No. 15 Stetson Is Not Here to Play Hatters Take Down FIU at the Sparky Invitational

The Sparky Invitational in Tempe this weekend has all the ingredients of a great beach volleyball event: ranked teams, senior day celebrations, and some results nobody saw coming. No. 15 Stetson showed up to Arizona State’s home tournament today and handled FIU, proving this program is absolutely for real in 2026.

The Hatters came into the weekend riding serious momentum. Stetson went 3-0 at the North Florida Invite last weekend, knocking off No. 14 Florida Atlantic and No. 17 North Florida along the way.

FIU had its own solid showing recently, going 4-1 at the Eagle Invitational, so this wasn’t a pushover matchup.

Meanwhile, the hosts, No. 12 Arizona State, have their own story going this weekend. It’s senior day for seven Sand Devils: Arden Besecker, McKenna Flaherty, Reagan Hope, Daniella Kensinger, Ava Kirunchyk, Samaya Morin, and Kendall Whitmarsh, who get to close out their home careers at the Sparky Invitational. The top court pair of Kirunchyk and Morin is 15-6 on the season and has been one of the most consistent duos in the country. Daniella Kensinger is sitting just one win away from 75 career victories on senior day.

ASU also faces No. 15 Stetson tomorrow, which, after today’s result, is going to be must-watch beach volleyball.

The 2026 beach season is absolutely delivering. VolleyTea will be watching every court. 🏐