TEMPE, Ariz.—The Arizona State sand volleyball team (3-7) battled to defeat Boise State, 3-2, on Thursday evening at the PERA Club.
“Part of the learning process here is learning how to be good over time and sticking with our game plan,” head coach Jason Watson said. “I feel like all of our teams are getting better at that, and that bodes well for our future. It's nice to get a win and nice to see Kizzy (Willey) and Sydney (Palmer) play well, and that Macey (Gardner) and Bianca (Arellano) were able to pull that one out in the third set. It's good, we're learning a bunch, and getting better a little bit at a time.”
The Sun Devils picked up win at the No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 positions, and the match was decided in the third set of the final match of the night, juniors Bianca Arellano and Macey Gardner defeating Hannah Hubbard and Maddy O'Donnell, 19-21, 21-19, 15-6 at No. 1. With the win, the pair improves to a team-best 7-3 on the season.
At No. 2, seniors Jordy Checkal and Bethany Jorgensen (4-6) picked up a sweep of Sara Baugh and Sierra Nobley, 21-15, 21-18, while junior Kizzy Willey and freshman Sydney Palmer (5-5) teamed up at No. 3, defeating Katelyn Kinghorn and Aly Duffin, 21-8, 27-25.
“Part of this for us is that we've played a bunch of teams that we didn't play last year, good teams,” Watson said. “We really want to learn, and if we go play the best teams in the country, we're going to learn a lot more about what we need to do, especially for next year when it becomes an NCAA Championship sport. Our schedule has been really tough, we've played some really good sand volleyball teams, and that was the plan coming into it. We want to get exposed to the level we're going to see next year, and USC is definitely one of those top teams, we're excited to see what happens.”
Up next for the Sun Devils is a doubleheader at the PERA Club on Saturday, the first match, against USC, set for a 3 p.m. PT start. Following the match against the Trojans, ASU will honor its seniors, Jorgensen and Checkal, before the team takes on New Mexico, starting approximately at 5 p.m. PT.
Arizona State 3, Boise State 2
1. Bianca Arellano/Macey Gardner (ASU) def. Hannah Hubbard/Maddy O'Donnell (BSU): 19-21, 21-19, 15-6
2. Bethany Jorgensen/Jordy Checkal (ASU) def. Sarah Baugh/Sierra Nobley (BSU): 21-15, 21-18
3. Kizzy Willey/Sydney Palmer (ASU) def. Katelyn Kinghorn/Aly Duffin (BSU): 21-8, 27-25
4. Kaitlyn Oliver/Maddi Osburn (BSU) def. Whitney Follette/Halle Harker (ASU): 21-15, 12-21, 15-12
5. Taylor Murphey/Laney Hayes (BSU) def. Kwyn Johnson/Mia Rivera (ASU): 21-13, 25-23
Attendance: 213