 21-19. With that strong win and their loss to USC, the No. 4 pair finished off the weekend standing 5-6.
Checkal and Jorgensen were the second to walk away with a win as they pushed ASU ahead 2-0 with their 21-13 and 21-9 wins over the Lobos. Including their games Saturday, they now stand 4-7 going into the rest of their final season with the Sun Devils.
Gardner and Arellano pushed ASU even further ahead 3-0 with two consecutive set wins, 21-8 and 21-11. This was their second win of the weekend, leaving them 7-4, still with the best record on the team.
ASU finished up with two more wins and its No. 5s, freshman Frances Giedraitis and junior Andi Lowrance defeated the Lobos with two consecutive wins and go into the rest of the season 4-7. With their win, ASU pulled ahead 4-0 and there was no hope for New Mexico.
The last match of the evening was ASU’s No. 3 pair sophomore Kizzy Willey and freshman Sydney Palmer who were the only two to not defeat the Lobos in two sets. The two of them won the first set 21-18 and the Lobos responded by forcing a third set, in which Willey and Palmer walked away with 15-7 win and the match.
The Sun Devils defeated the Lobos 5-0, splitting the weekend after their 5-0 loss to the Trojans.
The Sun Devils have another big weekend in two weeks as they host their ASU Sand Volleyball Challenge. They will play Arizona (8-11) on Friday, April 10 at 6 p.m. and New Mexico (1-6) and CSUB (9-4) on Saturday, April 11 at 12 p.m. and 5 p.m., respectively.
Reach the reporter at kewens@asu.edu or follow @katlynewens on Twitter.
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