TEMPE – No. 9 Sun Devil Beach Volleyball will head down south this Friday for the Cactus Classic hosted by Arizona, facing No. 19 Georgia State and No. 20 Arizona.
The Sand Devils will face Georgia State at 9 a.m. MST, followed by the rivalry dual against Arizona at 12:45 p.m. MST.
How to Follow
There will be live scoring for all matches. Fans can also follow along on X at @SunDevilBeachVB and on Instagram at @sundevilbeachvb for updates.
Sun Devil Outlook
No. 9 Arizona State (4-0)
- The Sand Devils kicked off the 2026 season with a four-win weekend, complete with three sweeps and two ranked victories over No. 5 TCU and No. 13 Grand Canyon.
- Arizona State beat the defending national champions, No. 5 TCU, 4-1, for its first ranked win of the season, handing TCU its first loss. It was the second top-five win in program history.
- McElroy and Whitmarsh are this week’s Big 12 Pair of the Week. The duo, who played at the No. 5 spot, clinched the two ranked wins and swept three of their four matches.
- This is the second time under Glattfelder that Arizona State has begun the season 4-0. The last time it happened was in 2024, when the Sand Devils started off the season on a six-game win streak.
- Arizona State is ranked No. 9 in the AVCA Coaches Poll, the highest ranking in program history. The Sun Devils have been ranked in every poll since the 2024 preseason poll.
- Four of the five Sun Devil pairs went undefeated over the weekend: Ava Kirunchyk and Samaya Morin (No. 1 court), Arden Besecker and Zoe Taylor (No. 3 court), McKenna Flaherty and Kristin Gilmour (No. 4 court), Kendall Whitmarsh and Olivia McElroy (No. 5 court).
- Under Glattfelder, the Sand Devils are 2-0 against Georgia State and 5-1 against Arizona. Against teams ranked in the top 20 but outside of the top 10, Glattfelder’s Sun Devil teams are 16-3.
Opponent Outlook
No. 19 Georgia State (4-1)
- The Panthers went 4-1 at the FSU Unconquered Invitational in the opening weekend of the 2026 season, picking up two sweeps.
- In 2025, the Panthers finished the season ranked No. 17 overall, falling in the first round of the NCAA Championship to TCU. Georgia State went 22-17 overall in 2025
- Arizona State is tied with Georgia State all-time, 2-2. However, the Sun Devils have won the two most recent meetings, with a 3-2 victory in 2024 and a 4-1 win in 2025.
No. 20 Arizona (3-1)
- The Wildcats kicked off the 2026 season with a 3-1 weekend at the Canyon Classic, securing a ranked win over No. 13 GCU. Arizona’s only loss came against No. 5 TCU
- UofA went 18-12 in 2025, falling to ASU three times.
- Arizona holds a 14-10 record over Arizona State all-time, but the Sun Devils have won the last seven in a row.
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