Cal Defeats ASU, Falls To UCLA

BVB4/29/2022 12:02 PM | By: Cal Athletics

Bears Finish Third At Pac-12 Championship

TUCSON, Ariz. – Fourth-seeded California beach volleyball defeated sixth-seed Arizona State without dropping a set to advance to the finals of the contenders bracket. However, the Bears dropped the match vs. No. 2 seed UCLA, 3-1, to end their run at the Pac-12 Championship on Friday at Bear Down Beach.
 
Cal finished the tournament in third place and moved to 26-12 on the season, bettering the school record for wins in a season that was initially set with Thursday’s victory over Stanford. The Bears will hope to have the opportunity to add to their record with their first appearance at the NCAA Championship. Cal will learn their fate at the NCAA Selection Show Saturday.

Ainsley Radell and Ashley Delgado were named to the Pac-12 All-Tournament Team after the duo went 3-0 with two unfinished matches in Cal’s five matches at the Pac-12 Tournament. The duo recorded wins over Arizona, Oregon and Stanford while playing at the No. 2 pair for the Bears. 

 

#4 Cal 3, #6 Arizona State 0

The Bears started Championship Friday with a convincing win over No. 6 seed Arizona State. The Bears won the first set on all five courts before completing the sweep as they did not drop a set vs. the Sun Devils.

 

Ana Costa and Maya Gessner got the Bears started with a straight set victory on court one. The duo, who has won four matchups against top 10 opponents since being put together a month ago, came out and was dominant with a 21-12, 21-15 victory to score the first point of the dual.

 

Ava Mann and Brooke Buchner were tied at 11 with the ASU pair after the fist 22 points in the first set, but the Bears finished the match outscoring ASU 11-7 to take the first set. They came back in the second set and won 21-18 to put the second point on the board for the Bears.

 

After a slow start, Lexi McKeown and Ella Dreibholz turned it on to secure a straight-set win and clinch the match for the Bears. The pair was down 9-12 at the technical timeout of the first set, but finished on a 12-7 run to claim the first set. They carried that momentum into the second set as they rolled to a 21-10 victory to clinch the match. McKeown and Dreibholz won their 23^rd match as a pair, tying for the second-most wins by a Cal pair in a season.

 

Ashley Delgado and Ainsley Radell won the first set on court two 21-9 and were on the verge of claiming a point for the…