TEMPE, Ariz. – Arizona State beach volleyball is back on the road this weekend, traveling to Atlanta for the Diggin' Duals tournament from March 29-30 before playing at No. 11 South Carolina on March 31.
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The Sun Devils (10-8, 1-4 Pac-12) are looking to bounce back after a tough ASU Invitational last weekend. ASU played three AVCA top-10 teams in the tournament, taking a total of four dual-match points in the four losses. The Sand Devils have yet to lose a match to an unranked opponent this year. The eight losses this season have all been to teams in the top 20.
Senior
Oluoma Okaro will be back with the team this weekend to reunite with
Ashley Wenz, the undefeated pair that won the program's first Pac-12 Pair of the Week honor. Okaro missed the last four matches to train with the U.S. Women's National Team. Another strong pair has been
Kate Baldwin and
Samantha Plaster. They have a 12-5 record this year, the most of any pair.
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Opponents Outlook
College of Charleston (12-0) | March 29, 12 p.m. EDT
- The Cougars have yet to lose a dual match this season, but they also have yet to play a team in the top 20.
- ASU has yet to face the College of Charleston in program history.
No. 19 Georgia State (13-9) | March 29, 6 p.m. EDT
- The Panthers are coming off of a strong weekend at the Bayou Classic where they went 3-1. Two of the wins were 5-0 sweeps.
- This will be the first matchup between ASU and Georgia State in program history.
North Carolina-Wilmington (7-6) | March 29, 8 p.m. EDT
- The Seahawks hosted the UNCW Dig and Dive Beach Classic last weekend, going 3-1. Those were their first home matches of the year.
- Again, this will be a new opponent for the Sun Devils, the first time playing each other all-time.
UAB (9-7, 2-6) | March 30, 2 p.m. EDT
- The Blazers went 2-2 at a tournament at South Carolina last weekend. They capped off the weekend with a win over then-No.18 Georgia State. It was their first ranked win of the year.
- UAB is the fourth team this weekend that ASU will play for the first time in program history.
No. 11 South Carolina (11-6, 5-4 SEC) | March 31, 11 a.m. EDT
- The Gamecocks had a 3-2 record at the tournament they hosted last weekend, including a win over then-No. 18 Georgia State.
- ASU and South Carolina are 1-1 against each other all-time.
Live stats will be available for the dual at South Carolina. For updates on all of the matches, follow along on Twitter, @SunDevilBeachVB.