Devils Drop Dual to No. 3 Stanford

TEMPE – In their first dual at the 2024 Pac-12 Championships, No. 6 seed Sun Devil Beach Volleyball fell 3-0 to No. 3 seed Stanford. Arizona State will play tomorrow at 1:45 p.m. MST against No. 7 seed Arizona.

Arizona State (19-8) came up short in the rematch against Stanford (29-3) and falls to the contenders bracket. Against ranked teams this season, ASU is now 9-8. The matchup against Arizona will be the fifth meeting all-time between ASU and Arizona in the Pac-12 Tournament. The Sun Devils are 1-3 in those duals against their in-state rival. The lone win in the conference tournament against Arizona came in 2022. Last season, the Wildcats won the tournament matchup, 3-1. This season, these teams went 1-1 against each other, with both teams winning on their home courts by the same 3-2 score.

The most dramatic court for the Sand Devils was the fours, which saw a new pair of senior Kate Fitzgerald and redshirt sophomore Ava Kirunchyk. After dropping their first set, they came back to win the set to force a third. Ultimately, they came up short in the third, 15-12. 

The No. 3 pair of senior Taryn Ames and graduate Lexi Sweeney were in solid position before their game was abandoned. They won the first set in extra points, 23-21.

Results (Order of Finish: 2, 4, 1*)

1. Hodel/Rockwell (STAN) def. Daniella Kensinger/Ava Williamson (ASU) 21-19, 21-11
2. Sorra/Wilson (STAN) def. Arden Besecker/Anya Pemberton (ASU) 21-12, 21-16
3. Taryn Ames/Lexi Sweeney (ASU) vs. Belardi/Hoffman (STAN) 23-21, 3-3 DNF
4. Reilly/Stowell (STAN) def. Kate Fitzgerald/Ava Kirunchyk (ASU) 21-17, 19-21, 15-12
5. Ava Haughy/Adriana Nieves Papaleo (ASU) vs. Harvey/Vincent (STAN) 4-2 DNF

Up Next
Arizona State will play either Arizona or Oregon on Thursday (tomorrow) at 1:45 p.m. MST. It will be live on the Pac-12 Network, as all tournament duals are. The full tournament website is here.

Quotes:

Head Coach Kristen Rohr:

On the message to the team going forward:

“Stanford is a great team. They came out and played really well. They played hard, we played hard. We had a new partnership in the fours and I was really pleased with what they did. Lexi and Taryn came in and though they didn’t get to finish their match, I really liked what I was seeing out of them. So, the message is that the good news is we’re not out. We’re going to come back and be…