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STANFORD, Calif. — No. 1 UCLA (34-3) stayed alive in the contender’s bracket with a 3-0 sweep of No. 20 Arizona (21-12) on Thursday evening at the 2023 Pac-12 Championship at Stanford’s Beach Volleyball Stadium. The Bruins improved to 11-2 all-time against the Wildcats with their ninth-straight win over Arizona. UCLA earned its 20th sweep of the year, which is the second-most in program history (the school record is 23 established in 2019).
Before the dual, graduate student Abby Van Winkle was honored by the league office when she was named Pac-12 Scholar Athlete of the Year (release coming soon).
Sophomore Jessie Smith and graduate student Marlie Monserez put the Bruins up 1-0 with a 21-12, 21-12, win over Arizona’s Kali Uhl and Dilara Gedikoglu on court four.
Then Van Winkle and junior Peri Brennan made it 2-0 with a 21-13, 21-11, victory on court two over the Wildcats’ Abby Russell and Hope Shannon. Van Winkle tied the UCLA all-time career record in victories (Izzy Carey, 2016-19) with 123 in the win over Arizona.
UCLA’s senior Lexy Denaburg and graduate student Kelli Greene-Agnew clinched the win on court one with a 21-10, 21-16 victory over the Wildcats’ Alex Parkhurst and Sarah Blacker. For Greene-Agnew, who has partnered with five different Bruins this season, it was her first time on court one (has been on every court except position three).
Graduate student Haley Hallgren and senior Rileigh Powers led Alana Rennie and Grace Cook on court three (21-12, 6-6) when time was called. Graduate student Jaden Whitmarsh and senior Devon Newberry also led on court five (21-14, 4-6) over Arizona’s Annie Kost and Miranda Erro when the match was called.
UCLA returns to action tomorrow in the contender’s bracket at 10:45 a.m. when they face No. 3 USC. The dual will be televised live on the Pac-12 Network.
No. 1 UCLA def. No. 20 Arizona, 3-0
Stanford Beach Volleyball Stadium • Stanford, Calif.
Thursday, Apr. 27, 2023 • 5:45 PM
Records: UCLA (34-3), Arizona (21-12)
1. Kelli Greene-Agnew/Lexy Denaburg (UCLA) def. Alex Parkhurst/Sarah Blacker (ARIZ) 21-10, 21-16
2. Abby Van Winkle/Peri Brennan (UCLA) def. Abby Russell/Hope Shannon (ARIZ) 21-13, 21-11
3. Haley Hallgren/Rileigh Powers (UCLA) vs. Alana Rennie/Grace Cook…
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