It wasn’t an ordinary opening match.
Going into their opening game at the Sun Devil Challenge, ASU wasn’t getting set to enter a cakewalk.
They were warming up to face one of the most dominant forces in the history of collegiate beach volleyball.
After falling to the Trojans by scores of 5-0 and 4-1 last season, the Sun Devils proved their worth Saturday night, falling just one match short of knocking off the three-time defending national champions, three games to two.
Arizona State’s No. 5 team of Samantha Plaster and Kate Baldwin put together the Sun Devils’ first win of the night, defeating Trojan seniors Jenna Belton and Jo Kremer in two set victories of 21-19 and 21-18.