TEMPE – For the second consecutive weekend, No. X Sun Devil Water Polo returns to the state of California to compete in the annual Barbara Kalbus Invitational hosted by UC Irvine starting this Friday. Arizona State will take on No. 12 Long Beach State at 4:45 p.m. AZT, coverage can be seen on The Fosh for all four of the Sun Devils' games this weekend.
The Sun Devils were placed in group B with No. 2 Hawaii, No. 12 Long Beach State and Ponoma Pitzer, as 13 of the 16 teams in the tournament are ranked as of the latest CWPA rankings that are released every Wednesday, making it one of the toughest tournament fields in collegiate water polo. The field also consists of MPSF conference foes No. 1 UCLA, No. 4 Stanford, No. 5 California, No. 6 USC, and No. 15 Indiana.
For all four of the Sun Devil games will have live stats available on The Fosh, as the Sun Devils will face the winner/loser of the game between No.2 Hawaii/Ponoma Pitzer at 10:45 a.m. AZT. The result from ASU's first two games will determine what time the maroon & gold will play on Saturday afternoon and Sunday Morning, more tournament information can be found here.
LAST TIME OUT:
The Sun Devils opened MPSF conference play giving the top-ranked Bruins their best shot, falling in a 14-12 defeat in a back-and-fourth battle with the game being tied with two minutes left in regulation. Luca Petovary tallied seven goals, the fourth time in her career she's reached 7+ goals in a game, with Lara Kiss having five assists in the game. ASU bounced back against Cal State Fullerton in a 15-10 victory over the Titans. Balanced scoring helped the Sun Devils prevail with seven different goal scorers, and making it the 11th time this season posting double-digit goals in a game.
LUCA LEADING THE WAY:
The two-time MPSF player of the week posted seven goals against the top-ranked Bruins on Saturday, the mark is tied for the third most in program history, and the third time she's scored seven in a game in her career. She currently leads the MPSF conference and the team with 62 goals, and has 81 points through 14 games this year. The senior is third on the team with 19 assists, and ranks third all-time with 192 goals, being eight away from being tied for second all-time with 200 goals. The senior has had 13 straight games with 3+ goals and is averaging 4.4 goals a game. She moved up the record books with 261 career points, trailing only ASU hall of famer Addison McGrath who has 348 points.
NOTABLE NUMBERS:
The Sun Devils are 12-2 to start the season and it marks the third-best start in program history, where only the 2015 and 2012 teams started off better. New Zealand duo Millie Quin and Sophie Shorter-Robinson rank second and third on the team and the MPSF Conference in goals and points. Quin has found the back of the net 34 times this year, with Shorter-Robinson having 28, surpassing her freshmen year total of 25. Lara Kiss' 29 assists lead the MPSF conference and she has now surpassed her previous career high of 26. Senior center Alba Olivé Martí is one of four Sun Devils to have 20+ goals this season, and has tallied a goal in 12 of 14 games this year.
SUN DEVIL OUTLOOK: (12-2)
No. 12 LONG BEACH STATE: (6-3)
HOW TO FOLLOW:
Continue following Sun Devil Water Polo on Twitter/X, Instagram and Facebook all-season long during the 2024 season @SunDevilWP for coverage of the team. Live stats can be found on 6-8 sports and The Fosh along with other MPSF Conference teams.
The Sun Devils were placed in group B with No. 2 Hawaii, No. 12 Long Beach State and Ponoma Pitzer, as 13 of the 16 teams in the tournament are ranked as of the latest CWPA rankings that are released every Wednesday, making it one of the toughest tournament fields in collegiate water polo. The field also consists of MPSF conference foes No. 1 UCLA, No. 4 Stanford, No. 5 California, No. 6 USC, and No. 15 Indiana.
For all four of the Sun Devil games will have live stats available on The Fosh, as the Sun Devils will face the winner/loser of the game between No.2 Hawaii/Ponoma Pitzer at 10:45 a.m. AZT. The result from ASU's first two games will determine what time the maroon & gold will play on Saturday afternoon and Sunday Morning, more tournament information can be found here.
