Ranked Opponents Await Sand Devils In South Carolina

TEMPE – After a tough weekend at GCU, the Sand Devils are traveling to South Carolina to compete in the Gamecock Grand Slam where they will face off against No. 11 Georgia State, No. 16 South Carolina, Houston Christian, and Tampa on March 25-26.

Schedule and How To Follow:

On Saturday, the Sand Devils face two more ranked opponents with a matchup against No. 11 Georgia State at 9 a.m. MST and No. 16 South Carolina at 1 p.m. MST. The team will continue tournament play on Sunday and face Houston Christian at 5 a.m. MST and Tampa at 9 a.m. MST.

All duals will be played in two flights, starting with the No. 2 and No. 4 pairs, followed by the remaining three in the second flight. You can follow live on Twitter and Instagram (@SunDevilBeachVB), and the games will be scored live via StatBroadcast.

Sun Devil Outlook

Arizona State (5-5, 2-2 Pac-12)

• The Sand Devils are coming off of a tough tournament weekend hosted by No. 7 GCU. The team went 1-2, dropping two matches to No. 18 Pepperdine and No. 7 GCU.
• Freshman duo Adriana Nieves Papaleo and Carys Thomas are tied with senior Sarah Waters and junior Taryn Ames for best record on the team with a record of 7-3. Nieves Papaleo and Thomas jump between courts four and five while Waters and Ames jump between courts two and three. 
• Waters broke into the top 10 for career wins in program history at ASU. She currently has 36, six behind Oluoma Okaro in ninth. Senior Lexi Sweeney is right behind Waters with 35 at No. 11, while Ames is behind that with 34 at No. 12.

Opponent Outlook

No. 11 Georgia State (10-7)

• Georgia State has had some noticeable wins against No. 11 Stetson, No. 20 Coastal Carolina, and No. 19 Tulane, but have lost to seven top-10 teams throughout the season.
• The Sand Devils and the Panthers have met two times in the past, with Georgia State holding a 0-2 record over ASU. Former Sun Devil Lila Bordis is currently on the Panthers’ roster.

No. 16 South Carolina (11-7)

• The Gamecocks have competed in four tournaments so far this season, with notable wins against No. 5 LMU, No. 12 Stenson, and No. 13 Cal Poly.
• The Gamecocks and the Sand Devils have faced three times in the past, with the record being 1-2 in South Carolina’s favor. The last time ASU won was in March 2016, at home with the score being 4-1.

Houston Christian (11-6)