MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. – Two pairs went undefeated on the day as No. 8 Sun Devil Beach Volleyball split its duals at the East Meets West Invitational on Saturday, falling to No. 9 LMU before beating No. 13 Hawai’i.
Arizona State (11-3) now has six wins over ranked teams this year (6-3 overall against ranked opponents). Under head coach Kristen Glattfelder, ASU has 22 ranked wins in her three seasons.
The No. 4 duo of senior McKenna Flaherty and junior Kristin Gilmour won both of their matches today to finish the weekend 3-1. As a pair, they improved to 11-1, the best pairs record on the team. Individually, Flaherty is now 13-1, which is the most individual wins by a Sand Devil. Additionally, Gilmour is now one win away from 50 career wins.
Another pair to win the day was senior Arden Besecker and Zoë Taylor. They have played on court three all year, but against Hawai’i they moved up to the two spot. They swept both of their matches today and moved to 12-2 on the year.
Game one: No. 9 LMU 3, No. 8 ASU 2 /// Final Box
It was tied 1-1 against the Lions (12-2) after the first wave due to a three-set victory from Flaherty and Gilmour. However, the Lions took the matches on courts one and five to clinch the dual. Besecker and Taylor at the No. 3 spot swept their match to make it 3-2.
Game two: No. 8 ASU 4, No. 13 Hawai’i 1 /// Final Box
The Sun Devils took an early 2-0 lead over the Rainbow Warriors (7-8) following the first two matches. Besecker and Taylor moved up to court two and dominated their match, winning the second set 21-9. Flaherty and Gilmour wrapped up their strong weekend with another win at the fours. In the second wave, Hawai’i won on court five while the remaining two went to a third set. However, both ASU pairs were able to win in three to get the dual win, 4-1.
Up next
Arizona State is back on the road next weekend, playing in the Death Volley Invitational at LSU from March 20-21.
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