TOP GUN DAY VIDEO
TEMPE, Ariz.—The Arizona State sand volleyball team will close out the 2014 season at home this weekend, hosting Arizona and Boise State at the PERA Club on Thursday and Friday.
Both the match against the Wildcats, set for a 3 p.m. PT start on “Top Gun” Thursday, and Friday’s finale against the Broncos at 4 p.m. PT will be streamed through thesundevils.com.
One half of a Territorial Cup point will be up for grabs in the match versus Arizona, and the first 100 fans will receive a pair of Sun Devil dog tags.
LAST TIME OUT
The Sun Devils were in action in California last week, falling to Loyola Marymount, 5-0, before they competed in the Pac-12 Invitational, hosted by USC at the Annenberg Community Beach House.
In the team competition, ASU defeated Arizona, 3-2, with wins coming from the tandems of Bianca Arellano and Bethany Jorgensen at No. 1, Macey Gardner and Whitney Follette at No. 2, and Andi Lowrance and Nora Tuioti-Mariner at No. 5.
Follette and Gardner picked up a win over CSUB’s Lisa Lisa Bartsch and Julia Bowen, 21-19, 21-9, in the pairings competition before they fell to USC’s Kirby Burnham and Sara Hughes, 21-8, 21-12.
In the first round of the consolation bracket, Andi Lowrance and Nora Tuioti-Mariner picked up a 21-18, 21-18 win over teammates BreElle Bailey and Genevieve Priotte.
SCOTUING ARIZONA
The Wildcats, also competing in the Pac-12 Invitational last weekend, went 1-2 in the team competition, grabbing a 3-2 win over Cal Poly before falling to Loyola Marymount and the Sun Devils.
In the pairings competition, the tandem of Madi Kingdon and Ronni Lewis advanced to the finals before falling to USC’s duo of Kirby Burnham and Sara Hughes, 21-12, 21-17.
SCOUTING BOISE STATE
The Broncos are 4-3 on the year and most recently swept its opponents in Portland, Ore., last weekend, defeating Portland State in a 2-1 exhibition before topping Oregon, 3-2, and Washington, 3-2.
THE PAIRINGS
Sand volleyball is contested with five pairings in the best of three sets, which are played to 21 points. The tiebreaker third set is played to 15.
The team win goes to the squad that secures three of the five wins throughout the match.
ASU’s team pairings for the 2014 season will be:
1. Sophomore Bianca Arellano and senior Bethany Jorgensen (5-6)
2. Sophomores Macey Gardner and Whitney Follette (6-5)
3. Freshman Kizzy Willey and sophomore Jordy Checkal (4-7)
4. Freshmen Genevieve Pirotte and BreElle Bailey (2-9)
5. Sophomore Andi Lowrance and junior Nora Tuioti-Mariner (7-4)
THE PERA CLUB
The PERA Club, ASU’s new home, is located three and a half miles north of the Tempe Campus on 1 East Continental Dr.
PERA, which stands for Project Employees Recreation Association is a private club for the employees and families of the Salt River Project.
The 83-acre club houses a social center, employee store, fitness center, swimming pool, game courts, and fields and offers children's programs, fitness classes, business meetings, sports leagues, and parties.
THE STAFF
This season, indoor volleyball director of operations, Jackie Bunker, will serve as the sand assistant coach, joining head coach Jason Watson.
2013 INDOOR RECAP
In the fall, the Sun Devils (19-14, 8-12 Pac-12) unseated the defending national champions en route to its second-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. ASU opened the season with a 12-1 record, sweeping each team they defeated. Battling through the Pac-12 Conference schedule, the Sun Devils rounded out their season in Hawaii, falling in a five-set thriller to BYU. Senior Stephanie Preach stepped into the record books, rounding out her career as the second-ever Sun Devil to reach the 2000-dig plateau. Macey Gardner was named to the Pac-12 All-Conference team, while BreElle Bailey was named to the All-Freshman Team. Caitlyn Francis earned First-Team All-Academic honors, while Shannan McCready was named to the second team, and Gardner and Whitney Follette each earned honorable mention nods.