Robinson, Loreen Win National Beach Pair Of The Week

SEATTLE – For the first time in the program’s ten year history, Washington Beach Volleyball has the AVCA National Pair of the Week. Seniors Natalie Robinson and Chloe Loreen have won the honor for the season’s opening weekend, after going 4-0 at the No. 1 spot at the Seminole Beach Bash in Tallahassee, Florida.
 
The 20th-ranked Beach Dawgs went 2-2 at Florida State, getting top-20 wins over No. 16 Florida International and No. 19 South Carolina, and falling against No. 2 Florida State, last year’s NCAA runner-up, and a receiving votes Coastal Carolina squad. But Robinson and Loreen led the way at the top spot, starting their dual season undefeated.
 
What’s more, Robinson’s first win of the season was the 68th of her career, giving her the most wins in UW Beach Volleyball history, breaking a tie with Shayne McPherson. She’s now up to 71 wins, and Loreen is close behind, as she also passed McPherson for second-place with 68 wins.
 
In the season-opening 3-2 win over FIU on Saturday, Loreen and Robinson defeated Ribeiro/Pokorna, 21-13, 21-18, in the 3-2 Husky win. The biggest win of the week for the duo came against FSU’s Anderson/Kalkhoff, where the Huskies battled through a marathon 24-22, 16-21, 20-18 victory. Anderson was an AVCA First Team All-American last year and Kalkhoff was a Second Team pick.
 
On Sunday, the Huskies took down the Gamecocks, 3-2, with Robinson/Loreen getting another hard-earned win at the top spot, as they came from behind to beat Allen/Priebe, 17-21, 23-21, 15-10. They finished up the weekend with a 21-16, 21-15 win over Coastal Carolina’s top pair.
 
The two wins over ranked opponents in the first week of the season already equals the total ranked wins the Huskies had in all of 2022. But prior to 2022, the Huskies hadn’t had a top-20 win since 2018.

Robinson and Loreen further made a name for themselves during the fall, when they advanced to the semifinals of the inaugural AVCA Pairs National Championships in Hunstville, Alabama.