Utah Beach Volleyball Drops Pair of Matches To Close Out Pac-12 North Invitational
STANFORD, Calif – Utah Beach Volleyball dropped a pair of matches Sunday to close out the Pac-12 North Invitational. The Utes fell to Arizona State in the first match of the day before falling to No. 12 California to wrap up the weekend.
Against Arizona State, the Utes opened up the competition strong after courts two and four each recorded first set wins. Grace Andrews and Bella Vezzani produced a 21-16 win on court two in the first set, while Lauren Sayre and Sommer Daniel edged their opponents on court four 21-19. Although the 1-0 lead, the Ute pairs were both sent to a third set after dropping the second.
Andrews and Vezzani held strong to start, but a surge from the Sun Devils at the midway point of the set led to a 15-9 win. Sayre and Daniel played a tighter set, but could not pick up the win in the end and fell in the final few points to drop the set 15-12. Down 2-0, Utah couldn't get it going on the remaining three courts and Arizona State went on to complete the sweep.
Finishing the Pac-12 North Invitational against a ranked California squad, Utah dropped matches on court one and four in straight sets, while it was the No. 3 position for Cal that would clinch the match with a 21-12, 21-11 win over Utah's Marissa Koch and Samantha Leight.
Andrews and Vezzani had yet another three-set battle over on court two after taking the first set 23-21. The duo ultimately dropped the match after falling 15-10 in the third set. Cal finished the day for the Utes with a win on court five as well to complete the 5-0 victory.
Utah will take a week off from competition before hosting its sole home event of the year on Friday and Saturday, April 22-23. The Utes will play Salt Lake Community College and Arizona on Friday at 9 a.m. MT and 3 p.m. MT, respectively. Then, Utah will compete against Boise State at 9 a.m. MT on Saturday, followed by its match against Cal Poly at 3 p.m. MT in Salt Lake City.
Arizona State 5, Utah 0
1. Lexi Sweeney/Cierra Flood (ASU) def. Sage Patchell/Amaya Messier (UU) 21-14, 21-11
2. Lila Bordia/Anya Pemberton (ASU) def. Grace Andrews/Bella Vezzani (UU) 16-21, 21-15, 15-9
3. Sarah Waters/Rylie Kael (ASU) def. Marissa Koch/Samantha Leight (UU) 21-9, 21-17
4. Kate Fitzgerald/Kylie Wickley (ASU) def. Lauren Sayre/Sommer Daniel (UU) 19-21, 21-18, 15-12
5. Taryn Ames/Maddy Salazar (ASU) def. Kylie Pitzak/Sydney Jacinto (UU) 21-16, 21-8
Exh. Camille Lee/Stef Jankiewicz (UU) vs. Lauren Weintraub/Shane Burleson (ASU) 21-19, 18-21, unf.
Order of finish: 4,2,5,1,3
#12 California 5, Utah 0
1. Ainsley Radell/Ava Mann (Cal) def. Sage Patchell/Amaya Messier (UU) 21-11, 21-16
2. Ana Costa/Maya Gessner (Cal) def. Grace Andrews/Bella Vezzani (UU) 21-23, 21-10, 15-10
3. Lexi McKeown/Ella Dreibholz (Cal) def. Marissa Koch/Samantha Leight (UU) 21-12, 21-11
4. Ella Sears/Natalie Martin (Cal) def. Lauren Sayre/Sommer Daniel (UU) 21-17, 21-12
5. Ashley Delgado/Alex Young-Gomez (Cal) def. Kylie Pitzak/Sydney Jacinto (UU) 21-13, 21-12
Order of finish: 1,4,3,2,5