Two Ranked Battles See Setbacks For Sand Devils

STANFORD, Calif. – Three pairs earned wins, but Sun Devil Beach Volleyball dropped two matches to ranked opponents, falling to No. 9 Cal 4-1 and No. 13 Washington 3-2 to finish the Pac-12 North Tournament on Saturday at Stanford.

Arizona State (8-10, 4-5 Pac-12) put up a good fight against both ranked teams. The Sun Devils won three matches between the two duals and there were four three-set matches. 

Freshman Carys Thomas was one Sun Devil to get a win today, upping her season record to a team-best 11-7. She paired with sophomore Rylie Kael to beat Cal’s No. 3 pair. Fellow freshman Adriana Nieves Papaleo, who paired with Thomas for the majority of the year, got her win total to 10 after her victory today. She won with junior Kate Fitzgerald against Washington.

Two Sand Devil pairs have played together the entire season. Junior Taryn Ames and senior Sarah Waters have a 10-8 record together, playing the majority of their matches on court three. They have also seen time on courts two and four, playing on the latter today. The other pair to play together all season is the No. 1 duo of senior Lexi Sweeney and sophomore Kylie Wickley. They have played every match on the top court, earning a 7-11 record.

Game One: Cal 4, ASU 1

To start the day, the Sun Devils came up short against the Bears (20-6, 9-2 Pac-12). The No. 1, 3 and 4 pairs went to three sets, but ASU only came away with a win on court three. Thomas and sophomore Rylie Kael were playing together for the third time, moving up from No. 4 to No. 3. They were able to rally for the three-set win on their court for Arizona State’s lone point.

Final Results (Order of Finish: 2, 4, 5*, 1, 3)

1. Caffo/Waters-Leiga (CAL) def. Lexi Sweeney/Kylie Wickley (ASU) 21-15, 13-21, 15-12
2. Delgado/Radell (CAL) def. Anya Pemberton/Ivey Weber (ASU) 21-13, 21-19
3. Rylie Kael/Carys Thomas (ASU) def. Martin/Gessner (CAL) 19-21, 21-18, 15-11
4. McKeown/Dreibholz (CAL) def. Taryn Ames/Sarah Waters (ASU) 17-21, 21-14, 15-10
5. Buchner/Young-Gomez (CAL) def. Adriana Nieves-Papaleo/Kaitlyn Winkelman (ASU) 21-14, 21-17

Game Two: UW 3, ASU 2
The dual with Washington (13-10, 4-4 Pac-12) was a battle from the start. After the…