TEMPE, Ariz. – With the 2019 season in the books, the Sand Devils had their most successful season in program history, breaking team, pair and individual records.
Year in Review
In Brad Keenan's third season as the head coach, ASU earned a 21-14 record, tallying the most wins in program history. The victory total beat out the previous high of 16, reached in 2017. Towards the end of the year, the Sun Devils also had six straight wins and a record four sweeps in a row. The season culminated with Arizona State's best outing at the Pac-12 Championship, finishing in fourth for the first time.
ASU beat three top-20 teams during the season: No. 16 Grand Canyon, No. 10 Cal and No. 20 Stanford. That is the highest number of ranked wins in a single season at Arizona State. Additionally, the Sun Devils did not lose a single match to an unranked team in 2019.
Record Breakers
The Sand Devils saw a lot of records fall due to the success of some of the pairs. Kate Baldwin and Samantha Plaster broke the career wins record for a pair at ASU by upping their total to 44, surpassing the previous high of 41. They also have the most wins in a single season with 25. Throughout the season, they beat seven duos from ranked teams, including four against top-10 pairs. They were also named to the Pac-12 All-Tournament team for their efforts during the championship.
Wrapping up their careers in style, Oluoma Okaro and Ashley Wenz had a historic start to their partnership. They started with a perfect 12-0 record, winning the first Pac-12 Pair of the Week nod in Sun Devil history. Both earned All-Pac-12 honors as well, with Okaro making the first team and Wenz making the second team. They finished the year with a 20-4 record and with five wins over pairs on top-20 teams.
Individual Sun Devils moved up in the record book in 2019. Katelyn Carballo now has 52 career wins, putting her in third. Behind her are Ellyson Lundberg (50), Baldwin (44), Plaster (44), Katie Cross (43), Okaro (42) and Cierra Flood (34). Of the top 10 in career individual wins, five are returning.
Academic awards
A program-record seven student-athletes on the Arizona State beach volleyball team received Pac-12 All-Academic honors, including three on the first team. Cross, Lundberg and Plaster were on the first team, Flood was on the second team and Baldwin, Carballo and Okaro received honorable mentions.
Coming in 2020
The Sand Devils will be without the five seniors from this season: Natalie Braun, Cross, Okaro, Carmen Unzue and Wenz. They will add a talented group of freshman to continue to break records and put ASU on the map.
Year in Review
In Brad Keenan's third season as the head coach, ASU earned a 21-14 record, tallying the most wins in program history. The victory total beat out the previous high of 16, reached in 2017. Towards the end of the year, the Sun Devils also had six straight wins and a record four sweeps in a row. The season culminated with Arizona State's best outing at the Pac-12 Championship, finishing in fourth for the first time.
ASU beat three top-20 teams during the season: No. 16 Grand Canyon, No. 10 Cal and No. 20 Stanford. That is the highest number of ranked wins in a single season at Arizona State. Additionally, the Sun Devils did not lose a single match to an unranked team in 2019.
Record Breakers
The Sand Devils saw a lot of records fall due to the success of some of the pairs. Kate Baldwin and Samantha Plaster broke the career wins record for a pair at ASU by upping their total to 44, surpassing the previous high of 41. They also have the most wins in a single season with 25. Throughout the season, they beat seven duos from ranked teams, including four against top-10 pairs. They were also named to the Pac-12 All-Tournament team for their efforts during the championship.
Wrapping up their careers in style, Oluoma Okaro and Ashley Wenz had a historic start to their partnership. They started with a perfect 12-0 record, winning the first Pac-12 Pair of the Week nod in Sun Devil history. Both earned All-Pac-12 honors as well, with Okaro making the first team and Wenz making the second team. They finished the year with a 20-4 record and with five wins over pairs on top-20 teams.
Individual Sun Devils moved up in the record book in 2019. Katelyn Carballo now has 52 career wins, putting her in third. Behind her are Ellyson Lundberg (50), Baldwin (44), Plaster (44), Katie Cross (43), Okaro (42) and Cierra Flood (34). Of the top 10 in career individual wins, five are returning.
Academic awards
A program-record seven student-athletes on the Arizona State beach volleyball team received Pac-12 All-Academic honors, including three on the first team. Cross, Lundberg and Plaster were on the first team, Flood was on the second team and Baldwin, Carballo and Okaro received honorable mentions.
Coming in 2020
The Sand Devils will be without the five seniors from this season: Natalie Braun, Cross, Okaro, Carmen Unzue and Wenz. They will add a talented group of freshman to continue to break records and put ASU on the map.