TEMPE – No. 12 Sun Devil Beach Volleyball swept every match in a dominant 5-0 win over Arizona on Wednesday, kicking off a five-dual homestand.
Arizona State (10-8) swept Arizona (11-7) in every sense of the word, winning 5-0 and winning in straight sets on every court. This is the first 5-0 sweep in the rivalry series since the Wildcats won that way in 2016. This is the Sand Devils' second 5-0 win over the Cats in program history, first since 2014 (beach volleyball became an NCAA sport in 2016).
Junior Daniella Kensinger hit a career milestone, earning her 50th win. She now has a 50-32 career record. She won on court one with new partner redshirt-junior Samaya Morin.
Moving up to the No. 3 spot, the reigning Big 12 Pair of the Week, juniors Tori Clement and Kendall Whitmarsh, continued their winning streak. They have now won five in a row and are 6-2 together. Individually, they have a team-best 11-7 record.
At the No. 2 spot, sophomore Ava Williamson paired with junior Ava Kirunchyk to win. Williamson now is tied for No. 14 in the ASU record book for career individual wins, improving her record to 34-15.
In the Territorial Cup Series, the Sand Devils earned a half point, cutting into the Wildcats' 7 to 5.5 lead. The dual in Tucson next month is for the other half point.
Final Results (Order of Finish: 2, 4, 5*, 3, 1)
Up Next
Arizona State is cohosting the ASU/GCU Invitational this Friday and Saturday. ASU will face UAB and No. 19 Washington on Friday at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively. On Saturday, Arizona State will play UTEP and South Carolina at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.
Quotes
Head Coach Kristen Glattfelder
Opening Statement
"We've been talking a lot recently about setting the tone and going out and playing with a lot of fire from the get go, and I felt like every team did that today. We were in the locker room and watched the football "stomp the bus" video, which really fired them up. And it was just good energy coming out here. I felt like we played like we trained. We've also been talking a lot about, embracing the moment, and there's times when they pushed back at us, and we pushed right back. And that's been something that maybe we haven't been doing a ton this year, and we have a bunch of new partnerships as of Monday, and so not a whole lot of time to practice with new partners. So I was just really proud of how they came out and fought hard together and kind of worked through the kinks of being in a new partnership. But I really like the way they all look."
On this weekend's upcoming matches
"We want this to be the start of us coming in really strong this whole weekend. We have four teams that are coming in, that are coming into our sand that are looking to take us down. The mindset I want them to have is that we're going in and pushing first, and that we're gonna play the way we know how. Today, I felt like we had a lot of long rallies, and we're just working really hard and that's something that we stress a lot every day."
Junior Daniella Kensinger
On reaching 50 career wins
"It's really exciting, everything I've ever hoped for, and just really nice to have it against U of A."
On the team's success today
"Our team just came out with a lot of fire, with a lot of passion. Obviously, it's a rivalry match so everyone's coming in with a lot of feelings, and nobody wants to lose to their rivals. Just a lot of great competition, and our team is really trying to step up for the last half of the season, and we just really want to make a good run at the national championships and get as far as we can in the postseason this year."
On partnering with Samaya Morin
"It was my first time playing with Samaya this season. I switched partners from Ava Williamson and I had been playing with Ava for last season and this season, so kind of a switch. I think me and Samaya just worked on a lot of communication, letting each other know what we needed from each other, and just being on the same page with really wanting to come in and play hard and play for the team and show U of A what we have to offer."
Arizona State (10-8) swept Arizona (11-7) in every sense of the word, winning 5-0 and winning in straight sets on every court. This is the first 5-0 sweep in the rivalry series since the Wildcats won that way in 2016. This is the Sand Devils' second 5-0 win over the Cats in program history, first since 2014 (beach volleyball became an NCAA sport in 2016).
Junior Daniella Kensinger hit a career milestone, earning her 50th win. She now has a 50-32 career record. She won on court one with new partner redshirt-junior Samaya Morin.
Moving up to the No. 3 spot, the reigning Big 12 Pair of the Week, juniors Tori Clement and Kendall Whitmarsh, continued their winning streak. They have now won five in a row and are 6-2 together. Individually, they have a team-best 11-7 record.
At the No. 2 spot, sophomore Ava Williamson paired with junior Ava Kirunchyk to win. Williamson now is tied for No. 14 in the ASU record book for career individual wins, improving her record to 34-15.
In the Territorial Cup Series, the Sand Devils earned a half point, cutting into the Wildcats' 7 to 5.5 lead. The dual in Tucson next month is for the other half point.
Final Results (Order of Finish: 2, 4, 5*, 3, 1)
- Daniella Kensinger/Samaya Morin (ASU) def. Nieves Papaleo/Phillips (ARIZ) 21-18, 21-18
- Ava Kirunchyk/Ava Williamson (ASU) def. Blutreich/Fitzsimmons (ARIZ) 21-13, 21-19
- Tori Clement/Kendall Whitmarsh (ASU) def. Walker/Zilliken (ARIZ) 21-18, 21-19
- Ava Haughy/Olivia McElroy (ASU) def. Kaiser/Kost (ARIZ) 21-16, 21-18
- Arden Besecker/Zoë Taylor (ASU) def. O'Meara/Streit (ARIZ) 21-12, 21-12
Up Next
Arizona State is cohosting the ASU/GCU Invitational this Friday and Saturday. ASU will face UAB and No. 19 Washington on Friday at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively. On Saturday, Arizona State will play UTEP and South Carolina at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.
Quotes
Head Coach Kristen Glattfelder
Opening Statement
"We've been talking a lot recently about setting the tone and going out and playing with a lot of fire from the get go, and I felt like every team did that today. We were in the locker room and watched the football "stomp the bus" video, which really fired them up. And it was just good energy coming out here. I felt like we played like we trained. We've also been talking a lot about, embracing the moment, and there's times when they pushed back at us, and we pushed right back. And that's been something that maybe we haven't been doing a ton this year, and we have a bunch of new partnerships as of Monday, and so not a whole lot of time to practice with new partners. So I was just really proud of how they came out and fought hard together and kind of worked through the kinks of being in a new partnership. But I really like the way they all look."
On this weekend's upcoming matches
"We want this to be the start of us coming in really strong this whole weekend. We have four teams that are coming in, that are coming into our sand that are looking to take us down. The mindset I want them to have is that we're going in and pushing first, and that we're gonna play the way we know how. Today, I felt like we had a lot of long rallies, and we're just working really hard and that's something that we stress a lot every day."
Junior Daniella Kensinger
On reaching 50 career wins
"It's really exciting, everything I've ever hoped for, and just really nice to have it against U of A."
On the team's success today
"Our team just came out with a lot of fire, with a lot of passion. Obviously, it's a rivalry match so everyone's coming in with a lot of feelings, and nobody wants to lose to their rivals. Just a lot of great competition, and our team is really trying to step up for the last half of the season, and we just really want to make a good run at the national championships and get as far as we can in the postseason this year."
On partnering with Samaya Morin
"It was my first time playing with Samaya this season. I switched partners from Ava Williamson and I had been playing with Ava for last season and this season, so kind of a switch. I think me and Samaya just worked on a lot of communication, letting each other know what we needed from each other, and just being on the same page with really wanting to come in and play hard and play for the team and show U of A what we have to offer."