(Long Beach, CA) No. 11 Sun Devil Beach Volleyball split the first day of the LBSU Tournament on Friday afternoon, defeating Pepperdine 4-1 before falling in a close battle with the home team No. 7 Long Beach State.
Arizona State (9-3) remains undefeated on the year against unranked teams (4-0) and is now 5-3 against ranked opponent.
The No. 2 pair of sophomore Arden Besecker and freshman Ava Williamson went undefeated today, improving to 9-3 on the year. They now have the best pairs and individual records on the team. The sophomore duo of Adriana Nieves Papaleo and Carys Thomasalso won both of their matches, playing in the No. 5 spot. They are 3-0 together this season.
In the record book, graduate Lexi Sweeney and senior Taryn Ames both moved up to 49 career wins, one away from reaching the 50 win milestone. They would become the eighth and ninth Sand Devils in program history to earn 50 wins.
Game One: #11 ASU 4, Pepperdine 1
The Sun Devils started off strong with a win over Pepperdine (6-7), winning on all but one court. All five courts played at the same time. The bottom three courts finished first to clinch the win, all winning in straight sets. The fourth court to get a point for the Sand Devils were the twos, Besecker and Williamson, winning in three sets.
Results (Order of Finish: 5, 4, 3*, 1, 2)
- Clermont/Thomas (PEPP) def. Daniella Kensinger/Anya Pemberton (ASU) 24-22, 21-19
- Arden Besecker/Ava Williamson (ASU) def. Briede/Oriskovich (PEPP) 24-22, 19-21, 15-13
- Taryn Ames/Lexi Sweeney (ASU) def. Perez/Svobodova (PEPP) 21-12, 23-21
- Ava Haughy/Rylie Kael (ASU) def. Bubelis/Meyers (PEPP) 21-15, 21-17
- Adriana Nieves Papaleo/Carys Thomas (ASU) def. Erickson/McNabney (PEPP) 21-17, 21-11
Game Two: #7 Long Beach State 3, #11 ASU 2
With all five courts going at once again, intensity was high up and down the lineup. ASU struck first with the twos before Long Beach won the next two on four and three. The No. 5 pair of sophomores Adriana Nieves Papaleo and Carys Thomas swept their match, with the second set going to extras, 26-24. It all came down to the top court, which went to three sets but Arizona State was unable to come away with the win.
Results (Order of Finish: 2, 4, 3, 5, 1*)
- Gementera/Hagenah (LBSU) def. Daniella Kensinger/Anya Pemberton (ASU) 21-16, 18-21, 15-11
- Arden Besecker/Ava Williamson (ASU) def. Standage/Westby (LBSU) 21-16, 21-16
- Glenn/Gibson (LBSU) def. Taryn Ames/Lexi Sweeney (ASU) 21-17, 23-21
- Deroos/Widener (LBSU) def. Ava Haughy/Rylie Kael (ASU) 21-16, 21-12
- Adriana Nieves Papaleo/Carys Thomas (ASU) def. Carrington/Narancich (LBSU) 21-19, 26-24
Up Next
The last two duals of the LBSU Tournament are on Saturday against CSUN at 11:00 a.m. PDT/MST before taking on Texas right after.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Kimberlie Haner
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