PHOENIX – No. 11 Sun Devil Beach Volleyball is 4-0 to start the season after picking up two more sweeps at the Canyon Classic on Saturday, first beating Colorado Mesa before taking down No. 13 Grand Canyon on its home sand.
Arizona State (4-0) swept GCU for the first time in program history. This was the third dual win in a row for ASU over the cross-town rival. That win was also the 20th ranked win at ASU under head coach Kristen Glattfelder, second in as many days.
The Sand Devils used the same starting lineup today as yesterday. Of those pairs, four of the five are a perfect 4-0 on the year. Among those pairs is the No. 1 duo of redshirt seniors Ava Kirunchyk and Samaya Morin, who have yet to lose a single set.
Game one: ASU 5, Colorado Mesa 0 /// Final Box
It was a clean sweep for the Sand Devils to start the day. They swept every match on all five courts against the Mavericks. Four sets were won by 10 or more points, one from courts two, three, four and five.The clinch came from ASU’s top duo of Kirunchyk and Morin.
Game two: ASU 5, Grand Canyon 0 /// Final Box
Despite two courts going to three matches, Arizona State picked up a second sweep on Saturday against GCU. Both first sets of the first wave went to extra points, and the No. 2 pair of Reagan Hope and Daniella Kensinger would go on to sweep their match. The fours went to three sets, but they would hold on to win 15-12 in the third. In the second wave, the ones and fives both swept their matches. The No. 3 duo of Arden Besecker and Zoë Taylor won their first set and dropped the second to go to three. They also came through, winning 15-11 to complete the sweep.
Up next
The Sun Devils will stay in state next weekend, heading down south to play in the Cactus Classic in Tucson on Feb. 27.
Quotes
Head coach Kristen Glattfelder
On what she saw after earning two ranked wins
“We knew they (GCU) were going to come out and play their best match against us. It was the fourth match of the weekend, and everyone’s probably feeling it a little bit on opening weekend. I am proud of how we competed. I felt all weekend that there wasn’t one point where we backed down. There were teams that pushed us and came at us, and we didn’t waver. I talked to the team about controllables: being a good teammate, our attitude, and our body language. I told them in the huddle that there wasn’t one scenario I could think of, regardless of how much the team pushed us, that we wavered at all. We were steady and confident in ourselves; it’s always super fun.”
Graduate Reagan Hope
On what impressed her about the team’s performance
“My partner and I stayed in the game the whole time. When we were down 16-12, I always had confidence we were going to come back and win. Once you let the team calm down and play steady, that’s how you win. The game is steady the whole way through and (fights) point-by-point.”
Junior Kristin Gilmour
On staying steady when facing No. 13 GCU
“I felt very calm, but I had a lot of trust. We had a strict game plan, and we stuck to it. When we didn’t get points, and they got some good points, we didn’t back down.”
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