LOS ANGELES—The No. 5 seeded Arizona State beach volleyball team dropped a 3-2 heartbreaker to No. 4 seeded California in the team bracket opener at the Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Championships, hosted by USC at Merle Norman Stadium.
With the double-elimination format, the Sand Devils will take on No. 8 seeded Oregon in the win or go home Contenders Bracket on Saturday at 9 a.m. PT.
Each of ASU’s five seeds went three sets, starting with the No. 4s and No. 5s. Bethany Wedepohl and Jourdan Parnell picked up the first win in ASU’s favor, defeating Cal’s No. 4s Teya Neff and Kaitlyn Uythoven, 18-21, 21-14, 15-8.
At No. 5, Frances Giedraitis and Logan Rae won the opening set over Rachel Wilson and Katie Regalia, 23-21, before dropping the second set, 21-14. In the third set, the Sand Devil duo rattled off five straight points to secure the win, 15-8.
Cal went on to pick up the three wins it needed to secure the victory, each in three sets, including defeating ASU’s No. 1s, Bianca Arellano and Whitney Follette, who played 11 sets in two days so far throughout the tournament.
On the pairs side, No. 4 seeded Arellano and Follette started the day in the semifinals, falling to USC’s No. 1 seeded Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes, 21-13, 21-15.
No. 4 California 3, No. 5 Arizona State 2
No. 1 Sarah Cole & Mia Merino (Cal) def. Bianca Arellano & Whitney Follette (ASU): 18-21, 21-16, 15-11
No. 2 Kory Lamet & Bryce Bark (Cal) def. Kwyn Johnson & Natalie Braun (ASU): 20-22, 21-12, 15-9
No. 3 Grace Campbell & Olivia Rodberg (Cal) def. Madison Berridge & Mia Rivera (ASU): 21-14, 17-21, 15-9
No. 4 Bethany Wedepohl & Jourdan Parnell (ASU) def. Teya Neff & Kaitlyn Uythoven (Cal): 18-21, 21-14, 15-8
No. 5 Frances Giedraitis & Logan Rae (ASU) def. Rachel Wilson & Katie Regalia (Cal): 23-21, 15-21, 15-13
Order of Finish: 4, 5, 3, 2, 1*
*Clinched win
Pairs Results
Semifinals
No. 1 Kelly Claes & Sara Hughes (USC) def. No. 4 Bianca Arellano & Whitney Follette (ASU): 21-13, 21-15