Sand Devils Head to Santa Monica for Pac-12 South Invitational

Arizona State beach volleyball (3-7, 0-2 Pac-12) will remain on the road traveling to Santa Monica, Calif. for the 2018 Pac-12 South Invitational, March 24-25.

The Sand Devils will compete in four duals over the course of two days of competition, set to face off with No. 2 UCLA (9 a.m. PT) and No. 4 Southern California (2 p.m. PT) on Saturday, before capping the outing with Sunday tilts featuring No. 14 Stanford (11 a.m. PT) and No. 19 Washington (3 p.m. PT). 

Set to be held at picturesque Ocean Park Beach, admission to the respective duals is free.

Scouting The Opposition...
No. 2 UCLA (14-3)
UCLA has won nine consecutive matches...Led by head coach Stein Metzger, who is in his sixth season at the helm of the program...Last time out, the Bruins notched victories over Missouri State, Colorado Mesa and Loyola Marymount over the course of the LMU Invitational...UCLA is undefeated in home matches this season...UCLA welcomed six freshmen to the squad this season including Mac May, Megan Muret, Hannah Phair, Jamie McQuarrie, Cami Sanchez and Alyssa Slagerman...The Bruins welcomed back a large group of returners as well: Lily Justine, Remy Wilson, Sarah Sponcil, Zana Muno, Savvy Simo, Nicole McNamara, Madi Yeomans, Izzy Carey, Megan McNamara, Lexi Jasper-Baylin, Elise Zappia and Chanti Holroyd. 
No. 4 USC (11-6)
USC entered the 2018 season with three consecutive national titles to its credit...The Trojans also entered the campaign as the reigning Pac-12 champions...USC maintained its top spot in the NCAA beach rankings, appearing at No. 1 in VolleyMob's preseason poll...The team is coached by Anna Collier (157-24 overall record), who is in her seventh season at the helm of the program...Last time out, the Trojans posted a 3-2 record over the course of the Outrigger Hawaii Invitational...The team entered the season without its top duo of Kelly Claes and Sarah Hughes due to graduation...The Trojans returned All-Pac-12 Second-Team honoree Terese Cannon while welcoming a promising group of freshmen including Tina Graudina, Haley Hallgren, Maja Kaiser and Sammy Slater. 
No. 14 Stanford (8-4)
Entered the campaign ranked No. 17 in the nation...Led by second-year head coach Andrew Fuller...Has earned eight consecutive victories after dropping the first four matches of the season...Entered 2018 off a record season that saw the Cardinal achieve a program-best 13 wins...Last time out, the Cardinal posted a 3-0 record over the course of the Stanford Invitational...Four freshmen joined the team including Amelia Smith, Sunny Villapando, Kate Formico and Blake Sharp...Stanford welcomed back a large group of returners: Kat Anderson, Courtney Bowen, Payton Chang, Jennifer DiSanto, Morgan Hentz, Caitlin Keefe, Kathryn Plummer, Catherine Raquel, Chelsea Red-Horse Mohl and Shannon Richardson...Raquel is the lone senior on this year's team, and Plummer is the reigning Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.
No. 18 Washington (2-1)
Washington entered the 2018 campaign coming off the best season in program history...Notched a program-best 11 wins in 2017 and finished third at the Pac-12 Championships...Placed four players on the 2017 All-Pac-12 team...Led by head coach Steve Whitaker, who is in his first year at the helm of the program...Last time out, the Huskies took down Loyola Marymount and New Mexico, and lost to Arizona over the course of the Arizona Invitational...Washington welcomed four freshmen to the team this season including Lauren Sanders, Emma Calle, Natalie Robinson and Chloe Newton...The Huskies welcomed back a large group of returners for the 2018 season: Shayne McPherson, Avie Niece, Destiny Julye, Courtney Schwan, Carly Dehoog, Kimmy Gardiner, Jordan Anderson, Anna Crabtree, Crissy Jones, Cailin Onosko, Kara Bajema and Maria Bogomolova.

Last Time Out...
The Sand Devils concluded play at the 2018 Stanford Invitational, with a 1-3 record to their credit. The Maroon and Gold managed a victory over San Jose State (4-1) while dropping a trio of highly-contested duals to No. 14 Stanford (2-3), No. 18 Tulane (2-3) and California (1-4).

