PHOENIX – Making a statement on the first day of the season, No. 11 Sun Devil Beach Volleyball beat the defending NCAA National Champions No. 5 TCU, 4-1, on Friday afternoon following a sweep over UC Davis to start the weekend at the Canyon Classic 2-0.
Arizona State (2-0) earned its first ranked win of the year by taking down reigning Big 12 and national champions TCU (0-1). This was a rematch of the 2025 Big 12 Championship finals, with the Sun Devils getting the win this time. The Sand Devils earned their second top-five win in program history, both of which were under third-year head coach Kristen Glattfelder. She has 19 ranked wins total in Tempe.
The one returning pair from last season is the No. 1 duo of redshirt seniors Ava Kirunchyk and Samaya Morin. They picked up where they left off last year, sweeping both matches, the only Sun Devil pair to do so.
Three Sand Devils made their ASU debuts on Friday. Senior McKenna Flaherty and junior Kristin Gilmour, both transfers, paired together at the fours today, winning both matches. Graduate Reagan Hope paired with returning senior Daniella Kensinger at the No. 2 spot, going 1-1 today.
Game one: ASU 5, UC Davis 0 /// Final Box
The Sun Devils swept four of the five matches en route to a dual sweep to begin the season. Court three was the only court to require an extra set. The first wave finished their matches quickly, both winning in two. The clinch came from the ones Kirunchyk and Morin, opening with a dominant 21-9 win in the first set before winning 21-14 in the second. Senior Arden Besecker paired with sophomore Zoë Taylor at the threes, and they won their first set before dropping the second to go to a third, which they won 15-11.
Game two: ASU 4, TCU 1 /// Final Box
In the early Big 12 matchup, the dual was tied after the first wave. Arizona State’s No. 4 pair of transfers Flaherty and Gilmour won in three sets to get the team’s first point. In the second wave, the ones Kirunchyk and Morin took care of business, sweeping their match (21-15, 21-13). That was the only match in the dual to end in straight sets. The Horned Frogs forced a third set on court five to keep their hopes alive, but junior Olivia McElroy and senior Kendall Whitmarsh won in the third set to clinch the dual. Besecker and Taylor followed that up with another win to make it 4-1.
Up next
Arizona State’s last two duals of the Canyon Classic are on Saturday at 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. MST against Colorado Mesa and No. 13 Grand Canyon, respectively.
Quotes
Head Coach Kristen Glattfelder
“I’m proud of how we played. Opening weekend always brings a lot of jitters and nervous energy and excitement. I’m proud of them, seeing the things we’ve been working on in practice start to be used in games is great. We knew we weren’t going to back down and would fight for every point.”
Senior Kendall Whitmarsh
On a strong start to the 2026 season:
“It’s inspiring and validating in so many ways. Our team motto is ‘believe’, and this team is very strong because we all truly believe that we can do anything and everything.”
Junior Olivia McElroy
On Friday’s wins:
“It’s rewarding, all the work we put in last semester and this last month…being back at school and grinding every day, it’s showing. This is only the beginning of how good we can be this year.”
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