TUCSON, Ariz. -- The No. 5 Arizona Wildcats will continue in the Pac-12 Championship Winner's bracket after their 3-2 win over No. 4 Cal. In being the first match of the day to require five courts to decide the duel, the Cats fought hard to pull out the win. Having an overall program record of 6-4 against the Golden Bears, and having beaten them once this season, the Cats had a slight leg up in the competition. This translated into 2, two set wins and one three set win.
Alana Rennie/Alex Parkhurst earned the first point of the dual in favor of the Cats after going a quick 21-18, 21-12 on court one.
Alex Parkhurst's very own Arizona ???????? ??
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— Arizona Beach Volleyball (@ArizonaBVB) April 27, 2022
Parkhurst with an ?????? to win the Cats their first point ??
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— Arizona Beach Volleyball (@ArizonaBVB) April 27, 2022
Abby Russel/Dana Parker finished directly behind them, going 21-19, 21-4 on court four.
.@dana_parker12 with the ?????????????? placement ??
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— Arizona Beach Volleyball (@ArizonaBVB) April 27, 2022
With the Cats up 2-0 in the duel, both Sarah Blacker/Maja Kaiser and Jasmine Safar/Dilara Gedikoglu were fighting hard on their respective courts to clinch the match and end the faceoff. Ultimately, both fell back-to-back with Blacker/Kaiser going 13-21, 16-21 and Safar/Gedikoglu going 15-21, 11-21.
The match came down to Hope Shannon/Annie Kost on court five. After falling in the first set 21-16, the pair rallied back in a close 22-20 second set. The final set came down to point-by-point plays and a blocking error by the Golden Bears that won Arizona court five, and their first match of the Pac-12 Championship.
With the duel split at 2-2 this ?????? from @hopeshannon12 forces Court 5?? to a third set??
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— Arizona Beach Volleyball (@ArizonaBVB) April 27, 2022
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— Arizona Beach Volleyball (@ArizonaBVB) April 27, 2022
UP NEXT
The Wildcats will continue match play in the winners bracket on Thursday, April 28 at 11:30 a.m. MST when they take on No. 1 USC. This match will determine if the Cats will continue in the winner's bracket, or be knocked down to the contender's bracket.
FULL RESULTS
Arizona 3, California 2
1. Alana Rennie/Alex Parkhurst (ARIZ) def. Maya Gessner/Ana Costa (CAL) 21-18, 21-12
2. Ainsley Radell/Ashley Delgado (CAL) def. Sarah Blacker/Maja Kaiser (ARIZ) 21-13, 21-16
3. Lexi McKeown/Ella Dreibholz (CAL) def. Jasmine Safar/Dilara Gedikoglu (ARIZ) 21-15, 21-11
4. Abby Russell/Dana Parker (ARIZ) def. Brooke Buchner/Ava Mann (CAL) 21-19, 21-14
5. Hope Shannon/Annie Kost (ARIZ) def. Natalie Martin/Alex Young-Gomez (CAL) 16-21, 22-20, 16-14
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (1,4,2,3,5); California is #4 seed; Arizona is #5 seed