Saturday, April 28
Stanford, CA
11:00 AM
University of Washington
2
vs
3
California
Another Year Of Progress Concludes For Beach Dawgs
April 28, 2018 | Beach Volleyball
STANFORD, Calif. β Another thriller for the Husky Beach Volleyball team went down to the wire at the Pac-12 Championships, but the Dawgs came up just short of another upset as their season came to a close with a 3-2 defeat to 12th-ranked California. Washington finished fourth out of the nine Pac-12 squads, outperforming their No. 6 seeding once again. California finished third while UCLA defeated USC in the championship to win its first Pac-12 title.
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The Dawgs finished 14-13 on the year, setting new high marks for total matches played and overall wins. UW also made the final four of the Pac-12 tournament for the third-straight year, despite never having been seeded higher than sixth.
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"We were in UW form as far as how we peaked at the end of the season," said first year Head Coach Steve Whitaker. "I thought we just kept getting better and better. I think that was our goal because it's a different game coming from indoors. I thought the players definitely got to where they were playing at a super high level at the end of the season. It's pretty neat to see that process over the course of a short season. I'm super proud of them.
Β
The Huskies were going against Cal for the second time this weekend after falling 4-1 to them in the tourney opener on Thursday. It was even closer today, but Cal went out to a 2-0 lead with wins at the four and five spots. Samantha Drechsel and Natalie Robinson hung with Cal's Micheletti and Campbell in each set but came up short, 21-17, 21-17.
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Senior Anna Crabtree player her last match as a Dawg, as she and Kara Bajema came up just short for the first time all weekend, dropping a hard-fought 21-18, 22-20 decision to Cal's Merino and Schafer.
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The Dawgs then needed to win the top three matches, and nearly took all three first sets, but Cal's Lindahl/Inman edged out Courtney Schwan and Destiny Julye in their first set at No. 2, 24-22. But at the No. 1 and No. 3 spots, the Huskies would easily take the first sets and then win even bigger in set two.
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Jordan Anderson and Kimmy Gardiner knocked off Mirkovic and Gaffney of Cal, 21-14, 21-8, after falling to them on Thursday. Shayne McPherson and Carly DeHoog also wrapped up a 3-1 week with a 21-15, 21-12 win over Cal's Bark/Dueck, also reversing their result from Thursday, and tying up the overall match at 2-2.
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That left it to the No. 2 court where Schwan and Julye needed to force a third set. Their second set went even farther than set one, and the Dawgs had a couple set point chances, but couldn't convert and Lindahl/Inman battled for the 26-24 win to clinch the dual for Cal, 3-2.
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The Dawgs graduate a strong senior class with Anderson, Gardiner, Schwan, DeHoog, and Crabtree all playing their final dual matches today. Schwan finishes her four year beach career with 47 wins, a new Husky career record.
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"Jordan and Kimmy gave a lot to this team coming in here. Kimmy came in not having played much beach and she proved in a short amount of time that she can play at a very high level. It was a good deal to have Jordan as a partner in that process because she is seasoned and the two of them accomplished some pretty big things."
Β
"Carly is truly an upperclassman, where she has a ton of class as a person and she puts out her best effort every time she comes out to the courts. You never have to wonder with her if that's the case. She's a great role model for how to work and for the UW culture."
Β
"Courtney is right up there with Carly in terms of culture," Whitaker continued. "She had a great career indoors and she really helped the sand team do what we were able to do. Both of them I hope we see play at even a higher level."
Β
Crabtree, who joined the team as a walk-on during her junior year at UW, "Just to see her improvement has been awesome," Whitaker said. "That team was kind of the surprise team in the tournament here, she and Kara led the way with early victories. They became a steady team. Anna did a really good job mentoring Kara in a way and by the end they were playing really good volleyball. For her to walk on and do this you've got to love it, so I give Anna huge props, to be there every day and grind to get better."
Β
"It was really a superior group of senior athletes that I was pretty privileged to work with the last two years," Whitaker said.
Β
Washington Beach Volleyball
Pac-12 Championships
April 28, 2018 β Stanford, Calif.
Β
Contender's Bracket
Β
(3) California β 3
(6) Washington β 2
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1. Anderson/Gardiner (Wash) def. Mirkovic/Gaffney (Cal), 21-14, 21-8
2. Lindahl/Inman (Cal) def. Schwan/Julye (Wash), 24-22, 26-24
3. DeHoog/McPherson (Wash) def. Bark/Dueck (Cal), 21-15, 21-12
4. Merino/Schafer (Cal) def. Crabtree/Bajema (Wash), 21-18, 22-20
5. Micheletti/Campbell (Cal) def. Drechsel/Robinson (Wash), 21-17, 21-17
Order of finish: 5, 4, 1, 3, 2*
Β
Β
The Dawgs finished 14-13 on the year, setting new high marks for total matches played and overall wins. UW also made the final four of the Pac-12 tournament for the third-straight year, despite never having been seeded higher than sixth.
