University of Washington
Arizona
Huskies Finish Fourth At First Pac-12 Tourney
May 01, 2016 | Beach Volleyball
LOS ANGELES – Washington's strong run at the Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Championships came to an end this afternoon, putting a cap on a season that saw still more progress for the third-year program. The Huskies fell to third-seeded Arizona, the sixth-ranked team in the country, by a 5-0 count that was much closer than the score indicated as three matches went into third sets at USC's Merle Norman Stadium.
The seventh seeded Huskies (5-6) got upsets over sixth-seeded Stanford and fourth-seeded Cal yesterday to reach the final day of Pac-12 play, but the Wildcats were 3-0 in third sets today to make the difference.
The most dramatic finish was in the No. 1 match, where Tia Scambray and Crissy Jones had a pair of match points in a marathon third set, and also saved four Arizona match points, but the Witt twins of UA won on a fifth match point try, 21-19, in the extended third set. The Witts had beaten Jones and Scambray in the pairs tournament and lost a close final, but Jones and Scambray showed how much they had improved in just two days since, as the first meeting was 21-15, 21-15 for Arizona, but after dropping the first set, Jones and Scambray rolled to a 14-4 lead in the second set and won it, 21-16. They then had a 5-0 run to take a 10-8 lead in set three, and had match point chances at 14-13 and 18-17.
“It's just awesome to see, with those two, their ability to play consistent high-level beach,” said head coach Jonathan Winder. Jones and Scambray were one of six pairs named to the All-Tournament Team after the end of play Sunday.
The No. 2 match also could have gone either way, as Cassie Strickland and Courtney Schwan came back from a 14-21 first set loss to win the second set, 22-20, to force a third against Jianna Bonomi and Katarina Schulz. The third set was tied at 12-12, but the Wildcats won the last three points to pull out the match, 15-12.
The other three setter came at the No. 4 spot, as senior Justice Magraw played her final match along with junior Melanie Wade. The two shook off a 21-11 first set loss and found ways to score a 21-15 win in the second set. The two held an 8-6 lead in the third set, but Arizona's Mason and Mau went on a late run to come back and get the point, 15-10.
Senior Lianna Sybeldon also played her final match on the beach, dropping a 21-16, 21-12 decision with Jade Finau at No. 3. Freshmen Destiny Julye and Lindsay Chalmers had their two-match win streak snapped, 21-17, 21-12, at No. 5 by Keepsies/Devlin of Arizona.
Despite the loss, Coach Winder was happy with UW's first effort in the Pac-12 tourney. “We had no expectations coming in to this tournament besides playing hard and doing the best we could,” he said. “The players did that above and beyond. They got better as the tournament went on. We had to play four intense matches in three days which was another new experience. Everybody's trying to figure out the best way to organize beach in the Pac-12 and nationally. There's still a lot of changes to be made. Next season it might look a little different and two years from now could be completely different as well.
“We were able to finish ahead of the schools like us that primarily use indoor players, and showed we could compete and were not that far away from the teams that have mostly beach players and train year-round,” said Winder. “So that's very encouraging that we can see that we're not far off.”
Washington Beach Volleyball
May 1, 2016
Pac-12 Championships
Los Angeles – Merle Norman Stadium (USC)
Contender's Bracket – Semifinal
(3) Arizona def. (7) Washington, 5-0
1. Witt/Witth (UA) def. Jones/Scambray (UW), 21-13, 16-21, 21-19
2. Bonomi/Schulz (UA) def. Strickland/Schwan (UW), 21-14, 20-22, 15-12
3. Macdonald/Manley (UA) def. Sybeldon/Finau (UW), 21-16, 21-12
4. Mason/Mau (UA) def. Wade/Magraw (UW), 21-11, 15-21, 15-10
5. Kleepsies/Devlin (UA) def. Chalmers/Julye (UW), 21-17, 21-12
Order of finish: 5, 4, 3, 1, 2
All-Tournament Team
Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes, USC
Madison Witt and McKenna Witt, Arizona
Megan McNamara and Nicole McNamara, UCLA
Zana Muno and Jessyka Ngauamo, UCLA
Bianca Arellano and Whitney Follette, Arizona State
Crissy Jones and Tia Scambray, Washington
