In a doubleheader at home this weekend, ASU beach volleyball swept new competitors San Diego State and Grossmont College.
Coming off a disheartening 4-1 loss against No. 7 Arizona on Thursday, the Sand Devils took advantage of their home turf. They went 10-0 over the two matches.
Walking into PERA Club this morning to battle SDSU, the Sand Devils had another advantage. Due to a new program and lack of players, SDSU was forced to forfeit the fourth and fifth court. The Aztecs didn't have enough players to fill the courts, so ASU’s No. 4 pair freshmen Bethany Wedepohl and Jourdan Parnell challenged familiar faces, sophomore Frances Giedraitis and senior Logan Rae, the usual fifth seed.
With no opponents on the fourth or fifth courts, the pressure decreased.
“It’s actually easier because we know each other’s tendencies, so it’s a better game,” Wedepohl said.
In the Sun Devils' only match, Giedraitis and Rae won the first set with a score of 21-14. Clinching the win by a large margin in the second set, the fifth seed walked away with a 21-6 win.
“I think Logan and I did pretty well because we were keeping our passes tight and we were just really focused and on task,” Giedraitis said.
ASU's third court also won in forfeit. Michaela Keller of SDSU played on the second and third, and because a player is not allowed to play on two courts, ASU was given the victory on it.
It didn't matters. ASU's third pair, Madison Berridge and Mia Rivera, won 21-10 and 21-5.
ASU's early clinch gave the team its 10th victory of the season, double the amount it won all of last year. This is the first time in the program's history that the Sand Devils have achieved double-digit wins.
“This season we just have a lot more kids that train in the beach all year, which makes a huge difference,” Bunker said. “Having them come out in August versus coming out two weeks before the season starts, which happened in the past.”
With a clinch already official, ASU’s No. 1 pair juniors Bianca Arellano and Whitney Follette continued in the same manner as their counterparts against SDSU’s Hannah Seits and Rachael McFarland. After a major win of 21-3 in the first set, the two brought the score to 4-0 after a 21-10 win in the second match.
ASU’s second seed, sophomores Kwyn Johnson and Sydney Palmer, maintained the intensity, sweeping SDSU’s Michelle Kunde and Keller with impressive scores of 21-8 and 21-12.
ASU won every match against SDSU in two sets, sweeping the team.
This afternoon, ASU faced another new competitor: Grossmont College.
Starting off the first match, Giedraitis and Rae faced Grossmont’s Sammy Powell and Maddie Schaeffer. Leading from the start, the two maintained the lead, winning the first set at 21-15. Meanwhile, Wedepohl and Parnell played a nerve-racking first set, falling behind early. However, they pulled a 21-19 win over Megan Angerstein and Callie Guasti.
In their second set, Giedraitis and Rae played a similar game while making sure to maintain a ten-point gap throughout the entirety of the match. The pair swept with a score of 21-9. Compared to winning the first set by the skin of their teeth, Wedepohl and Parnell easily won 21-10. ASU led 2-0.
In the next set of matches, Johnson and Palmer took on Hannah Doonan and Tiffany Cobian. Although they fell behind at the beginning of the match at 1-5, Johnson had several successful blocks to help surpass their opponent, winning the first set with a score of 21-17. In the second set, the two remained ahead the entirety of the set, sweeping with a 21-18 win.
Meanwhile, Grossmont’s Brooke Callahan and Robyn Arthur failed to score against Arellano and Follette until the eighth point of the game. They didn't gain momentum; ASU's first seed won 21-4. In the second set, Grossmont put up a little more of a challenge, but the Sun Devils won 21-13.
In the final game of the night, Rivera and Berridge led in points straight from the beginning against Gionni Brown and Makena Wilson. With an easy win in the first set, the two struggled to complete the final sweep of the night. Tying the game at 21-21, the two completed ASU’s perfect day with a 24-22 win.
“I thought our team took care of the details today,” ASU beach volleyball interim coach Jacquelyn Bunker said. “One of the things we’ve been working on is making simple calls and executing them.”
On Wednesday, the Sand Devils will re-face Arizona after losing 4-1 last Thursday, playing their final game at PERA Club for the season.
Reach the reporter at ncorr@asu.edu or follow @natalieorr19 on Twitter.
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