Ranked Teams Await #11 Sand Devils in Austin

TEMPE – After a week off, No. 11 Sun Devil Beach Volleyball returns to the sand in Austin, Texas for the East vs. West Tournament on March 21-22, facing four ranked teams: No. 20 Florida International, No. 18 Georgia State, No. 12 LSU, and No. 10 Texas, the host team. 

The tournament will feature three 2024 rematches for the Sun Devils, as well as a matchup against a team that ASU has not played in over eight years in LSU. 

How to Follow
On Friday, Arizona State will first face No. 20 FIU at 12 p.m. MST/2 p.m. CDT before taking on No. 18 Georgia State two hours later at 2 p.m. MST/4 p.m. CDT. Saturday will play a big factor in the AVCA rankings as ASU is withiin one spot of both No. 12 LSU and No. 10 Texas. The Sun Devils will match up with the Tigers at 8:30 a.m. MST/10:30 a.m. CDT before playing the host team Longhorns at 1:30 p.m. MST/2:30 p.m. CDT.

The dual against the home team Texas will be live on the Longhorn Network. Fans can also follow along on Twitter (formerly X) at @SunDevilBeachVB and on Instagram at @sundevilbeachvb.

Sun Devil Outlook
No. 11 Arizona State (7-6)

• At the Sun Devil Classic two weekends ago, the Sand Devils went 2-1, picking up wins over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Coastal Carolina before falling to No. 6 Cal Poly. 
• Anya Pemberton and Olivia McElroy, competing at the No. 2 and No. 3 courts, were the only pair to win their court against Cal Poly. The duo now has wins over four pairs from ranked teams this season.
• Arizona State remains undefeated against unranked opponents under head coach Kristen Glattfelder, dating back to last season.
• The Sand Devils will face off against four ranked opponents, three of which ASU played last season. 

Opponent Outlook
No. 20 Florida International (8-9, 2-1 C-USA)

• FIU went 0-4 at the East Meets West Invitational in Manhattan Beach last weekend, falling to four ranked teams, including three ranked in the top 10. Two of their losses were straight sweeps. 
• The Panthers were 22-11 in 2024, posting a 4-1 mark in conference play. The squad fell on day two of the Conference-USA championships, failing to make the NCAA Tournament. 
• The Sun Devils are 1-1 against the Panthers dating back to 2017. The two teams met up last season at the Fight in the Fort Tournament, with ASU winning 4-1.

No. 18 Georgia State (8-9, 2-0 Sun Belt)

• The Panthers posted a 2-4 record at the FAU Beach Invitational over the weekend, taking down No. 15 Stetson and FGCU. 
• Georgia State went 26-13 last season and was 9-0 in Sun Belt play. The squad won the Sun Belt Conference Championship and fell to No. 3 Stanford in the opening round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
• ASU is 1-3 against Georgia State, dating back to 2015. The Sand Devils won the most recent matchup 3-2, last season at the Tampa Invitational.

No. 12 LSU (13-4)

• The Tigers were 1-3 at the East Meets West Invitational, beating No. 18 Hawaii after falling to three teams ranked in the top 10. 
• Louisiana State was 27-12 in 2024, making it all the way to the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament, taking down No. 5 TCU and No. 3 Stanford before falling to No. 2 UCLA. 
• The Sun Devils are 0-3 against the Tigers, dating back to 2015. The last time the two teams squared off was in 2017, when LSU won 4-1.

No. 10 Texas (13-4)

• Texas went 2-2 at the East Meets West Invitational. After starting off with back-to-back losses against the top 2 teams in the country, the team finished off the weekend with two wins over No. 7 Cal and No. 18 Hawaii. 
• The Longhorns went 7-8 in 2024, only their second season competing. 
• Arizona State faced off against the Longhorns for the first time in 2024, with ASU winning 3-2.