No. 6-Seed Sand Devils Start Pac-12s On Wednesday

TEMPE – Sun Devil Beach Volleyball is a No. 6 seed for the 2023 Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Championships, held at Stanford, and will start their run against No. 3 seed California on Wednesday at 12 p.m. MST on the Pac-12 Network.

Tournament Outlook

Arizona State (11-11) will be the third match of the opening day of Pac-12s at the Stanford Beach Volleyball Stadium, facing off against Cal (25-8). The winner will play at 8:30 a.m. MST on Thursday against the victor between No. 2 seed USC and No. 7 seed Arizona. Because the tournament is double elimination, the losing team will be sent to the contender’s bracket and will play on Thursday at 1:45 p.m. MST.

ASU is looking to win its first dual of the tournament for the first time since 2019. When Arizona State and Cal faced each other earlier this season, the Bears came away with the 4-1 win, though three matches went to three sets. Ryle Kael and Carys Thomas were the lone duo to get a win, playing on court three. Arizona State is looking for its first win over Cal since the 2021 Pac-12 Championships.

This is the second season in a row that the Sun Devils are a No. 6 seed at Pac-12s. Last season, the team dropped the first dual but won the next two to match its best finish at the tournament.

Sun Devil Outlook

• The Sand Devils are heading into Pac-12s with momentum. Last Friday, Arizona State upset No. 19 Arizona 3-2 in Tucson to complete the season sweep over the Wildcats. The team has won three of the last four duals.
• The No. 1 duo of Lexi Sweeney and Kylie Wickley, who clinched the win at Arizona, are on a four-match winning streak, which includes two wins over pairs from ranked teams. They have an 11-11 pairs record, the second-best on the squad.
• As a team, ASU has two ranked wins on the year, both against Arizona. Even in losses to ranked opponents, the Sun Devils have been competitive. In 12 ranked matchups, the team has scored at least one point in all but four.
• The pair with the best record on the team is the duo of Taryn Ames and Sarah Waters with an 13-9 mark. There are two other Sun Devils with 13 wins on the year: freshmen Adriana Nieves Papaleo and Carys Thomas. The two started the season playing together, though they both have had new partners as of late.
• A handful of Sand Devils have made their way up in the ASU record book this season….