Β
"We were in UW form as far as how we peaked at the end of the season," said first year Head Coach Steve Whitaker. "I thought we just kept getting better and better. I think that was our goal because it's a different game coming from indoors. I thought the players definitely got to where they were playing at a super high level at the end of the season. It's pretty neat to see that process over the course of a short season. I'm super proud of them.
Β
The Huskies were going against Cal for the second time this weekend after falling 4-1 to them in the tourney opener on Thursday. It was even closer today, but Cal went out to a 2-0 lead with wins at the four and five spots. Samantha Drechsel and Natalie Robinson hung with Cal's Micheletti and Campbell in each set but came up short, 21-17, 21-17.
Β
Senior Anna Crabtree player her last match as a Dawg, as she and Kara Bajema came up just short for the first time all weekend, dropping a hard-fought 21-18, 22-20 decision to Cal's Merino and Schafer.
Β
The Dawgs then needed to win the top three matches, and nearly took all three first sets, but Cal's Lindahl/Inman edged out Courtney Schwan and Destiny Julye in their first set at No. 2, 24-22. But at the No. 1 and No. 3 spots, the Huskies would easily take the first sets and then win even bigger in set two.
Β
Jordan Anderson and Kimmy Gardiner knocked off Mirkovic and Gaffney of Cal, 21-14, 21-8, after falling to them on Thursday. Shayne McPherson and Carly DeHoog also wrapped up a 3-1 week with a 21-15, 21-12 win over Cal's Bark/Dueck, also reversing their result from Thursday, and tying up the overall match at 2-2.
Β
That left it to the No. 2 court where Schwan and Julye needed to force a third set. Their second set went even farther than set one, and the Dawgs had a couple set point chances, but couldn't convert and Lindahl/Inman battled for the 26-24 win to clinch the dual for Cal, 3-2.
Β
The Dawgs graduate a strong senior class with Anderson, Gardiner, Schwan, DeHoog, and Crabtree all playing their final dual matches today. Schwan finishes her four year beach career with 47 wins, a new Husky career record.
Β
"Jordan and Kimmy gave a lot to this team coming in here. Kimmy came in not having played much beach and she proved in a short amount of time that she can play at a very high level. It was a good deal to have Jordan as a partner in that process because she is seasoned and the two of them accomplished some pretty big things."
Β
"Carly is truly an upperclassman, where she has a ton of class as a person and she puts out her best effort every time she comes out to the courts. You never have to wonder with her if that's the case. She's a great role model for how to work and for the UW culture."
Β
"Courtney is right up there with Carly in terms of culture," Whitaker continued. "She had a great career indoors and she really helped the sand team do what we were able to do. Both of them I hope we see play at even a higher level."
Β
Crabtree, who joined the team as a walk-on during her junior year at UW, "Just to see her improvement has been awesome," Whitaker said. "That team was kind of the surprise team in the tournament here, she and Kara led the way with early victories. They became a steady team. Anna did a really good job mentoring Kara in a way and by the end they were playing really good volleyball. For her to walk on and do this you've got to love it, so I give Anna huge props, to be there every day and grind to get better."
Β
"It was really a superior group of senior athletes that I was pretty privileged to work with the last two years," Whitaker said.
Β
Washington Beach Volleyball
Pac-12 Championships
April 28, 2018 β Stanford, Calif.
Β
Contender's Bracket
Β
(3) California β 3
(6) Washington β 2
Β
1. Anderson/Gardiner (Wash) def. Mirkovic/Gaffney (Cal), 21-14, 21-8
2. Lindahl/Inman (Cal) def. Schwan/Julye (Wash), 24-22, 26-24
3. DeHoog/McPherson (Wash) def. Bark/Dueck (Cal), 21-15, 21-12
4. Merino/Schafer (Cal) def. Crabtree/Bajema (Wash), 21-18, 22-20
5. Micheletti/Campbell (Cal) def. Drechsel/Robinson (Wash), 21-17, 21-17
Order of finish: 5, 4, 1, 3, 2*
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Players Mentioned
/ Beach Volleyball
/ Beach Volleyball
/ Beach Volleyball
/ Beach Volleyball
/ Beach Volleyball
/ Beach Volleyball
/ Beach Volleyball
/ Beach Volleyball
/ Beach Volleyball
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