LOS ANGELES – After picking up another top-20 win, Arizona State beach volleyball ended its run at the Pac-12 Championships on Friday with a rematch against No. 10 Cal, this time ending in a 3-1 loss for the Sand Devils.
The Sun Devils (21-14) capped off its best outing at the conference championships in program history, another record for this 2019 season. Arizona State started the day with a loss to No. 2 USC, who will compete in the championship match on Saturday. ASU bounced back by beating No. 20 Stanford, 3-1, to get to a rematch with Cal. However, the Bears came out on top this time, 3-1.
Match One – No. 2 USC 3, ASU 0
In the quarterfinals match, the Sun Devils fell to the No. 2 seeded Trojans, 3-0. At the Pac-12 Championships, matches are suspended once the dual is clinched. ASU dropped the matches in the first flight on courts four and five, then USC took the match on the top court to clinch it.
Results (Order of Finish: 4, 5, 1*)
1) Abril Bustamante/Tina Graudina (USC) def. Oluoma Okaro/Ashley Wenz (ASU) 21-17, 21-12
2) Terese Cannon/Sammy Slater (USC) vs. Katelyn Carballo/Katie Cross (ASU) 21-13, 18-17 DNF
3) Haley Hallgren/Alexandra Poletto (USC) vs. Emily Anderson/Lauren Weintraub (ASU) 21-17, 14-7 DNF
4) Joy Dennis/Maja Kaiser (USC) def. Kate Baldwin/Samantha Plaster (ASU) 21-17, 21-17
5) Cammie Dorn/Mollie Ebertin (USC) def. Cierra Flood/Ellyson Lundberg (ASU) 22-20, 21-17
Match Two – ASU 3, No. 20 Stanford 1
The Sand Devils bounced back against the No. 5 seed Stanford, their second upset of the tournament. The Cardinal is ranked No. 20 in the AVCA Coaches Poll, giving the Sun Devils their third ranked win of the season, second of this tournament.
The No. 4 and No. 5 pairs for ASU got things rolling in the first flight. Baldwin and Plaster dominated their match in two, but Flood and Lundberg had to battle to three sets, winning the third in a dramatic 15-13 victory. After Stanford took the second court to make it 2-1 in the dual, Okaro and Wenz wrapped up their match in two sets to clinch the win.
Results (Order of Finish: 4, 5, 2, 1*)
1) Oluoma Okaro/Ashley Wenz (ASU) def. Tori Ashkinos/Charlie Ekstrom (STAN) 21-14, 21-17
2) Morgan Hentz/Sunny Villapando (STAN) def. Katelyn Carballo/Katie Cross (ASU) 21-16, 21-17
3) Blake Sharp/Amelia Smith (STAN) vs. Emily Anderson/Lauren Weintraub (ASU) 21-15, 20-18 DNF
4) Kate Baldwin/Samantha Plaster (ASU) def. Maddie Dailey/Jordan McKinney (STAN) 21-10, 21-12
5) Cierra Flood/Ellyson Lundberg (ASU) def. Kat Anderson/Chelsea Mohl (STAN) 17-21, 21-14, 15-13
Match Three – No. 10 Cal 3, ASU 1
The win over Stanford set up a rematch between Arizona State and Cal. ASU won on Thursday, 3-2. The Sun Devils struck first with a win on court five. Flood and Lundberg got revenge on the Cal duo that beat them on Thursday, taking it in two. Baldwin and Plaster battled to force a third set in their match. However, they came up short, allowing the Bears to tie the dual at 1-1.
The Sun Devils ran out of steam in the second flight. ASU dropped the matches on courts two and three in two sets, giving Cal the 3-1 win. Okaro and Wenz won their first set on the top court, but the match was decided at that point.
Results (Order of Finish: 5, 4, 2, 3*)
1) Oluoma Okaro/Ashley Wenz (ASU) vs. Mima Mirkovic/Carolina Schafer (CAL) 21-16, 17-16 DNF
2) Maddie Micheletti/Jordan Polo (CAL) def. Katelyn Carballo/Katie Cross (ASU) 21-17, 21-13
3) Grace Campbell/Iya Lindahl (CAL) def. Emily Anderson/Lauren Weintraub (ASU) 21-11, 21-14
4) Alexia Inman/Mia Merino (CAL) def. Kate Baldwin/Samantha Plaster (ASU) 21-13, 17-21, 15-8
5) Cierra Flood/Ellyson Lundberg (ASU) def. Madison Dueck/Abby Waldburger (CAL) 21-18, 21-12
The Sun Devils (21-14) capped off its best outing at the conference championships in program history, another record for this 2019 season. Arizona State started the day with a loss to No. 2 USC, who will compete in the championship match on Saturday. ASU bounced back by beating No. 20 Stanford, 3-1, to get to a rematch with Cal. However, the Bears came out on top this time, 3-1.
