Season Comes to End at Pac-12s

Wednesday, April 26

Stanford, CA

8:30 AM

University of Oregon

Utah

04/26/23 | Women's Beach Volleyball

The Ducks suffered losses to Utah and No. 20 Arizona on day one of the Pac-12 Championship.

EUGENE, Ore. – The Oregon beach volleyball team lost its two matches Wednesday on the first day of the Pac-12 Championship in Stanford, Calif. The Ducks began the day with a tight setback to Utah, and then in the contenders bracket, fell to No. 20 Arizona.

Utah 3, Oregon 1

The Utes secured the first point of the dual with a win at No. 3 pairs. Down a set, Valerie Peterson and Batia Rotshtein saved two match points in the second but Utah's Grace Andrews and Chloe Narancich went on to get the win for the early 1-0 dual lead.

At the No. 5 spot in the lineup, Presley McCaskill and Abby Plevin dropped a tight first set but rallied to win set two (21-13) and force a decisive frame for the second point of the dual. Utah got out to a 10-4 lead. The Ducks were able to pull to within four—down 13-9—before eventually dropping the point.

The next wave of matches featured the No. 1 and 2 pairs with court four staggered just slightly behind.

Zoe Almanza and Chloe Brown lost the opening set to Katie McAlister and Amaya Messier at the No. 1 spot in the lineup but responded with a 21-19 result in the second to extend the match.

With the top spot starting play in the third, the Ducks got on the board with a straight-set win for Ella Tyus and Bea Wetton at No. 2 pairs. The Oregon duo posted a 21-16, 21-18 triumph over Abby Karich and Bella Vezzani to collect their 20^th dual win of the season.

Meanwhile at No. 4 pairs, Natasha George and Ashley Schroeder won the first set, 21-15, with just two courts in play.

Back on court one, the Ducks took a 12-8 lead in the third with a block by Brown before teams switched sides. However, McAlister and Messier rattled off the next six points for a 14-12 lead. The UO pair saved a match point but on the next point, a long rally ended in favor of the Utes to clinch the match and dual.

George and Schroeder led 21-15, 13-10 but the match went unfinished when the dual was decided.

1: Katie McAlister/Amaya Messier (UU) def. Zoe Almanza/Chloe Brown (ORE) – 21-19, 19-21, 15-13
2: Ella Tyus/Bea Wetton (ORE) def. Abby Karich/Bella Vezzani (UU) – 21-16, 21-18
3: Grace Andrews/Chloe Narancich (UU) def. Valerie Peterson/Batia Rotshtein (ORE) – 21-17, 21-18
4: Natasha George/Ashley Schroeder (ORE) vs Marissa Koch/Kylie Pitzak (UU) – 21-15, 13-10 (uf)
5: Azure McOmber/Sonja Wessel (UU) def. Presley McCaskill/Abby Plevin (ORE) – 21-19, 13-21, 15-10
Order of finish: 3, 5, 2, 1

#20 Arizona 3, Oregon 0

The 20^th-ranked Wildcats picked up a pair of sweeps in the first wave of matches, taking a 2-0 lead with wins at No. 3 and 5 pairs. In the first frame of the No. 5 spot, the Ducks saved a handful of set points to extend the opener but Miranda Erro and Annie Kost went on to close out the set on its way to the win.

In the rubber match between Almanza and Brown and Arizona's Sarah Blacker and Alex Parkhurst, the Wildcats' duo came out on top to clinch the dual. The teams had split their previous two meetings this season, and in total, four of the six sets played out in extra points including Wednesday's opener.

Tyus and Wetton had a 21-16, 18-9 lead over Abby Russell and Hope Shannon at No. 2 pairs when the horn blew to stop play after the dual was clinched.

1: Sarah Blacker/Alex Parkhurst (ARIZ) def. Zoe Almanza/Chloe Brown (ORE) – 23-21, 21-12
2: Ella Tyus/Bea Wetton (ORE) vs Abby Russell/Hope Shannon (ARIZ) – 21-16, 18-9 (uf)
3: Grace Cook/Alana Rennie (ARIZ) def. Valerie Peterson/Batia Rotshtein (ORE) – 21-11, 21-12
4: Natasha George/Ashley Schroeder (ORE) vs Dilara Gedikoglu/Kali Uhl (ARIZ) – 15-21, 4-9 (uf)
5: Miranda Erro/Annie Kost (ARIZ) def. Presley McCaskill/Abby Plevin (ORE) – 21-15, 21-13
Order of finish: 3, 5, 1

Up Next: Oregon finishes its 2023 campaign with a 10-24 record, and three duos—Tyus and Wetton, George and Schroeder, Almanza and Brown—with double-digit wins.

For more news and information about Oregon beach volleyball, follow @OregonBeachVB on Instagram.