California Golden Bears Athletics
California
Arizona State
No. 10 Bears Fall To ASU To Open Pac-12 Championship
4/25/2019 5:46 PM | Beach Volleyball
Third-Seeded Cal Upset By Sun Devils
LOS ANGELES -- The No. 10 Cal Beach Volleyball team did not start the Pac-12 Championship the way it would have wanted, falling to Arizona State by a final of 3-2 in the Bears' opening dual.
After wins at the No. 5 and No. 3 matches but losses at the No. 1 and No. 4 spots, Cal's fate hung in the balance at the No. 2 competition with sophomore Maddie Micheletti and freshman Jordan Polo.
Arizona State won the first set 21-14 but Micheletti and Polo fought back to take the second set 21-17, setting of up dual-deciding third set. Micheletti and Polo gave it their all but could not quite get over the hump, with Arizona State eking out the win and finishing off the upset with a 15-12 third-set victory.
Cal defeated the Sun Devils earlier this year in a 5-0 shutout at the Pac-12 South Invitational.
Even in defeat, the day was not without its highlights. No. 3 pair Iya Lindahl and Grace Campbell easily defeated their ASU opponents 21-17, 21-13, a dominant performance that featured three straight aces from Lindahl. And junior Abby Waldburger, playing in her first Pac-12 Championship, won her match with No. 5 partner Madison Dueck 21-16, 21-19.
The Bears will be back bright and early Friday morning to start day two of the double-elimination tournament at 9 a.m. against Washington. If the Bears win out, they will play three duals Friday before the semifinals and finals on Saturday.
However, there will be no margin for error moving forward. One more loss will put an end to the Bears' season.
"Every match is a championship match this weekend," Cal head coach Meagan Owusu said. "We are looking forward to tomorrow and are ready to compete and battle as a team."
Arizona State 3, No. 10 California 2
No. 1. Oluoma Okaro/Ashley Wenz (ASU) def. Mima Mirkovic/Caroline Schafer, 21-19, 21-18
No. 2. Katelyn Carballo/Katie Cross (ASU) def. Maddie Micheletti/Jordan Polo, 14-21, 21-17, 15-12
No. 3. Grace Campbell/Iya Lindahl (CAL) def. Emily Anderson/Lauren Weintraub, 21-17, 21-13
No. 4. Kate Baldwin/Samantha Plaster (ASU) def. Alexia Inman/Mia Merino, 21-14, 21-17
No. 5. Madison Dueck/Abby Waldburger (CAL) def. Cierra Flood/Ellyson Lundberg, 21-16, 21-19