LAST TIME OUT:
The Sun Devils opened MPSF conference play giving the top-ranked Bruins their best shot, falling in a 14-12 defeat in a back-and-fourth battle with the game being tied with two minutes left in regulation. Luca Petovary tallied seven goals, the fourth time in her career she's reached 7+ goals in a game, with Lara Kiss having five assists in the game. ASU bounced back against Cal State Fullerton in a 15-10 victory over the Titans. Balanced scoring helped the Sun Devils prevail with seven different goal scorers, and making it the 11th time this season posting double-digit goals in a game.
LUCA LEADING THE WAY:
The two-time MPSF player of the week posted seven goals against the top-ranked Bruins on Saturday, the mark is tied for the third most in program history, and the third time she's scored seven in a game in her career. She currently leads the MPSF conference and the team with 62 goals, and has 81 points through 14 games this year. The senior is third on the team with 19 assists, and ranks third all-time with 192 goals, being eight away from being tied for second all-time with 200 goals. The senior has had 13 straight games with 3+ goals and is averaging 4.4 goals a game. She moved up the record books with 261 career points, trailing only ASU hall of famer Addison McGrath who has 348 points.
NOTABLE NUMBERS:
The Sun Devils are 12-2 to start the season and it marks the third-best start in program history, where only the 2015 and 2012 teams started off better. New Zealand duo Millie Quin and Sophie Shorter-Robinson rank second and third on the team and the MPSF Conference in goals and points. Quin has found the back of the net 34 times this year, with Shorter-Robinson having 28, surpassing her freshmen year total of 25. Lara Kiss' 29 assists lead the MPSF conference and she has now surpassed her previous career high of 26. Senior center Alba Olivé Martí is one of four Sun Devils to have 20+ goals this season, and has tallied a goal in 12 of 14 games this year.
SUN DEVIL OUTLOOK: (12-2)
- Luca Petovary has an astounding 62 goals this season, leading the MPSF conference and her teammate Millie Quin who has 34 goals this year. The Sun Devils rank 1-2-3 in goal scorers a month into the season.
- In the cage, Sanne Keijzer is one save away from 100 career saves and ranks second in the MPSF conference in saves this year.
- The Sun Devils are a perfect 10-0 after leading in the first period, and scoring first has proved important as ASU is 9-1 in such games when they tally a goal first.
- The maroon & gold are looking to avenge last season's defeat against Long Beach State in the Barbara Kalbus Invitational, as the Sun Devils hold a 9-8 advantage in the head-to-head battle.
No. 12 LONG BEACH STATE: (6-3)
- Long Beach State has won four of their last five games, one of those victories coming over UC San Diego, which the Sun Devils have beaten earlier this season.
- They are coming off a 2-0 weekend in the San Diego Mini, defeating San Diego State and Cal State Monterey Bay by a combined score of 33-16 this past weekend.
- The opposition is 6-0 when scoring in double-digits this season.
- Lara Luka leads the team with 36 goals on the season, They also boast six players with 10+ goals this year.
- She has four games this season with 5+ goals, with a season-high seven goals against UC San Diego and CSU Monterey Bay.
- The only loss the Warriors have had this season was to No. 1 UCLA in a 13-12 overtime defeat.
- Hawaii started the season defeating then-No. 1 Stanford in a 9-7 result in overtime.
- In fact, the Warriors are 2-1 this season in overtime games.
- The Warriors are 5-1 against ranked opponents this year.
- Hawaii went 3-1 at the Triton Invitational, finishing in third after defeating USC in a 10-6 victory.
- The Warriors have a goal difference of +50 this season, with three different goalscorers surpassing 20+ goals this season.
- Bia Mantellato Dias leads the team with 25 goals this year.
- Hawaii holds an 18-3 advantage over the Sun Devils all-time.
- The reigning Division III national champions finished the 2023 season on a 16-game winning streak, going a perfect 12-0 in conference to finish with a 26-10 record last year.
- The Sagehens defeated Marist to begin the season and are the only non-division I school to be ranked this season.
- Pomona Pitzer went 2-2 at the Bruno Tournament, defeating Brown and La Salle University, and closely battled Wagner in a 14-11 defeat.
- ASU is a perfect 2-0 against the Sagehens, with their latest matchup coming in 2022 with a 16-7 victory.
HOW TO FOLLOW:
Continue following Sun Devil Water Polo on Twitter/X, Instagram and Facebook all-season long during the 2024 season @SunDevilWP for coverage of the team. Live stats can be found on 6-8 sports and The Fosh along with other MPSF Conference teams.