TEMPE, Ariz. – No. 20 Arizona State beach volleyball is heading to the east coast this weekend to play in the Carolina Challenge, taking on two more ranked opponents in Columbia, South Carolina.
The Sand Devils (4-6, 1-5 Pac-12) will travel the furthest from Tempe this weekend than they will all season. The team is hoping to bounce back from last weekend when they went 1-3 at the Pac-12 South Tournament. They earned their first conference win in a 5-0 sweep against Utah. In 2020, ASU has not lost to an unranked team.
Junior Kate Baldwin reached a milestone over the weekend, earning her 50th career win. She is the fifth Sun Devil to reach that mark in program history. She and her partner Lexi Sweeney earned the lone point for ASU against No. 2 UCLA. They also aided the team in the sweep over the Utes.
Opponent Outlook
North Florida (2-6) | Saturday, March 14, 6 a.m. MST
The Sand Devils (4-6, 1-5 Pac-12) will travel the furthest from Tempe this weekend than they will all season. The team is hoping to bounce back from last weekend when they went 1-3 at the Pac-12 South Tournament. They earned their first conference win in a 5-0 sweep against Utah. In 2020, ASU has not lost to an unranked team.
Junior Kate Baldwin reached a milestone over the weekend, earning her 50th career win. She is the fifth Sun Devil to reach that mark in program history. She and her partner Lexi Sweeney earned the lone point for ASU against No. 2 UCLA. They also aided the team in the sweep over the Utes.
Opponent Outlook
North Florida (2-6) | Saturday, March 14, 6 a.m. MST
- The Ospreys have lost three of their last four matches, all three losses coming against ranked opponents. Of their six losses on the year, all of them are to top-20 teams.
- ASU and North Florida played twice in 2019 with the Sun Devils winning both matchups.
- The Bears are on a three-match losing streak after going winless at the Day of Duals.
- This will be the first meeting between ASU and Mercer in beach volleyball.
- The Panthers are off to a hot start in 2020. After dropping the first match of the year to ranked Georgia State, they have won the following eight.
- Arizona State and Florida International have met just once. Back in 2017, the Panthers won the dual, 4-1.
- The Gamecocks have played a tough schedule so far, facing 11 ranked teams. They have a 4-7 record against top-20 squads, including a win over then-No.4 USC, 3-2.
- ASU is 1-2 against South Carolina in the all-time series. In 2019, the Sun Devils lost a close dual to the Gamecocks, 3-2.