TEMPE, Ariz.—The Arizona State beach volleyball team (9-9) will return to Tucson on Thursday to take on Pac-12 rival No. 7 Arizona (13-3) at 3 p.m. PT at the Arizona Sand Volleyball Courts. The match is slated to air on the Pac-12 Network.
On Saturday, ASU will play at home for the first time since the Sun Devil on March 4-5, hosting San Diego State and Grossmont College at the PERA Club. The matches are slated for an 8:30 a.m. PT and 1 p.m. PT start, respectively.
ABOUT ARIZONA
The Sand Cats went 3-0 last week in New Orleans at the Tulane Pelican Classic, posting wins over Spring Hill College, LSU, and Georgia State. Arizona posted a 5-0 sweep of Spring Hill College before taking the 3-2 edge against LSU and Georgia State.
This marks the first of two scheduled meetings between the Sand Devils and Sand Cats. ASU will play host on Thursday, April 20, at 5 p.m. PT at the PERA Club.
HALF OF A TERRITORIAL CUP SERIES POINT UP FOR GRABS
One half of the Territorial Cup Series ® point for Beach Volleyball will be up for grabs on Thursday against the Wildcats. The Sun Devils currently hold a 7.5 to 5.5 point advantage, with points coming from football, men’s and women’s cross country, women’s soccer, women’s basketball, men’s and women’s indoor track and field, and a half a point from volleyball.
UP NEXT
The Sand Devils round out the home slate and the regular season on Wednesday, April 20, taking on Arizona at 5 p.m. PT at the PERA Club.
LAST TIME OUT
ASU went 2-2 last week at the Stanford Tournament, posting wins over Oregon and Boise State. The No. 1 pair of Bianca Arellano and Whitney Follette, and the No. 5 pair of Frances Giedraitis and Logan Rae both went 3-1 on the weekend with victories over their counterparts from Oregon, Stanford, and Boise State.
The two victories gives ASU nine on the season, a record for the young program.
FOLLETTE AND ARELLANO FIRST TO 30 CAREER WIN MARK
A junior on the beach, Whitney Follette has 32 wins in her two-and-change seasons with the Sand Devils, the most in the history of the young program. She earned her 30th as she and teammate Bianca Arellano defeated Oregon’s Liz Brenner and Kacey Nady.
Arellano went on to become the second Sand Devil all-time to surpass 30 wins, earning hers as she and Follette defeated Boise State’s Maddy O’Donnel and Hannah Hubbard, 21-9, 21-11.
As a pair, Arellano and Follette lead ASU with 12 wins so far this season.
ASU’s Top-5 Individual Career Victories
1. Whitney Follette (2014-p) - 32
2. Bianca Arellano (2014-p) – 30
3. Macey Gardner (2014-15) – 20
T4. Frances Giedraitis (2015-p)
T4. Bethany Jorgensen (2014-15) – 17
THE 2016 HOME SLATE
Senior Night and the home finale is slated for Wednesday, April 20, against Pac-12 rival Arizona at 5 p.m. PT.
THE 2016 PAC-12 BEACH VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
The inaugural Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Championships is slated for April 28 to May 1 in Los Angeles, Calif., hosted by USC at the Merle Norman Stadium. The matches are slated to air on the Pac-12 Networks.
Beach volleyball is the Pac-12 Conference’s 23rd sponsored sport.
ABOUT BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Beach 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, located at 1 E. Continental Drive.
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.