Fourth-Seeded Bears Knocked Out Of Pac-12 Championship

TEMPE, Ariz. – The Pac-12 Championship came to a close for the fourth-seeded California beach volleyball team Thursday evening. After suffering a 3-1 loss to No. 1 USC to start the day, the Golden Bears were edged out by sixth-seeded, tournament host Arizona State 3-2.
 
Cal will now await Sunday's NCAA selection show to find out if it will be making it's third-straight trip to Gulf Shores, Alabama. The show begins at 8 a.m. on NCAA.com.
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#1 USC  3, #4 Cal 1
The Bears got off to a hot start against the nation's top team with the duo of Portia Sherman and Jenna Colligan earning the first dual point on court five 21-16, 21-17. The two sophomores are now a perfect 6-0 together.
 
The Trojans earned straight-set wins on courts one, three, and four to advance to the semifinal and knock the Bears down to the consolation bracket.
 
1 Laynie Maple/Megan Craft (USC) def. Sierra Caffo/Alexandria Young-Gomez (Cal) 21-10, 21-12
2 Madison White/Maddi Kriz (USC) vs. Emma Donley/Kendall Peters (Cal) 23-21, 8-13, uf
3 Audrey Nourse/Nicole Nourse (USC) def. Gia Fisher/Marilu Pally (Cal) 25-23, 21-15
4 Ashley Pater/Grace Seits (USC) def. Ella Dreibholz/Lara Boos (Cal) 21-14 21-12
5 Portia Sherman/Jenna Colligan (Cal) def. Mabyn Thomas/Madison Goellner (USC) 21-16, 21-17
Order of finish: 5, 3, 1, 4*
 
#6 Arizona State 3, #4 Cal 2
Nothing came easy for either team in the evening elimination dual with four matches going to three sets. It was the first contest of the tournament to go down to the wire.
 
The Sun Devils, fueled by their home crowd, grabbed the first dual point with a three-set win on court three, but Sherman and Colligan evened things up with another win on five.
 
In the top spot, Sierra Caffo and Alexandria Young-Gomez found themselves down 17-14 in the second set and went on an 8-3 run to force a tiebreaker. The Bears held match point for three straight rallies but ultimately fell 19-21, 22-20, 16-14.
 
In a must-win situation on court two, Emma Donley and Kendall Peters took care of business earning the sole sweep of the night 21-12, 21-13.
 
With the dual tied at 2-2 it came down to court four where Lara Boos and Ella Dreibholz found themselves trailing 7-1 in the third set. Using a 5-0 run the Bear pair clawed its way back to tie it up at 8 apiece. Cal staved off multiple match points, but the Sun Devils went the distance to win it 20-18.
 
1 Ava Williamson/Daniella Kensinger (ASU) def. Sierra Caffo/Alexandria Young-Gomez (Cal) 21-19, 20-22, 16-14
2 Emma Donley/Kendall Peters (Cal) def. Anya Pemberton/Arden Besecker 21-12, 21-13
3 Lexi Sweeney/Taryn Ames (ASU) def. Gia Fisher/Marilu Pally (Cal) 21-17, 14-21, 15-9
4 Katie Fitzgerald/Ava Kirunchyk (ASU) def. Ella Dreibholz/Lara Boos (Cal) 21-17, 14-21, 20-18
5 Portia Sherman/Jenna Colligan (Cal) def. Ava Haughy/Adri Nieves Papaleo (ASU) 21-18, 25-27, 15-11
Order of finish: 3, 5, 1, 2, 4