No. 18 Volleyball Hosts ASU Marriott Invitational for Home Debut
Arizona State University Marriott Invitational - Tempe, Ariz.
Friday, Sept. 20
Alabama State vs. Louisiana-Monroe 4 p.m. PT
Cal Poly vs. Arizona State 7 p.m. PT
Saturday, Sept. 21
Louisiana-Monroe vs. Cal Poly 10 a.m. PT
Alabama State vs. Arizona State12 p.m. PT
Cal Poly vs. Alabama State 5 p.m. PT
Louisiana-Monroe vs. Arizona State 7 p.m. PT
TEMPE, Ariz.- No. 18 Arizona State volleyball (8-1) team makes its 2013 home debut Friday, Sept. 20 in the Arizona State Marriott Invitational to take on Cal Poly (4-5) at 7 p.m. PT. The Saturday matches begin with Alabama State (5-8) at 12 p.m. PT followed by a 7 p.m. start time against Louisiana-Monroe (3-9). All games this weekend are free.
The Sun Devils are coming off of a historic weekend in the Illini Classic where the 3-0 sweep of the defending national champions and then-ranked No. 2 Texas helped blast ASU into the No. 18 ranking Monday morning- the first top-25 appearance since 2002.
About the Cal Poly series-
The Sun Devils and Mustangs are all tied up, 2-2, in the all-time series between the two schools. The last meeting between the programs occurred back on Sept. 1, 2000, with ASU taking the set 3-2 in the Sun Devil Challenge. Megan McConnell leads the Mustangs with 115 kills on the season.
About the Alabama State series-
This is the first meeting between the Sun Devils and the Hornets. The Hornets are coming off of a loss against Troy University, with an overall record of 5-8. Amber Bennett leads Alabama State with her 3.59 kills per set.
About the Louisiana-Monroe series-
The game on Saturday also marks the first meeting between the two programs. The Warhawks first travel to Phoenix to take on in-state rival Grand Canyon before making the stop in Tempe. ULM is coming off of a 3-0 win against Prairie View A&M.
@SunDevilVB & @TheSunDevils Fans - Home Opener this weekend in Wells Fargo Arena 7pm Friday against @CalPolyVolley pic.twitter.com/aAmVnJsf1e
— Jason Watson (@sundevilvbcoach) September 18, 2013
NOTES:
ASU’s debut at No. 18 in the polls is the first top-25 ranking since Nov. 4, 2002.
The 3-0 win over the defending NCAA Champion and then-ranked No.2 Texas constitutes the first win over the Longhorns since the programs first met in 1981.
ASU has now ousted a top-2 twice in Arizona State history- Sept. 20, 2013-No. 2 Texas (3-0); Nov. 24, 2010- No. 2 Cal (3-2)- with both wins occurring under head coach Jason Watson.
ASU is second in the Pac-12 and 32nd nationally in digs per frame, averaging 16.41 digs per frame.
Macey Gardner ranks first in the Pac-12 and fourth in the country in kills per set, averaging 5.26 per frame. Gardner’s 5.70 points per game also puts her at the top of the Pac-12 and fifth nationally.
Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week Bianca Arellano is ranked 33rd in assists per set nationally, and coming in sixth in the Pac-12 with an average of 11 per frame.
Stephanie Preach leads the Pac-12 in digs per frame, averaging 5.0 per game.
PARKING AND ENTERING WELLS FARGO ARENA
The West tunnel, located near Sun Devil Stadium, will be open for free admission to the volleyball events. For maps and directions to Wells Fargo Arena, click here.