Ducks Beat UW, Earn Split on Day One

TUCSON, Ariz. – The Oregon beach volleyball team split two matches Saturday at the Pac-12 South Invitational, including a 3-2 win over Washington in the team's second match of the day. The Ducks improve to 8-5 with Saturday's results and match the program high for single-season wins. Oregon's victory over the Huskies is its first since 2014, the first year of the program.
 
MATCH ONE
 
Stanford won the opening sets in all five matchup and jumped out to a 2-0 lead with wins at the No. 4 and 5 spots in the lineup. However, the Ducks stuck close to the eighth-ranked team in the country by forcing third sets on courts one, two and three.
 
At No. 3 pairs, Alex Laita and Bea Wetton trailed early in the third but tied things up at 10-all after an extended rally. The Cardinal duo of Emma Morris and Taylor Wilson responded with a run of points to take the third set, 15-13, and clinch the team win.
 
With Stanford up 4-0 after a win on court two, Oregon had an opportunity for a point at the No. 1 spot with Reagan Hope and Brooke Nuneviller. The UO pair had four match points against Xolani Hodel and Kate Reily but Stanford rallied to win the frame, 18-16, for the final point on the scoreboard.
 
#8 Stanford 5, Oregon 0
1. Xolani Hodel/Kate Reilly (STAN) def. Reagan Hope/Brooke Nuneviller (ORE) – 21-19, 19-21, 18-16
2. Charlie Ekstrom/Maddi Kriz (STAN) def. Madelyn LaFollette/Daley McClellan (ORE) – 21-17, 16-21, 15-8
3. Emma Morris/Taylor Wilson (STAN) def. Alex Laita/Bea Wetton (ORE) – 21-12, 16-21, 15-13
4. Camdyn Doucet/Serena Turner (STAN) def. Ashley Schroeder/Ella Tyus (ORE) – 21-19, 21-17
5. Ellie Gamberdella/Kylee Matheson (STAN) def. Ally Haden/Savannah Siegrist (ORE) – 21-17, 21-16
Order of Finish: 5, 4, 3*, 2, 1 | * – clinch
 
MATCH TWO
 
The Ducks took the early lead with a point from Daley McClellan and Madelyn LaFollette at the No. 2 spot in the lineup. The UO pair notched a 21-15, 21-19 win over Scarlett Dahl and Kyra Petersen. The Huskies tied the match with a straight-set win of their own on court five.
 
Ashley Schroeder and Ella Tyus put Oregon back ahead with a three-set win at No. 4 pairs. Schroeder sealed the match—21-16, 10-21, 15-11—with a serve that the Washington duo couldn't handle. With the 2-1 lead, the attention turned to court three where Laita and Wetton were deep in a third set.
 
After dropping the first, the Ducks rallied all the way back with a three-set victory that was stamped by Laita's serve trickling over the tape and falling on the UW side. The win was the seventh of the season for the Laita-Wetton pair.
 
Mirroring the morning match against Stanford, the final match on court featured Hope and Nuneviller on court one. The UO pair dusted off a rough opener to win the second and force a decisive frame; the Huskies went on to win their second point with a three-set win.
 
Oregon 3, Washington 2
1. Chloe Loreen/Natalie Robinson (UW) def. Reagan Hope/Brooke Nuneviller (ORE) – 21-12, 24-26, 15-10
2. Madelyn LaFollette/Daley McClellan (ORE) def. Scarlett Dahl/Kyra Petersen (UW) – 21-15, 21-19
3. Alex Laita/Bea Wetton (ORE) def. Maeve Griffin/Audra Wilmes (UW) – 18-21, 21-15, 15-10
4. Ashley Schroeder/Ella Tyus (ORE) def. Emma Calle/Hannah Yerex (UW) – 21-16, 10-21, 15-11
5. Olivia Mikkelsen/Ashley Shook (UW) def. Batia Rotshtein/Savannah Siegrist (ORE) – 21-19, 21-14
Order of Finish: 2, 5, 4, 3*, 1 | * – clinch
 
Sunday's schedule at the Pac-12 South Invitational includes matchups against 11th-ranked Cal at 10 a.m. (PT) and Utah at 3 p.m. The matches will be streamed live and televised on Pac-12 Mountain with Anne Marie Anderson, Nicole Branagh, Camryn Irwin and Holly McPeak handling the commentary duties.
 
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