TUCSON, Ariz. – With the season on the line, No. 6-seed Sun Devil Beach Volleyball came through with two wins on Thursday to stay alive in the 2022 Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Championship, sweeping No. 7-seed Washington before upsetting No. 5-seed Arizona 3-1
Arizona State (17-14) keeps its championship hopes alive with the two dual wins today in the contenders bracket. ASU will next face No. 4-seed Cal at 9 a.m. MST on Friday, with all duals on the Pac-12 Network. This is just the second time in program history that ASU has won two duals at Pac-12s, the other in 2019.
The No. 3 duo of freshman Rylie Kael and junior Sarah Waters was the only team to win twice today. They clinched both duals, winning in straight sets against the Huskies and in three sets against the Wildcats, who are ranked No. 17 in the AVCA Coaches Poll.
Quotes:
Head Coach Brad Keenan
“Super proud of the way the team played today. They all played confident and aggressive in the tightest of situations, and that is something we have been stressing to them the whole year. They are finally in the mindset where they expect to win these matches. I’m excited to see what they can do tomorrow”
Vibes are unmatched ????#SandDevils | #O2V pic.twitter.com/CQojj6uETq
— Sun Devil Beach VB (@SunDevilBeachVB) April 28, 2022
Fifth-Year Senior Cierra Flood
On general thoughts after the win:
“Really exciting, especially to get a big win like that at Pac-12s. I feel like it amplifies the win because it’s do or die; you have to win in advance. It was definitely a highlight for my college career.”
On what stood out and how they found success:
“I was just trying to soak in every moment because these are my last matches potentially, so I was really just trying to enjoy it. I would say a stand-out moment was the end of the second set when I dove and the ball trickled over on a free ball to get the point. I think after that I was like, okay as long as I keep really trying to grind it out it should go our way.”
On facing Cal tomorrow:
“I think similar to today, we just have to go in with confidence. We have to go in with our gritty mentality. I thought everybody today played amazing and we are so scrappy. If we can stick with them and grind it out then things could go our way.”
Freshman Rylie Kael
On general thoughts after huge win:
“That was really exciting. I think…
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