Updated Sand Devil Individual Season/Career Records

Name	Season Record	Career Record
Kate Baldwin	5-5	5-5
Kwyn Johnson	1-7	13-39
Ellyson Lundberg	7-1	20-14
Katie Cross	6-4	13-14
Katelyn Carballo	7-3	22-19
Mia Rivera	1-9	11-38
Sydney Palmer	0-3	18-32
Frances Giedraitis	1-6	23-38
Kara Woodard	0-3	0-3
Cierra Flood	6-4	6-4
Jourdan Parnell	0-0	14-13
Natalie Braun	1-6	7-24
Halle Harker	0-2	12-12
Samantha Plaster	5-5	5-5
Sierra Ellett	0-2	0-2

Updated Pairs Records

Pair	Season Record
Ellyson Lundberg/Katelyn Carballo	7-1
Katie Cross/Cierra Flood	6-4
Samantha Plaster/Kate Baldwin	5-5
Kwyn Johnson/Mia Rivera	1-7
Kara Woodard/Sydney Palmer	0-1
Kara Woodard/Halle Harker	0-2
Natalie Braun/Frances Giedraitis	1-4
Mia Rivera/Frances Giedraitis	0-2
Natalie Braun/Katelyn Carballo	0-2
Sierra Ellett/Sydney Palmer	0-2

2018 Season Prospectus
Up next, the squad will head to Albuquerque, N.M., to compete in the New Mexico Tournament on March 30-31.

The Sun Devils will then head to Tucson on April 6 for a tripleheader in the Arizona-hosted Wildcat Spring Challenge. ASU will face off with California at 1 p.m., Colorado Mesa at 4 p.m., and Arizona at 6 p.m. 

Coach Keenan's squad has a quick turnaround with a home doubleheader the following day on April 7, matching up with Stetson at 3 p.m., and Vanguard at 7 p.m. 

Next up for the Sun Devils is a trip to Honolulu, Hawaii, to take part in the Hawaii Tournament beginning on April 14. ASU concludes the 2018 regular season with a home match against the Arizona Wildcats on April 18 at 6 p.m.

The postseason begins on April 26 with the Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Championships in Stanford, Calif. The tournament is set to be held over a three-day span. The 2018 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championships follow, beginning on May 4 in Gulf Shores, Ala.

2018 ASU Beach Volleyball Home Schedule
Date	Time	Opponent
Friday 2/16	6:00 p.m.	Maroon and Gold Scrimmage
Sun Devil Challenge 2/24-2/25
Saturday 2/24	6 p.m.	USC
Sunday 2/25	11 a.m.	Nebraska
Sunday 2/25	3 p.m.	Cal Poly
Saturday 4/7	3 p.m.	Stetson
Saturday 4/7	7 p.m.	Vanguard
Wednesday 4/18	6 p.m.	Arizona

2018 Returners 
The Sun Devils return 11 letter-winners in 2018, spearheaded by a strong core of seniors including Kwyn Johnson, Sydney Palmer, Mia Rivera, Frances Giedraitis and Halle Harker.

Newcomers
The Sun Devil roster features many new faces in 2018. Newcomers include Kate Baldwin (Lakewood, Calif.), Sierra Ellett (Scottsdale, Ariz.), Bailey Anderson (Las Vegas, Nev.), Cierra Flood (Phoenix, Ariz.), Cassidy Schilling (Moorpark, Calif.) and Samantha Plaster (Flower Mound, Texas).

2017 In Retrospect
Arizona State collectively wrapped up the 2017 campaign with 16 victories, its most in program history, having earned double-digit win totals in consecutive seasons. Under the direction of first-year head coach Brad Keenan, the Sand Devils notched a number of quality victories, most notably knocking off then-No. 6 Arizona, 3-2, in Tucson on March 4. The Sand Devils also garnered national recognition, cracking the AVCA collegiate volleyball poll for the first time in team history and appeared in the rankings for five consecutive weeks. Three student-athletes earned All-Pac-12 honors, including Bianca Arellano (First Team), Whitney Follette (First Team) and Oluoma Okaro (Second Team).