STANFORD – The third-seeded California beach volleyball team (26-8) topped sixth-seeded Arizona State (11-12) 3-0 in the first round of the Pac-12 Championship on Wednesday afternoon. It was the Golden Bears' 26^th victory of the season, tying the program's win record set last year.
 
It's the first time since 2018 that Cal has won its opening-round matchup to remain in the winner's bracket.
 
No. 3 Cal 3, No. 6 ASU 0
It only took the Bears three matches to clinch the dual as the No. 1, No. 3 and No. 5 pairs got the job done in straight sets. The No. 2 and No. 4 pairs both held leads as well but did not finish.
 
After trading sideouts in the early going, the court-five pair of junior Brooke Buchner and sophomore Alex Young-Gomez broke away to take the first set 21-10. Just a moment later, junior Maya Gessner and freshman Gia Fisher snagged the first frame on court three 24-22 after staving off multiple set points in the Sun Devils' favor.
 
Buchner and Young-Gomez secured the first point of the dual, taking the second set 21-17. The win marked the 60^th victory in Buchner's career, which is good for eighth on the program's all-time wins list.
 
Gessner and Fisher were just a few rallies behind their court five teammates and took the second frame 21-16 to put the Bears up 2-0 in the dual. Gessner secured the final point at the net with a block
 
Junior Liz Waters-Leiga and sophomore Sierra Caffo were the next to start and finish, earning a 21-18, 21-15 win on court one to seal the dual. They are now 16-8 in their debut season with the Bears and have eight wins in the top spot.
 
1 Sierra Caffo and Liz Waters-Leiga (Cal) def. Lexi Sweeney and Kylie Wickley (ASU) 21-18 21-15
2 Ashley Delgado and Ainsley Radell (Cal) vs. Anya Pemberton and Ivey Weber (ASU) 21-10 8-3
3 Maya Gessner and Gia Fisher (Cal) def. Carys Thomas and Rylie Kael (ASU) 24-22 21-16
4 Lexi McKeown and Ella Dreibholz (Cal) vs. Sarah Waters and Taryn Ames (ASU)  21-17 12-9
5 Brooke Buchner and Alex Young-Gomez (Cal) Kate Fitzgerald and Adri Nieves Papaleo (ASU) 21-10, 21-17
Order of finish: 5,3,1
 
Up Next
The tourney continues Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. PT as the Bears face the reigning national champion and second-seeded USC. A win against the Trojans would put Cal directly into Friday's semifinal round. A loss would drop the team into an elimination match later that afternoon at 3:30 p.m. PT.