BVB4/8/2023 9:55 PM | By: Cal Athletics
No. 9 Bears Down Arizona State, No. 10 Stanford
Cal Wins Three Straight To Finish Pac-12 North Invite
STANFORD – The No. 9 California beach volleyball team (21-6) had an impressive end to the Pac-12 North Invitational on Saturday picking up a 4-1 win over Arizona State and a dramatic 3-2 victory over host No. 10 Stanford.
No. 9 Cal 4, Arizona State 1
Cal took the first four matches of the dual, but ASU made it a battle with three contests going to three sets. With the even pairs going first, seniors
Ainsley Radell and
Ashley Delgado earned another court two win 21-13, 21-19. The team captain duo improved to 17-2 on the year with a 13-3 court two record.
After dropping the first set on court four, senior Lexi Mckeown and sophomore
Ella Dreibholz battled back to win their second-straight match of the weekend 17-21, 21-14, 15-10. The clincher came on court five where junior
Brooke Buchner and sophomore
Alex Young-Gomez earned a 21-14, 21-17 victory.
1
Sierra Caffo/
Liz Waters-Leiga (CAL) def. Lexi Sweeney/Kylie Wickley (ASU) 21-15 13-21 15-12
2
Ashley Delgado/
Ainsley Radell (CAL) def. Anya Pemberton/Ivey Weber (ASU) 21-13 21-19
3 Carys Thomas/Rylie Kael (ASU) def.
Natalie Martin/
Maya Gessner (CAL) 19-21 21-18 15-11
4
Lexi McKeown/
Ella Dreibholz (CAL) def. Sarah Waters/Taryn Ames (ASU) 17-21 21-14 15-10
5
Brooke Buchner/
Alex Young-Gomez (CAL) def. Kaitlyn Winkelman/Adri Nieves Papaleo (ASU) 21-14 21-17
Order of finish: 2,4,5*,1,3
No. 9 Cal 3, No. 10 Stanford 2
The highly anticipated rematch between the two Bay Area rivals lived up to the hype as the back-and-forth affair came down to the wire in front of a packed stadium. The momentum swung in each team's direction on multiple occasions and ended with a classic battle on court one.
Delgado and Radell took care of business on court two once again in the only match that didn't go to three sets. They put Cal up 1-0 with a 21-17, 21-13 win, but Stanford quickly answered with a three-set win on court four to tie the dual at one apiece.
Buchner and Young-Gomez were on the wrong end of a lop-sided first set on court five and it appeared the Cardinal were going to go up 2-1. Unfortunately for the home team the Bear pair answered with a huge set-two win and grinded out a 13-21, 21-12, 15-10 win to give Cal the 2-1 advantage.
With just two matches remaining, Stanford had taken the first set on court three, and had just forced a third set on court one. The momentum had once again swung back in its favor.
Junior
Liz Waters-Leiga and sophomore
Sierra Caffo stood on court one with the weight of the match on their shoulders. They traded sideouts with their Cardinal opponents until the two teams met at 7-7. From there the Bears put their feet in the ground and erupted on an 8-3 run that sealed the set, the match, and the dual, and were mobbed by their teammates.
1
Sierra Caffo/
Liz Waters-Leiga (CAL) def. Xolani Hodel/Maddi Kriz (STANFORD) 21-11 18-21 15-10
2
Ashley Delgado/
Ainsley Radell (CAL) def. Charlie Ekstrom/Maya Harvey (STANFORD) 21-17 21-13
3 Kate Reilly/Emmy Sharp (STANFORD) def.
Natalie Martin/
Maya Gessner (CAL) 21-16 10-21 15-9
4 Kelly Belardi/Ashley Vincent (STANFORD) def.
Lexi McKeown/
Ella Dreibholz (CAL) 9-21 21-18 15-11
5
Brooke Buchner/
Alex Young-Gomez (CAL) def. Line Andersson/Sophie Kubiak (STANFORD) 13-21 21-12 15-10
Order of finish: 2,4,5,1*,3
Up Next
The Bears now return home for their Senior Day match with San Francisco on Saturday, followed by a match at Saint Mary's on Sunday.
