Basketball, football, indoor volleyball — sports that require a team to work in unison, every player integral to the group's execution on the court or the field. Swim, track and gymnastics demand elite individual performances to form a greater part of a team's success.
Beach volleyball is a different story entirely. With only two players working side by side for each set, the ASU Sand Devils must foster strong bonds and communicate on and off the court to effectively dominate during their matches.
Redshirts seniors Ava Kirunchyk and Samaya Morin are a testament to the necessity of proper connection between beach volleyball partners and the edge that this powerful relationship brings to their game.
READ MORE: Court vs. Sand: How ASU beach volleyball diverges from its indoor counterpart
When Morin transferred to ASU during her junior season and recovered from a surgery that prevented her from playing, it was Kirunchyk who was "always down to do whatever" with her injured teammate. The two struck up a strong friendship that has endured to the present season.
The 2024-25 season saw both athletes play matches with different partners, testing out the dynamics between pairs to find the best fit for each Sand Devil.
"There's a big strategy behind it," head coach Kristen Glattfelder said. "You might look at two people on paper and be like, 'That is going to be an amazing partnership.' And then you put them together, and it's not."
However, when the team was not performing at the level it was capable of, Glattfelder and her beach volleyball team knew something needed to change.
Morin and Kirunchyk were both seeing success in their existing pair matchups, but they were ready to turn their friendship into fierce domination on the court and more victories for the Sand Devils.
"At first, they were a little reluctant because we are best friends, and they didn't know if we'd actually be able to play well together and have that serious side," Kirunchyk said.
That existing friendship proved crucial — not contrary — to the players' performances in their first season paired together. The two went 3-1 at the Big 12 Championships last season and were named to the Big 12 All-Conference Team.
Morin and Kirunchyk have learned how to use their intimate knowledge of one another's wants and needs as players to create smooth matches and run quick sets.
"Having that deeper level of connection helps mitigate issues in those high-pressure situations and allows us to foster the best environment for our specific needs," Morin said.
Glattfelder preaches the importance of pairs having "an identity of their partnership" and understanding the strengths and weaknesses inherent to any duo, but that require shared experience to fully understand.
In their second season playing together, both Morin and Kirunchyk have that experience and the wisdom to know how to complement one another's games — and how to communicate when something is not working during a set.
"No one can read your mind, so I think that's something that me and Samaya are really, really good at," Kirunchyk said. "Sometimes we literally over-communicate."
Additionally, the two have learned how to overlook small lapses in play or frustrations during losses by reminding themselves that these do not define the significant success they have seen as partners. These setbacks are simply "a moment in time," not the entire picture of the duo's dominant career.
Morin and Kirunchyk currently hold the season's team-best pairs record at 18-6. With only the COE Challenge and Big 12 Championship left on their schedule, the two are looking to continue their streak of supremacy and end their redshirt senior seasons on a high note.
"They want to win," Glattfelder said. "They're super competitive, and they'll do whatever it takes to do that."
Yet, as best friends and preeminent partners, this last ride is not only about accolades and accomplishments.
The 2025-26 season is a time for the two to say goodbye to the Sand Devils and underscore the value of their friendship as a cornerstone of their dominance.
"I want us to be in that flow state," Morin said. "I want to have fun. I want it to feel like how it used to when I was a kid."
Edited by Alan Deutschendorf, Jack McCarthy and Ellis Preston.
Reach the reporter at bcsmit41@asu.edu.
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Brooklyn Smith is a sports reporter for The State Press and an English Literature and Economics student at ASU. She is in her 2nd semester with The State Press.
