TEMPE – No. 12 Sun Devil Volleyball will be back home after their three-week road trip to host the Sparky Invitational this weekend, April 3-4, which will include a celebration of the seniors prior to the duals on April 4.
Arizona State will face Ottawa at 12 p.m. MST and No. 13 Grand Canyon at 4 p.m. MST on Friday, followed by FIU at 10 a.m. MST and No. 15 Stetson at 12 p.m. MST on Saturday.
Seven seniors will be honored prior to the FIU dual on Saturday: Arden Besecker, McKenna Flaherty, Reagan Hope, Daniella Kensinger, Ava Kirunchyk, Samaya Morin and Kendall Whitmarsh.
How to follow
All matches will have live scoring on StatBroadcast. Fans can follow along on Instagram (@sundevilbeachVB) and X (@SunDevilBeachVB ) for updates on the duals.
Sun Devil outlook
No. 12 Arizona State (13-8)
- Arizona State is coming off of a sweep against rival No. 20 Arizona, winning on all five courts. Overall the Sand Devils went 1-2 at the Big 12 Preview falling to No. 7 TCU (5-0) and No. 19 South Carolina (3-2).
- The team is now 7-8 against ranked teams after beating No. 20 Arizona for the third time this season.
- Redshirt seniors Ava Kirunchyk and Samaya Morin, who have been playing together all season on the top court, improved their record to 15-6 to lead the team. Also 15-6 this season are the No. 3 pair of senior Arden Besecker and sophomore Zoë Taylor.
- Juniors Kristin Gilmour and Olivia McElroy both reached their 50th career win over the weekend. Kirunchyk is on 50-win watch now, just three away at 47. Additionally, Daniella Kensinger is one away from 75 wins.
Opponent outlook
Ottawa University - Arizona (19-1)
- Ottawa is coming off of a sweep win against Park Gilbert this past weekend at home, where they honored their seniors.
- The Sun Devils are 2-0 over the Spirit with their last meeting in 2024 ending with a sweep for ASU at home.
No. 13 Grand Canyon (10-10)
- The Lopes are coming off of a split at the Death Volley Invitational, where they fell to No. 4 Texas and No. 6 Florida State. However they picked up a win over host No. 12 LSU and swept Georgia State.
- The Sand Devils are 4-6 overall against the Antelopes, with the last meeting taking place down the road at the Canyon Classic earlier this season. ASU dominated in a sweep to take down the No. 13 team at the time.
FIU (7-9)
- FIU had a 4-1 performance at the Eagle Invitational where they lost to Florida Gulf Coast but beat Jacksonville, Sam Houston, Palm Beach State and State College of Florida.
- The last time the Sand Devils faced the Panthers was in the East vs. West Tournament last season, where ASU won 3-2. They are overall 2-1 over the Panthers.
No. 15 Stetson (18-5)
- The Hatters had off of a 3-0 sweep at the North Florida Invite where they defeated No. 14 Florida Atlantic, No. 17 North Florida and Saint Leo.
- The Sand Devils faced Stetson last season at the Cactus Classic with a 4-1 win over the No. 20 Hatters at the time. Overall ASU is 2-1 over Stetson.
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