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Ranked Teams Await Sand Devils In Cal Poly Tournament

Mar 10, 2022

TEMPE, Ariz. – With their first ranked win of the season under their belts, Sun Devil Beach Volleyball will see two more ranked opponents at the Cal Poly tournament this Friday and Saturday as ASU plays four duals over the two days.

How to Follow
Arizona State will play two duals each day. Friday will be against San Jose State at 2 p.m. MST and Pac-12 foe Washington at 6:30 p.m. On Saturday, ASU will face No. 6 Loyola Marymount at 10:15 a.m. MST before taking on the host team No. 11 Cal Poly at 2 p.m. MST. There will be live scoring for fans to follow along, as well as updates on Twitter and Instagram (@SunDevilBeachVB). 

Sun Devil Outlook
Arizona State (5-3, 1-0 Pac-12)

  • The Sun Devils are riding high after upsetting the No. 13 Arizona Wildcats in the home opener on March 8. ASU is 5-1 in its last six duals, including the last three in a row. 
  • The team leaders in total wins are sophomore Lila Bordis and junior Sarah Waters. They are 6-2 and have played every dual at the No. 3 spot. In the dual win against Arizona, this pair clinched the victory with a three-set battle.
  • Fifth-year senior Cierra Flood earned her 56th career win against Benedictine on Wednesday, moving into sole possession of fifth place in the record book. For career wins as a pair, sophomores Taryn Ames and Kate Fitzgerald earned their 10th win together, which puts them in the top 10 in ASU history.

Opponent Outlook
San Jose State (2-5)

  • The Spartans have dropped their last three duals. San Jose State's wins have come against Santa Clara and Ottawa University Arizona. 
  • Last year, SJSU played a shortened season, competing in just 11 duals. The team went 4-7, ending the year with a win over San Francisco.
  • In the series history, ASU has played San Jose State just once, winning that dual in 2018.

Washington (2-0)

  • The Huskies started the season undefeated after two wins over the University of Portland. The team had a week off of competition before this week's tournament.
  • In 2021, UW went 5-13. The team earned Pac-12 wins over Utah and Oregon.
  • The Sun Devils lead 5-2 in the all-time series against the Dawgs. The teams met three times last year, with ASU winning all three matchups, including the last one at the Pac-12 Championships.

No. 6 Loyola Marymount (8-1)

  • Went 4-1 at the Tiger Beach Challenge last weekend, only loss came to then-No. 6 LSU. The Lions have three ranked wins so far this season: two 5-0 sweeps over No. 11 Cal and No. 17 Stetson, as well as a 3-2 win at No. 13 Long Beach State.
  • In 2021, LMU went 31-8 and earned a trip to the NCAA Championships in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Loyola Marymount started with wins over LSU and UCLA before falling to USC and then to UCLA in a rematch.
  • The Sun Devils have one win over the Lions in three matchups. They last met in 2017, with the Sand Devils falling 4-1.

No. 11 Cal Poly (2-6)

  • The Mustangs have played a difficult schedule to start the 2022 season, facing five ranked teams. Cal Poly won just one of those matchups, beating No. 14 Long Beach State, 3-2.
  • Cal Poly went 24-11 in 2021 and qualified for the NCAA Championships. After losing the first dual to USC, Cal Poly beat Stanford in the first dual of the contenders bracket but ran into UCLA and came up short.
  • Arizona State is 0-3 against Cal Poly in the series history, last meeting in 2019. The Sun Devils battled in that last dual, falling 3-2.