TEMPE, Ariz. – After a record-breaking 2019 season, Arizona State beach volleyball is gearing up for the 2020 season with eight newcomers joining the squad.
2020 Schedule Outlook
The Sand Devils are playing the majority of the season on the road, aside from the home tournament from April 10-11 at the PERA Club. They will start with two neutral matches in Tucson on February 22 and hit the road until April. Despite not playing at home, half of the away matches will take place in Arizona.
The annual Maroon and Gold match will be held on February 14 at the PERA Club.
Last Season
In Brad Keenan 's third season as the head coach, ASU earned a 21-14 record in 2019, 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. Returning juniors 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.
Individual Sun Devils also moved up in the record book in 2019. Senior Katelyn Carballo now has 52 career wins, putting her in third. Behind her are senior Ellyson Lundberg (50), Baldwin (44), Plaster (44) and junior Cierra Flood (34). Of the top 10 in career individual wins, five are on the 2020 roster.
Returners
In addition to the five mentioned who are high in the record books, Bailey Anderson, Emily Anderson, Maddy Salazar, Lauren Weintraub and Kara Woodard all competed last season.
Baldwin and Plaster led all pairs with a 25-9 record. Emily Anderson and Weintraub, who are sophomores this season, were paired together for the majority of 2019, earning a 16-14 record, which was the third-highest number of wins for a single pair. The second-best record came from graduates Oluoma Okaro and Ashley Wenz, who played at the No. 1 spot for the majority of the season, earning a 20-4 record.
Individually among the returners, in 2019 Plaster and Baldwin each had 25 wins, Carballo had 18 and Emily Anderson, Flood, Lundberg and Weintraub all had 17.
Newcomers
Eight players joined the 2020 roster, seven freshmen and one transfer junior. Allyson Eylers, a junior transfer, is coming to Arizona State after playing two years of indoor volleyball at San Diego. Of the freshmen, three are from Arizona.
2020 Schedule Outlook
The Sand Devils are playing the majority of the season on the road, aside from the home tournament from April 10-11 at the PERA Club. They will start with two neutral matches in Tucson on February 22 and hit the road until April. Despite not playing at home, half of the away matches will take place in Arizona.
The annual Maroon and Gold match will be held on February 14 at the PERA Club.
Last Season
In Brad Keenan 's third season as the head coach, ASU earned a 21-14 record in 2019, 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. Returning juniors 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.
Individual Sun Devils also moved up in the record book in 2019. Senior Katelyn Carballo now has 52 career wins, putting her in third. Behind her are senior Ellyson Lundberg (50), Baldwin (44), Plaster (44) and junior Cierra Flood (34). Of the top 10 in career individual wins, five are on the 2020 roster.
Returners
In addition to the five mentioned who are high in the record books, Bailey Anderson, Emily Anderson, Maddy Salazar, Lauren Weintraub and Kara Woodard all competed last season.
Baldwin and Plaster led all pairs with a 25-9 record. Emily Anderson and Weintraub, who are sophomores this season, were paired together for the majority of 2019, earning a 16-14 record, which was the third-highest number of wins for a single pair. The second-best record came from graduates Oluoma Okaro and Ashley Wenz, who played at the No. 1 spot for the majority of the season, earning a 20-4 record.
Individually among the returners, in 2019 Plaster and Baldwin each had 25 wins, Carballo had 18 and Emily Anderson, Flood, Lundberg and Weintraub all had 17.
Newcomers
Eight players joined the 2020 roster, seven freshmen and one transfer junior. Allyson Eylers, a junior transfer, is coming to Arizona State after playing two years of indoor volleyball at San Diego. Of the freshmen, three are from Arizona.