SALT LAKE CITY – The 17th-ranked Arizona beach volleyball team made it’s final road trip of the 2022 regular season on Friday, traveling to Salt Lake City where they were scheduled to play No. 13 Cal Poly and Utah.
In the morning match against Cal Poly, four of the five matches went to a decisive third. Arizona won two of the three-set matches by a total of six points while Cal Poly also won two of the three-set matches by a combined five points.
The duo of Sarah Blacker and Maja Kaiser on court 2 improved to 22-6 on the season and have won nine of their last 11 after a thrilling come-from-behind win over Piper Ferch and Jayelin Limbard, winning set two by a score of 27-25 and the third set by a score of 15-13 after dropping the opening set, 21-14.
The other win for the Wildcats came on court 3, where Dilara Gedikoglu and Jasmine Safar also rallied to win the final two sets after losing the first set. After Cal Poly won the first set, 21-19, the Wildcats took set two, 21-18 and then held on for the 15-13 win in the final set.
Court 4 saw Abby Russell and Dana Parker drop the first set before coming back to win set two, 25-23. In the third set, Cal Poly pulled out the 15-12 win.
On court 5, it was yet another close match for Annie Kost and Hope Shannon, as they raced out to a 21-12 win in set one. After Cal Poly took the second set, Arizona came up two points short – 15-13 – in the final set.
And on court 1, it was Alex Parkhurst and Alana Rennie falling two sets to the Mustangs.
Arizona was scheduled to play Utah in the afternoon, but inclement weather in the area forced the match to be cancelled. The two teams did compete against each other in an exhibition match at the indoor facility on Utah’s campus.
The Wildcats will return home to host the Pac-12 Championship at Bear Down Beach this week (April 27-29). Admission is free each day, with matches starting at 9:00 a.m. each day and all matches being televised live on Pac-12 Networks.
Dual Result
#13 Cal Poly – 3, #17 Arizona – 2
Court 1: Ella Connor/Tia Miric (CP) def. Alex Parkhurst/Alana Rennie (ARIZ), 21-11, 21-17
Court 2: Sarah Blacker/Maja Kaiser (ARIZ) def. Piper Ferch/Jayelin Limbard (CP), 14-21, 27-25, 15-13
Court 3: Dilara Gedikoglu/Jasmine Safar (ARIZ) def. Julia Soeller/Addie Hermstad (CP), 19-21, 21-18,…
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