Huskies Prepped For Pac-12 Championships

THIS WEEK IN HUSKY BEACH VOLLEYBALL

PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS
Apr. 29-May 1
Los Angeles | Mapes Beach (UCLA)

First Round, Thursday, Apr. 29
(7) Washington at (2) UCLA, 9:45 a.m.
Live on Pac-12 Networks | Live Stats

SEATTLE – Washington is on its way to the Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Championships, looking to peak in the postseason as it has done many times in the past. The Huskies are the No. 7 seed in the nine team field and will open up on Thursday against second-ranked UCLA. The Bruins are the host for the tournament, which runs until Saturday at Mapes Beach in Los Angeles. Fans are not permitted at the event.
 
Every match at the Pac-12 Championships will be broadcast live on Pac-12 Networks or streamed online through Pac-12.com or the Pac-12 Now app.
 
The tournament is double elimination, with teams that take one loss dropping into the contender's bracket.
 
The Huskies (4-11) have pushed numerous ranked teams this season but are still looking to get over the hump and into the win column. The Dawgs had a 3-2 loss to 11th-ranked Cal, a 3-2 loss to then-No. 20 Arizona State, and a 3-2 loss to 15th-ranked Hawaii. With the top five seeds in the Pac-12 tournament all ranked in the top-11 nationally, the Huskies will have some more chances to pull off an upset, starting with the Bruins at 9:45 a.m. on Thursday.
 
Washington has been led all season by the duo of Shayne McPherson and Chloe Loreen, which has gone 11-4 in dual matches and 21-5 overall for a new single season wins record for a duo. The senior McPherson will leave as the winningest Beach Dawg ever, as she now has 65 overall wins and 55 dual wins, both school records.
 
Behind McPherson and Loreen, Head Coach Steve Whitaker has mixed pairings but recently found some strong results out of Avie Niece and Natalie Robinson at the No. 2 spot (4-6) and Kyra Petersen and Scarlett Dahl at the No. 3 spot (5-2). In recent matches, Hannah Yerex and Ashley Shook have gone 2-5 at No. 4 and Cassidy Schilling and Callie Weber have played every match for UW at No. 5 this year, going 3-12, but with four of those losses coming in third sets.
 
This year marks the fifth Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Championship. In the first three installments, the Huskies outperformed their seeding, finishing fourth in 2016 and 2018, and third in 2017. In 2019, the Huskies tied for seventh.