After losing two matches to begin the season, ASU beach volleyball bounced back on the second day to defeat Colorado Mesa and No. 17 South Carolina.
The back two teams set the tone of the day.
On Friday, the fourth and fifth courts could not pick up a win in either match, putting ASU in precarious situations it could not escape from. On Saturday, those nets did better. Interim head coach Jacquelyn Bunker said she emphasized the fours and fives after the prior day’s losses.
“It’s just about competing every single point,” she said. “I felt like yesterday we would compete for a few points and then we’d take a point off or we would respond to what the other team is doing instead of playing our game the whole time.”
Freshman Kylie Pickrell won all four sets she played in on Saturday after not winning any on Friday. She’s hitting the ball hard and with good location; she was able to maneuver it around defenders arms and put some curve on it.
Her serve also displayed a slight curve at times, occasionally contributing to an ace, which is something she said she didn’t realize.
“I try to put a little float behind it but I’m not trying to curve it or anything,” she said.
She and sophomore Frances Giedraitis won both of their matches in straight sets.
After winning the fourth and fifth courts, the Sun Devils swept Colorado Mesa. They had a tougher time against South Carolina. Going into the top three courts with a 2-0 lead, it looked like ASU was going to walk away with the victory. It certainly appeared so after the first sets, when ASU had won the first game of courts one and three.
The first set victory on court three came after junior Madison Berridge went to the ground with a hand on her back. It was the same court that junior Cassidy Pickrell had got injured just a week prior, and it looked dire. She was on her knees, and would rotate between sitting relatively straight and hunching over in pain.
“It’s a little tweaked but i just hit it really hard,” she said. “It knocked my breath short.”
After a few minutes and a visit from the trainer, she went back to play.
“We’re seeing her ability to carry a team,” Bunker said. “I think that it’s so hard in beach volleyball because you can’t make substitutions, so if you are injured, you have to find a way to fight through it.”
Berridge fought through and played well. She showed good movement and strong swings. Additionally, her serve was impressive, and she got an ace to win the first set.
Staying focused, like Bunker had preached, helped them get the victory in the first set and take the third as well.
“Staying on task definitely won us that game right there,” Berridge said. “(USC senior Katie Reilly) was very strong.”
On court one, seniors Bianca Arellano and Whitney Follette had fallen behind 17-15. However, a furious comeback allowed them to take the set without dropping another point.
ASU needed one win to clinch. They couldn’t get it in any of the second sets. South Carolina managed to defeat court one 23-21, and then court three 24-22.
Follette said she and Arellano’s loss came more from personal mistakes than what the Gamecocks were doing.
“I think we made a lot of unforced errors,” Follette said. “I think it was mostly our side, and I think we needed to serve a little bit tougher.”
On Friday night, she became ASU beach volleyball’s all-time leader in wins, and she showed how she did it on Saturday. After the second court lost and with the game on the line, she slammed a hit down to win the game 15-11and clinch the match.
Reach the sports editor at logan.newman@asu.edu or follow @Logan_Newsman on Twitter.
Like State Press Sports on Facebook and follow @statepresssport on Twitter.
