STANFORD, Calif. – Utah Beach Volleyball dropped its pair of Pac-12 matches on Friday, falling to #13 Washington and Arizona. The Utes will close out Pac-12 play tomorrow against Oregon and second-ranked USC.
Utah 0, #13 Washington 5
Utah opened the day’s action with tight first sets on the fourth and fifth courts, but saw Washington’s duos manage to gain close first-set wins on those courts while sailing to a 21-13 win on court two. The Huskies picked up the first dual point on court four and although Katie McAlister and Amaya Messier were in a competitive second set, the Huskies managed to take the frame 21-17 on court to, pushing the dual score to 2-0.
Sydney Jacinto and Kylie Pitzak battled once again in another tight set on court five, but fell 21-18 in each set as Washington clinched the win. Rounding out the dual, courts one and three were in a similar situation as the Utes dropped the first sets and later the second to see the ranked Washington squad earn wins across the board.
Utah 0, Arizona 5
Utah’s second and fourth pairs got the match underway once again where Grace Andrews and Chloe Narancich would go on to pick up a back-and-forth 21-19 win in the first set. Meanwhile, Pitzak and Jacinto fell 21-16 in the first set. Arizona’s No. 2 pair ran away with the second set to force a third, but Pitzak and Jacinto began to find momentum on court four as the pair looked to send their match to a third set as well.
Leading 19-17, Pitzak and Jacinto couldn’t close out the set and saw the Wildcat pair rally late for a 21-19 victory. On court two, Andrews and Narancich were tied 8-8 in the third set, but saw the set slip away as Arizona took a 15-11 win for the 2-0 lead in the match. Arizona clinched the match later on with a win on court five after building a lead early on in both sets, and would do the same on court three.
McAlister and Messier battled on court one for the Utes where the duo came out on top in the first set, 21-17. The Ute duo fell slightly behind in the second set, but managed to cut the lead to just 13-12. The top pair for Arizona pulled away and despite three aces down the stretch from Messier, the Utes fell 21-18 to go to a third set. Utah started the third set going back and forth, but a late run by the Wildcats gave them the 15-11 win in the third set.
The Utes are set…
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