Ducks Set to Compete in Inaugural Pac-12 Tournament
04/27/16 | Women's Beach Volleyball
The Ducks begin post-season play at the inaugural Pac-12 Championships, held at Merle Norman Stadium on the campus of USC.
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
The four-day tournament will feature both a pairs and team competition. The top two pairs from each of the eight schools will compete in a 16-team single elimination bracket Thursday and Friday. Play begins Thursday at 1 p.m. with the semifinals and finals taking place Friday morning and will be shown live on the Pac-12 Network. The team competition will then begin Friday afternoon and run until Sunday evening. The Pac-12 Network will be showing plenty of action on Sunday, starting with the quarterfinals of the contender's bracket as well as the semifinals and finals. The broadcast will start at 9 a.m. PT and run until approximately 6 p.m. PT.
PAIRS COMPETITION
Kacey Nady/Liz Brenner and Martenne Bettendorf/Lindsey Vander Weide will represent the top two pairs from Oregon and will compete in the pairs competition. Nady and Brenner, who are 3-6 on the year at the top spot for the Ducks, were seeded 12th and will face USC's No. 2 pair, Alexa Strange and Sophie Bukovec. The Trojan duo received the No. 5 seed and boosts a 29-8 overall record.
Bettendorf and Vander Weide have played just one match so far together this year and received the No. 15 seed. They'll face Arizona's top pair in Madison and McKenna Witt. The Witts are a perfect 16-0 on the year and are seeded second in the tournament.
TEAM COMPETITION
Oregon received the No. 8 seed in the tournament and will face USC in its first match at 1 p.m. on Friday. The Ducks are 2-8 on the year, boosting wins over Portland and Stanford. The Women of Troy are currently ranked No. 1 in the nation by the AVCA and are 26-2 on the year, winning 22 straight contests since March 11.
The winner of the match between UO and USC will face the winner of the 4/5 match-up which features California (No. 4 seed) and Arizona State (No. 5 seed. The losers of both matches will face eachother Saturday morning in the contender's bracket.
WHAT'S ON THE LINE
The team that wins the Pac-12 tournament will receive an automatic bid to the inaugural NCAA Championship, which is held in Gulf Shores, Ala. May 6-8. The Championship will feature eight teams from across the country competing in a double-elimination tournament for a chance to become the first-ever NCAA beach volleyball national champion.
BETTENDORF TIES RECORD
Senior Martenne Bettendorf collected her 11th career victory against Arizona State on April 9, tying her with Shellsy Ashen for the all-time winningest player in Oregon beach volleyball history. Bettendorf collected nine wins in 2014, the inaugural season and has added two more to her resume this season.
NEWCOMERS BOOST BEST RECORD
The best duo record on the team is held by two newcomers in Lauren Page and Maddy Silberger-Franek. Competing at the No. 4 spot, the pair has put together a 4-4 record and won their last two matches. Those wins have both come on the road against Pac-12 opponents as they won in three sets over Stanford's Courtney Bowen and Jennifer DiSanto on April 10 and then put away Washington's Melanie Wade and Justice Magraw in straight sets on April 16. Page, who also competes on the indoor team, is a 6-foot freshman from Riverside, Calif. Silberger-Franek competes only on the beach team and is a 5-foot, 7-inch freshman from Portland.