Match One – No. 2 USC 3, ASU 0
In the quarterfinals match, the Sun Devils fell to the No. 2 seeded Trojans, 3-0. At the Pac-12 Championships, matches are suspended once the dual is clinched. ASU dropped the matches in the first flight on courts four and five, then USC took the match on the top court to clinch it.
Results (Order of Finish: 4, 5, 1*)
1) Abril Bustamante/Tina Graudina (USC) def. Oluoma Okaro/Ashley Wenz (ASU) 21-17, 21-12
2) Terese Cannon/Sammy Slater (USC) vs. Katelyn Carballo/Katie Cross (ASU) 21-13, 18-17 DNF
3) Haley Hallgren/Alexandra Poletto (USC) vs. Emily Anderson/Lauren Weintraub (ASU) 21-17, 14-7 DNF
4) Joy Dennis/Maja Kaiser (USC) def. Kate Baldwin/Samantha Plaster (ASU) 21-17, 21-17
5) Cammie Dorn/Mollie Ebertin (USC) def. Cierra Flood/Ellyson Lundberg (ASU) 22-20, 21-17
Match Two – ASU 3, No. 20 Stanford 1
The Sand Devils bounced back against the No. 5 seed Stanford, their second upset of the tournament. The Cardinal is ranked No. 20 in the AVCA Coaches Poll, giving the Sun Devils their third ranked win of the season, second of this tournament.
The No. 4 and No. 5 pairs for ASU got things rolling in the first flight. Baldwin and Plaster dominated their match in two, but Flood and Lundberg had to battle to three sets, winning the third in a dramatic 15-13 victory. After Stanford took the second court to make it 2-1 in the dual, Okaro and Wenz wrapped up their match in two sets to clinch the win.
Results (Order of Finish: 4, 5, 2, 1*)
1) Oluoma Okaro/Ashley Wenz (ASU) def. Tori Ashkinos/Charlie Ekstrom (STAN) 21-14, 21-17
2) Morgan Hentz/Sunny Villapando (STAN) def. Katelyn Carballo/Katie Cross (ASU) 21-16, 21-17
3) Blake Sharp/Amelia Smith (STAN) vs. Emily Anderson/Lauren Weintraub (ASU) 21-15, 20-18 DNF
4) Kate Baldwin/Samantha Plaster (ASU) def. Maddie Dailey/Jordan McKinney (STAN) 21-10, 21-12
5) Cierra Flood/Ellyson Lundberg (ASU) def. Kat Anderson/Chelsea Mohl (STAN) 17-21, 21-14, 15-13
Match Three – No. 10 Cal 3, ASU 1
The win over Stanford set up a rematch between Arizona State and Cal. ASU won on Thursday, 3-2. The Sun Devils struck first with a win on court five. Flood and Lundberg got revenge on the Cal duo that beat them on Thursday, taking it in two. Baldwin and Plaster battled to force a third set in their match. However, they came up short, allowing the Bears to tie the dual at 1-1.
The Sun Devils ran out of steam in the second flight. ASU dropped the matches on courts two and three in two sets, giving Cal the 3-1 win. Okaro and Wenz won their first set on the top court, but the match was decided at that point.
Results (Order of Finish: 5, 4, 2, 3*)
1) Oluoma Okaro/Ashley Wenz (ASU) vs. Mima Mirkovic/Carolina Schafer (CAL) 21-16, 17-16 DNF
2) Maddie Micheletti/Jordan Polo (CAL) def. Katelyn Carballo/Katie Cross (ASU) 21-17, 21-13
3) Grace Campbell/Iya Lindahl (CAL) def. Emily Anderson/Lauren Weintraub (ASU) 21-11, 21-14
4) Alexia Inman/Mia Merino (CAL) def. Kate Baldwin/Samantha Plaster (ASU) 21-13, 17-21, 15-8
5) Cierra Flood/Ellyson Lundberg (ASU) def. Madison Dueck/Abby Waldburger (CAL) 21-18, 21-12