Beach Volleyball swept by No. 8 GCU and No. 18 Stanford

It was a tough day in the sand for Arizona State beach volleyball (3-4) against a pair of top-20 opponents. No. 8 Grand Canyon (8-4) and No. 18 Stanford (7-3) both beat the Sun Devils 4-1 on Thursday.

The Lopes took the last four courts in a sweeping fashion, winning each one in two sets. Katelyn Carballo and Lexi Sweeney earned Arizona State’s lone point against GCU. The Sun Devil pairing took the first set and rebounded after the second set loss to secure the point with 15-10 win. It marked Carballo’s 61st career win thus tying her for the most in program history.

The result against the Cardinal was basically flipped. Despite Carballo and Sweeney pushing their match into a third set, only Lila Bordis and Samantha Plaster brought in a point for the Sun Devils. Following a tight first set in which Stanford’s Abby Converse and Emmy Sharp won, Bordis and Plaster took the next two 23-21 and 15-12 to avoid the sweep.

Arizona State will see Stanford again on Sunday as part of the Pac-12 South Tournament in Tucson. The Sun Devils will meet Washington and No. 4 UCLA on Saturday, and then the Cardinal and No. 18 Arizona on March 28.