LOS ANGELES – With an intense three-set win on court two to clinch it, No. 6 seed Arizona State beach volleyball upset No. 3 seed Cal 3-2 in the opening round of the Pac-12 Championships at Merle Norman Stadium on Thursday.
The Sun Devils (20-12) picked a great time to earn their second win over a top-20 team this year, with the Bears being ranked No. 11 in the latest AVCA poll. Arizona State will move on to the next round of this double-elimination championship to a matchup against No. 2 USC at 10:30 a.m. PDT. The winner of that match will play at 4:30 p.m. and the loser will play at 1:30 p.m. PDT. For the complete bracket, head to the Pac-12's website.
With the dual tied 2-2, it all came down to the match on court two. Katelyn Carballo and Katie Cross won the first set, but their opponents came back to take the second. The third set was back and forth until the Sand Devils started to pull away, winning 15-12 on a kill from Cross.
Kate Baldwin and Samantha Plaster added to their career pairs record with a win at the No. 4 spot. They took down the Bears duo in two sets, 21-14, 21-17, to take the 1-0 lead in the dual. However, Cal answered back with a two-set win on court five to tie the match at 1-1.
After Cal took the point on court three, the top pair of Oluoma Okaro and Ashley Wenz tied up the dual at 2-2 with their win. They won in two sets, but both sets were tight contests.
Results (Order of Finish: 4, 5, 3, 1, 2*)
1) Oluoma Okaro/Ashley Wenz (ASU) def. Mima Mirkovic/Carolina Schafer (CAL) 21-19, 21-18
2) Katelyn Carballo/Katie Cross (ASU) def. Maddie Micheletti/Jordan Polo (CAL) 21-14, 17-21, 15-12
3) Grace Campbell/Iya Lindahl (CAL) def. Emily Anderson/Lauren Weintraub (ASU) 21-17, 21-13
4) Kate Baldwin/Samantha Plaster (ASU) def. Alexia Inman/Mia Merino (CAL) 21-14, 21-17
5) Madison Dueck/Abby Waldburger (CAL) def. Cierra Flood/Ellyson Lundberg (ASU) 21-16, 21-19
All matches at the Pac-12 Championships can be seen on the Pac-12 Network. The first match tomorrow will be at 10:30 a.m. PDT against No. 2 USC. Follow along on Twitter and Instagram, @SunDevilBeachVB, for updates.
The Sun Devils (20-12) picked a great time to earn their second win over a top-20 team this year, with the Bears being ranked No. 11 in the latest AVCA poll. Arizona State will move on to the next round of this double-elimination championship to a matchup against No. 2 USC at 10:30 a.m. PDT. The winner of that match will play at 4:30 p.m. and the loser will play at 1:30 p.m. PDT. For the complete bracket, head to the Pac-12's website.
With the dual tied 2-2, it all came down to the match on court two. Katelyn Carballo and Katie Cross won the first set, but their opponents came back to take the second. The third set was back and forth until the Sand Devils started to pull away, winning 15-12 on a kill from Cross.
Kate Baldwin and Samantha Plaster added to their career pairs record with a win at the No. 4 spot. They took down the Bears duo in two sets, 21-14, 21-17, to take the 1-0 lead in the dual. However, Cal answered back with a two-set win on court five to tie the match at 1-1.
After Cal took the point on court three, the top pair of Oluoma Okaro and Ashley Wenz tied up the dual at 2-2 with their win. They won in two sets, but both sets were tight contests.
Results (Order of Finish: 4, 5, 3, 1, 2*)
1) Oluoma Okaro/Ashley Wenz (ASU) def. Mima Mirkovic/Carolina Schafer (CAL) 21-19, 21-18
2) Katelyn Carballo/Katie Cross (ASU) def. Maddie Micheletti/Jordan Polo (CAL) 21-14, 17-21, 15-12
3) Grace Campbell/Iya Lindahl (CAL) def. Emily Anderson/Lauren Weintraub (ASU) 21-17, 21-13
4) Kate Baldwin/Samantha Plaster (ASU) def. Alexia Inman/Mia Merino (CAL) 21-14, 21-17
5) Madison Dueck/Abby Waldburger (CAL) def. Cierra Flood/Ellyson Lundberg (ASU) 21-16, 21-19
All matches at the Pac-12 Championships can be seen on the Pac-12 Network. The first match tomorrow will be at 10:30 a.m. PDT against No. 2 USC. Follow along on Twitter and Instagram, @SunDevilBeachVB, for updates.