Arizona Splits Two Matches at Pac-12 Championship

PALO ALTO, Calif. – The Arizona beach volleyball team went 1-1 on Wednesday at the Pac-12 Championship hosted by Stanford University, falling to No. 2 seed USC, 3-0, and then defeating No. 9 seed Oregon, 3-0, to finish the day. 

The Wildcats advance in the Contenders bracket to take on No. 6 seed Arizona State at 1:45 p.m. PT on Thursday, where the winning team will advance and the losing team will be eliminated from the tournament. 

In the opening match against the Trojans, Annie Kost and Mirana Erro won their second set but ultimately lost in the decisive third set, 15-8. Alana Rennie and Grace Cook dropped their match at the 3’s in two sets, as did Alex Parkhurst and Sarah Blacker at the 1’s. 

In the elimination match later in the day against No. 9 seed Oregon, the Wildcats cruised to the 3-0 victory, picking up wins at the 1’s, 3’s and 5’s.  

The win for Sarah Blacker against Oregon is the 91st of her career, extending her program record. 

#2 seed USC 3, #7 seed Arizona 0 

First Round – Pac-12 Championship 

Stanford Beach Volleyball Stadium 

1) Megan Kraft/Laynie Maple (USC) def. Alex Parkhurst/Sarah Blacker (ARIZ), 21-19, 21-15 

2) Madison White/Madison Shields (USC) vs. Abby Russell/Hope Shannon (ARIZ), 25-24 unfinished 

3) Audrey Nourse/Nicole Nourse (USC) def. Alana Rennie/Grace Cook (ARIZ), 21-11, 21-14 

4) Delaney Karl/Ashlyn Rasnick-Pope (USC) vs. Kali Uhl/Dilara Gedikoglu (ARIZ), 16-15 unfinished 

5) Olivia Bakos/Gabby Walker (USC) def. Annie Kost/Miranda Erro (ARIZ), 21-10, 17-21, 15-8 

Order of finish: 3,5,1 

#7 seed Arizona 3, #9 seed Oregon 0 

Contenders Bracket – Pac-12 Championship 

Stanford Beach Volleyball Stadium 

1) Alex Parkhurst/Sarah Blacker (ARIZ) def. Chloe Brown/Zoe Almanza (ORE), 23-21, 21-12 

2) Abby Russell/Hope Shannon (ARIZ) vs. Bea Wetton/Ella Tyus, 16-21, 18-9, unfinished 

3) Alana Rennie/Grace Cook (ARIZ) def. Batia Rotshtein/Valerie Peterson, 21-11, 21-12 

4) Kali Uhl/Dilara Gedikoglu (ARIZ) vs. Ashley Schroeder/Natasha George, 21-15, 9-4, unfinished 

5) Annie Kost/Miranda Erro (ARIZ) def. Abby Plevin/Presley McCaskill, 21-15, 21-13 

Order of finish: 3, 5, 1 

…