#1 UCLA Beach Volleyball Faces ASU and Stanford at Pac-12 North Invite
The Bruins reclaimed the number one ranking by sweeping LSU and Florida State last weekend.
The UCLA beach volleyball team returns to action this morning when they begin play in the Pac-12 North Invitational against Arizona State. Today’s first match begins at 10:15 am PT. The Bruins will also face Stanford later this afternoon. UCLA recaptured the #1 ranking after an amazing weekend last weekend.
Last Time Out
The Bruins followed their doubleheader sweep of LSU with a doubleheader sweep of Florida State. Meanwhile, both the Tigers and the Seminoles split doubleheaders with then-#1 Southern Cal, allowing the Bruins to move from #4 to #1 in this week’s polls.
UCLA won Sunday’s matches against Florida State by the same scores that they had defeated LSU the day before, 4-1 and 3-2.
In the first match of the day, Jacqueline Quade and Megan Muret started the match off by winning the first dual for the Bruins on Court Four when they got past Payton Caffrey and Madison Fitzpatrick, 21-15, 21-17.
The Seminoles tied the match briefly when former Bruin Torrey Van Winden and partner Keara Rutz beat Abby Van Winkle and Lea Monkhouse on Court Two, 21-17, 21-18.
But UCLA retook the lead when Jaden Whitmarsh and Rileigh Powers topped Kate Privett and Jenna Johnson on Court Five, 21-19, 21-18. With the Bruins now up 2-1, Lexy Denaburg and Savvy Simo sealed the win on Court One by edging Alaina Chacon and Molly McBain, 21-19, 21-19.
The last court to finish was Court Three where Devon Newberry and Lindsey Sparks defeated Sara Putt and Maddie Anderson in three sets, 21-17, 15-21, 19-17, to wrap up UCLA’s 4-1 win.
The second match was closer.
Van Winden and Rutz put Florida State ahead to start the match by beating Monkhouse and Van Winkle again; 21-16, 21-12. The Seminoles took a 2-0 lead when Caffrey and new dual partner Liz Waters-Leiga topped Quade and Muret in three sets, 12-21, 23-21, 15-13.
Over on Court Three, Newberry and Sparks began the Bruin comeback by beating Putt and Anderson again, 21-18, 22-20. Powers and Whitmarsh evened the match, defeating Privett and Johnson in three sets, 21-15, 16-21, 15-11.
That led to a deciding dual on Court One between the pair of Simo and Denaburg and the pair of Chacon and McBain. While Simo and Denaburg took the first set, 21-14, Chacon and McBain took the second, 20-22. That forced a deciding third set that would not only decide the dual, but also decide the match. Simo and Denaburg walked away with that set, 15-8, and the Bruins completed the sweep of FSU and the weekend sweep of both LSU and Florida State.
Arizona State Sun Devils
The Sun Devils season hasn’t gotten much better since UCLA swept them, 5-0, at the Pac-12 South Invitational. Arizona State lost their other two matches that weekend against Stanford and Arizona. Look for another 5-0 sweep of ASU today.
Stanford Cardinal
Since UCLA swept a season-opening doubleheader against the Cardinal, Stanford has rattled off thirteen wins in a row. I wouldn’t expect a 5-0 sweep today, but I do expect the Bruins to end Stanford’s winning streak.
#1 UCLA Beach Volleyball (15-1)
Pac-12 North Invitational
Where:Â GCU Beach Volleyball Stadium, Phoenix, AZ
TV/Live Stream:Â None
Match #1
Opponent:Â Arizona State Sun Devils (4-7)
Game Time:Â 10:15 am PT, Saturday, April 10, 2021
Live Stats:Â UCLA StatBroadcast
Match #2
Opponent:Â Stanford Cardinal (14-3)
Game Time:Â 3:15 pm PT, Saturday, April 10, 2021
Live Stats:Â UCLA StatBroadcast
Official Preview
Go Bruins!
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