TEMPE, Ariz.—The Arizona State beach volleyball team opens the 2016 season this weekend, hosting the No. 17 South Carolina, Colorado Mesa, New Mexico, and No. 6 Florida State at the Sun Devil Challenge on Friday and Saturday at the PERA Club.
The PERA Club is located at 1 E. Continental Drive, just five minutes away from ASU’s Tempe Campus. Admission is free and fans are encouraged to bring their own chairs.
On Friday, ASU will host New Mexico at Noon MT, followed by a match against No. 6 Florida State at 6 p.m. MT. On Saturday, the Sun Devils will face back to back matches against Colorado Mesa at 5:30 p.m. MT and No. 17 South Carolina at 7:15 p.m. MT.
The match against the Seminoles is ASU’s Beach Vibes Night, and fans are encouraged to send their music requests for opening day via the SunDevilBeachVolleyball Instagram account and @SunDevilVB Twitter account, using the hashtag #EmbraceIntensity.
Fans coming to Saturday’s matches are encouraged to wear their island gear, including Hawaiian shirts, hats, and leis.
COMPLETE SUN DEVIL CHALLENGE SCHEDULE
Friday, March 4
10 a.m. – No. 17 South Carolina vs. Colorado Mesa
Noon – New Mexico vs. Arizona State
2 p.m. – No. 17 South Carolina vs. No. 6 Florida State
4 p.m. – Colorado Mesa vs. New Mexico
6 p.m. – No. 6 Florida State vs. Arizona State
Saturday, March 5
2 p.m. – No. 17 South Carolina vs. New Mexico
3:45 p.m. – New Mexico vs. No. 6 Florida State
5:30 p.m. – Colorado Mesa vs. Arizona State
7:15 p.m. – No. 17 South Carolina vs. Arizona State
THE SUN DEVIL PAIRINGS
The Sun Devils’ pairings have been announced, seeds to follow:
Junior Bianca Arellano and junior Whitney Follette
After exhausting their indoor eligibility, Arellano and Follette will compete this season as juniors on the beach team, both entering their third year with the program. Follette has 20 wins in her career while Arellano has 18, No. 1 and No. 2 all-time in the beach program, respectively.
Redshirt sophomore Kwyn Johnson & sophomore Sydney Palmer
Last season, Palmer and her partner saw playing time at the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds, picking up seven wins, while Johnson played matches with Mia Rivera and Frances Giedraitis at the No. 5 seed.
Junior Madison Berridge & freshman Bethany Wedepohl
Joining the program during the 2015 season, Berridge looks to make her debut in the lineup this week, along with freshman Bethany Wedepohl.
Junior Mia Rivera & freshman Jourdan Parnell
Last season, Rivera teamed up with current San Devils Kwyn Johnson and Frances Giedriaits, and this year will team up with freshman Jourdan Parnell.
Sophomore Frances Giedraitis & senior Logan Rae
Giedriaits teamed up with former Sand Devil Andi Lowrance last season, and has eight total victories so far in her career. Giedraitis has also played matches with Mia Rivera and Kwyn Johnson. Giedraitis is set to team up with senior Logan Rae, a transfer from Niagara Falls University.
ABOUT NEW MEXICO
The University of New Mexico Lobos finished their inaugural season with a record of 3-11, following matchups with eight top-20 teams.
As a young team with only one senior, the Lobos clinched one of their wins in Phoenix, not against Arizona State, but rather their fellow first-year program, Texas Christian University. The team concluded the season with two wins against Colorado State University in Albuquerque, N.M..
The Sun Devils and Lobos met in Tempe, Ariz. twice last season in which ASU took the wins (5-0, 4-1).
ABOUT FLORIDA STATE
Seminoles Beach Volleyball wrapped up the 2014-2015 season undefeated at home and 13-6 overall. The latest DiG Magazine Collegiate Sand Volleyball Poll places Florida State at No. 6 overall.
At the 2015 AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball National Championships in Gulf Shores, Ala., the Seminoles concluded its dual match season with losses to No. 3 FIU (L, 5-0) and No. 2 Hawai’I (L, 3-2).
Only added to FSU athletics in 2012, the Seminoles have played in the AVCA National Championships each of the four years since its opening season.
FSU announced the hiring of a new sand volleyball head coach, Brooke Niles, a member of the USA Beach National Team from 2010-13.
ABOUT COLORADO MESA
The Colorado Mesa University Mavericks are set for their debut sand volleyball season in 2016. Led by Head Coach David Skaff, the Mavericks are a fairly young team with six freshmen, two sophomores and juniors and one single senior.
The CMU sand volleyball team is the first NCAA Division II sand volleyball team in Colorado.
Skaff has spent seven years on the CMU volleyball coaching staff and is currently Assistant Volleyball Coach.
ABOUT SOUTH CAROLINA
The South Carolina sand volleyball team finished their second season in May 2015 with a 14-7 record. Starting their third season in school history, the Gamecocks’ are ranked No. 17 in the latest DiG Magazine Collegiate Sand Volleyball Poll.
Led by Head Coach Moritz Moritz, senior pair Paige Wheeler and Megan Kent closed the 2015 season with a 20-10 overall record, aiding the teams overall record of 83-58. Wheeler will return to the sand in the 2016 season as a Volunteer Assistant.
In South Carolina and Arizona State’s last matchup in Columbia, S.C. in March 2015, the Gamecocks’ defeated the Sun Devils 4-1, advancing to 4-0 at home and earning its fifth-straight victory.
ABOUT BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Sand volleyball is contested with five pairings in the best of three sets, which are played to 21 points. The tiebreaker third set is played to 15.
The team win goes to the squad that secures three of the five wins throughout the match.
THE PERA CLUB
PERA, which stands for Project Employees Recreation Association is a private club for the employees and families of the Salt River Project.
The 83-acre club houses a social center, employee store, fitness center, swimming pool, game courts, and fields and offers children's programs, fitness classes, business meetings, sports leagues, and parties.