Season Begins For Sand Devils At Canyon Classic

TEMPE, Ariz. – The 2022 season begins this weekend for Sun Devil Beach Volleyball as the team is set to compete in the Canyon Classic at Grand Canyon this Friday and Saturday, facing Boise State and No. 9 GCU on Friday before a pairs tournament on Saturday.

How to Follow
The tournament will be free and open to the public. There will be no live stats or live stream. Updates will be available on the team's Twitter and Instagram (@SunDevliBeachVB).

Sun Devil Outlook
Arizona State (0-0, 0-0 Pac-12)

• The Sand Devils are starting the season at the Canyon Classic for the second year in a row. It will be the first of two road tournaments within Arizona.
• The Sand Devils ended the 2021 season with a 10-12 record in head coach Brad Keenan's fifth season at the helm. The Sand Devils went 4-7 in the Pac-12, earning wins over Washington, Utah and No. 11 Cal.
• Fifth-year senior Cierra Flood is back for her final season. She has 51 career wins, the most on the roster and the sixth-most in program history. Last season, she led the team in total wins with 12  while partnered with junior Sarah Waters.
• Six freshmen join the 2022 roster, all of whom have worked their way to success in the sport. The Sand Devils have the dual winners of the p1440 Southwest Championship both on the roster in that of Anya Pemberton and Rylie Kael. 

Opponent Outlook
Boise State (0-0)

• In 2021, the Broncos went 6-11. Their best win of the season came against the Sun Devils when the squad was ranked No. 20 the first week of the season. 
• The team features six seniors who return plenty of experience to the team. Outside of one junior, the rest of the team is underclassmen.
• Arizona State leads 5-3 in the all-time series against Boise State, including the last two duals in a row. The teams met three times in 2021, ASU dropping the first and then winning the next two.=

No. 9 Grand Canyon (0-0)

• The Lopes had seven ranked wins in the 2021 season to add to their 18-11 record. The best wins came over No. 10 TCU and later in the season No. 10 Cal. The program has had three-straight 18-plus win seasons.
• GCU returns All-American sophomore Allanis Navas. She started every match and collected a 25-4 record.
• In the all-time series, Arizona State trails 1-2 to Grand Canyon. The lone win for ASU came back in 2019 in Phoenix, a close 3-2 victory.