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LOS ANGELES — No. 1 UCLA (33-2) opened the 2023 Pac-12 Championship with a 3-0 sweep of eighth-seeded Utah (11-22) on Wednesday afternoon at Stanford’s Beach Volleyball Stadium. The Bruins earned their 19th sweep of the year, which is tied for the second-most in program history. UCLA also improved to 4-0 all-time against the Utes.
Graduate student Haley Hallgren and senior Rileigh Powers put the Bruins up 1-0 with an easy 21-12, 21-9 win on court three over Grace Andrews and Chloe Narancich. Powers and Hallgren improved to 30-1 on the year (1-0 o court two, 6-1 on court three, 18-0 on court four, and 5-0 on court five).
UCLA’s senior Devon Newberry and graduate student Jaden Whitmarsh quickly made it 2-0 and was met with little resistance en route to a 21-9, 21-11 win on court five over Azure McOmber and Sonja Wessel. The relatively new 2023 duo of Whitmarsh and Newberry.improved to 5-0 on the year (all on court five).
The Bruins’ senior Lexy Denaburg and freshman Maggie Boyd clinched the dual and the sweep with a 21-16, 21-13 win over Amaya Messier and Katie McAlister on court one. Denaburg and Boyd improved to 20-5 on the season (17-5 on court one and 3-0 on court two).
Graduate student Abby Van Winkle and junior Peri Brennan led 21-8, 12-3 on court two but there match was truncated. The match featuring graduate student Marlie Monserez and sophomore Jessie Smith on court four was also truncated. That Bruin duo was leading 21-14, 3-3 on court four.
UCLA returns to action tomorrow at fourth-seeded Stanford in the second winner’s bracket semifinal at 10:15 a.m. PT. The dual will be televised live on the Pac-12 Network.
No. 1 UCLA def. Utah, 3-0
Stanford Beach Volleyball Stadium • Stanford, Calif.
Wednesday, Apr. 26, 2023 • 3:30 PM
Records: UCLA (33-2), Utah (11-22)
1. Maggie Boyd/Lexy Denaburg (UCLA) def. Amaya Messier/Katie McAlister (UTAH) 21-16, 21-13
2. Abby Van Winkle/Peri Brennan (UCLA) def. Bella Bezzani/Abby Karich (UTAH) 21-8, 12-3
3. Haley Hallgren/Rileigh Powers (UCLA) def. Grace Andrews/Chloe Narancich (UTAH) 21-12, 21-9
4. Marlie Monserez/Jessie Smith (UCLA) def. Kylie Pitzak/Marissa Koch (UTAH) 21-14, 3-3
5. Devon Newberry/Jaden Whitmarsh (UCLA) def. Azure McOmber/Sonja Wessel (UTAH) 21-9,…
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