No. 7 Arizona beach volleyball won a half a Territorial Cup point on Wednesday night with a 3-2 victory over ASU.
Seniors Bianca Arellano and Whitney Follette gave Arizona's juniors McKenna Witt and Madison Witt their first loss of the season. ASU's pair didn't start strong; they fell 21-12 before bouncing back in the second set and squeezing out a 22-20 victory.
The duos battled through the third set, but Arellano and Follette eventually won a 15-12 fight.
ASU's second court also started slowly, but redshirt sophomore Kwyn Johnson and freshman Natalie Braun were unable to bounce back in the second. It clearly missed sophomore Sydney Palmer, who did not play in the match. Johnson and Braun, her new partner, fell in two lopsided sets 21-8 and 21-17.
ASU's third court, juniors Madison Berridge and Mia Rivera, may have had a different match outcome if they were able to flip the first set. They fell 22-20 to Arizona, and then the Wildcats carried the momentum into the second. Berridge and Rivera lost 22-11.
The fourth court picked up ASU's other victory. Freshmen Bethany Wedepohl and Jourdan Parnell won two relatively close sets (21-16, 21-17). They were able to defeat junior Kalei Mau, who is one of Arizona's better indoor players.
Senior Logan Rae, who was celebrating Senior Day, was unable to pick up a win with sophomore Frances Giedraitis in the final home game of the season. The pair wasn't able to compete with the Wildcats' fifth seed, falling 21-15 and 21-12.
With the loss, ASU fell to 11-11 on the season. Despite not being able to break .500, this is still by far the Sun Devils' most successful season the short career of the sport at the school. They will compete in the Pac-12 Volleyball Championships on April 28.
Reach the sports editor at logan.newman@asu.edu or follow @Logan_Newsman on Twitter.
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