Utah Beach Volleyball Falls To #17 Arizona, Washington
STANFORD, Calif. – The Utah beach volleyball team opened action at the Pac-12 North Invitational on Saturday, dropping matches to No. 17 Arizona and Washington. Utah will play two more matches on Sunday to complete the Pac-12 North Invitational, which is hosted by Stanford.
Utah played its third-straight ranked opponent to start the conference weekend and fell to the No. 17-ranked Wildcats 5-0. Arizona took a quick win on court one to lead 1-0, but the second point of the dual did not come easy as Sommer Daniel and Lauren Sayre battled in three sets on court four. Sayre and Daniel fell in the first set, but won the second set swiftly 21-11. The rally ultimately came up shy of the win, however, as the Wildcat duo won 15-11 in the third set.
Trailing 2-0, Utah fell in the match clinching court as Grace Andrews and Bella Vezzani came up short in straight sets. The Wildcats picked up another win on court three, while Utah's 5s of Sydney Jacinto and Kylie Pitzak managed to force a third set. Looking to put a point on the board, the Ute duo couldn't get it done and fell 15-7 in the third set.
Utah began its second match of the day falling behind in a 1-0 hole early after the 2s for the Utes fell in a competitive match 21-18, 21-18. Shortly after, Sayre and Daniel put up a dual point after battling through a three-set victory on court four. Sayre and Daniel won the opening set 21-16 and went on to a third after falling short the set before. The duo led 12-8 in the decisive third set and although letting Washington's pair tie the score 12-12, Sayre and Daniel scored three consecutive to end the match.
The Huskies responded on court five after collecting a straight-set win to regain the lead in the team dual 2-1. The momentum was in Washington's hands as the pair of Huskies on court one continued to rack up points and eventually saw the top Ute pair fall 21-11, 21-12 to clinch the match 3-1. The final court of the day came down to the 3s as Marissa Koch and Samantha Leight fell in a competitive match 21-16, 22-20.
The Utes will compete against Arizona State at 9 a.m. MT tomorrow morning and will have the match also televised on Pac-12 Bay Area. Utah and No. 12 California will play at 12 p.m. MT to close out the conference weekend.
#17 Arizona 5, Utah 0
1. Alex Parkhurst/Alana Rennie (UA) def. Amaya Messier/Sage Patchell (UU) 21-14, 21-12
2. Sarah Blacker/Maja Kaier (UA) def. Bella Vezzani/Grace Andrews (UU) 21-13, 21-15
3. Dilara Gedikoglu/Jasmine Safar (UA) def. Marissa Koch/Samantha Leight (UU) 21-14, 21-10
4. Dana Parker/Abby Russel (UA) Lauren Sayre/Sommer Daniel (UU) 16-21, 21-11, 15-11
5. Annie Kost/Hope Shannon (UA) def. Kylie Pitzak/Sydney Jacinto (UU) 21-17, 16-21, 15-7
Exh. Summer McDonough/Jordyn Nichols (UA) def. Camille Lee/Stef Jankiewicz (UU) 21-17, 33-31
Order of finish: 1,4,2,3,5
Washington 4, Utah 1
1. Natalie Robinson/Chloe Loreen (UW) def. Amaya Messier/Sage Patchell (UU) 21-11, 21-12
2. Kyra Petersen/Scarlett Dahl (UW) def. Bella Vezzani/Grace Andrews (UU) 21-18, 21-18
3. Audra Wilmes/Paloma Bowman (UW) def. Marissa Koch/Samantha Leight (UU) 21-16, 22-20
4. Lauren Sayre/Sommer Daniel (UU) def. Emma Calle/Hannah Yerex (UW) 21-16, 19-21, 15-12
5. Ashley Shook/Olivia Mikkelsen (UW) def. Kylie Pitzak/Sydney Jacinto (UU) 21-13, 21-14
Exh. Camille Lee/Stef Jankiewicz (UU) def. Asha Johnson/Audra Wilmes (UW) 21-19, 21-16
Order of finish: 2,4,5,1,3