Two Ranked Matchups in Phoenix on Saturday

TEMPE – No. 12 Sun Devil Beach Volleyball stays in state this weekend when the team heads across town to Grand Canyon to compete in the Lopes Invitational on Saturday. They'll face No. 18 Stetson before they battle it out with host No. 16 GCU. 

How to Follow
Saturday's dual against Stetson will be at 10 a.m. MST, followed by the weekend's final  matchup with GCU after a break at 2 p.m. MST.

There will be no live stream, but there will be live scoring. Fans can follow along on Instagram and X (formerly known as Twitter), @sundevilbeachvb, for updates. 

Sun Devil Outlook
No. 12 Arizona State (14-4)

• The Sand Devils earned a 3-1 record at the Fight in the Fort at TCU last weekend, collecting their sixth and seventh ranked wins of the season over No. 13 Florida International and No. 14 Washington.  
• The team's 14-4 record is potentially on pace to become the best record in program history. It is currently the fourth-best win total in ASU history. The top spot belongs to the 2019 season when Arizona State had 21 wins.
• Sophomore Arden Besecker and Freshman Ava Williamson were unstoppable on court two this past weekend, their efforts earning them the Pac-12 Pair of the Week. With their four wins in Fort Worth, they extended their winning streak to nine-straight matches. That ties the record that duo Oluoma Okaro and Ashley Wenz set in 2019. Besecker and Williamson have a 15-3 record to lead the team, which is already the ninth-best single season pairs record in team history.
• This weekend will be a homecoming of sorts for head coach Kristen Rohr. Prior to coming to Arizona State, she was the head coach at Grand Canyon for eight seasons.
• Graduate Lexi Sweeney and Senior Taryn Ames earned three wins in the tournament on court three and clinched the dual for the Sand Devils against Washington. They have the second-best pairs win total on the team with a 12-6 record. In career individual wins, they both are in seventh place with 53, two away from sixth place.
• Sophomores Ava Kirunchyk and Carys Thomas also collected three wins including the upset over TCU's No. 4 duo. The relatively new pair is 5-1 on the year.

Opponent Outlook
No. 18 Stetson (11-5)

• The Hatters last played in their tournament two weeks ago where they finished with a 4-0 record.
• Stetson has one ranked win so far this season when they beat then-ranked No. 19 Tampa on March 3. 
• Arizona State last met Stetson in 2018 where the Sand Devils lost, 4-1. 

No. 16 GCU (7-9)

• The Lopes played in the Mid-Season CCSA Tournament last weekend where they went 3-1 including an upset win over then-ranked No. 8 LSU. 
• GCU's win over LSU marks its only ranked win so far this season. 
• The program currently leads the all-time meeting record against Arizona State, winning six out of seven total duals. ASU's lone win came in 2019 when the Sun Devils upset the Lopes in Phoenix, 3-2.