No. 1 USC beats No. 2 UCLA for Pac-12 title

TUCSON, Ariz. — No. 1 Southern California outlasted second-ranked UCLA to win the Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Championship team crown at the Arizona Beach Volleyball Courts on the campus of the University of Arizona on Friday. The Trojans are Pac-12 champions for the second year in a row.

.@USCbeach's DUAL-WINNING KILL scores the @OpusBank #12Best Moment! https://t.co/J8A9mSSLEN

— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) April 28, 2017

All five duals were needed to decide the team champion. USC’s Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes worked quickly against UCLA’s top pair of Megan and Nicole McNamara to claim the first point, 2-0 (21-8, 21-16). The Bruins’ Jordan Anderson and Izzy Carey tied it up, winning in straight sets against Abril Bustamante and Katrina Kernonchan (21-18, 21-9). Trojans Sophie Bukovec and Allie Wheeler battled UCLA’s Kamila Tan and Madi Yeomans for three sets, before taking the deciding set by just two points to give USC a 2-1 lead (21-10, 18-21, 15-13).

UCLA tied up the match 2-2 when Lily Justine and Savvy Simo battled back from one set down to win the next two, including a two-point third-set victory (10-21, 21-14, 15-13). With four of the five duals over and the team score tied at 2-2, both teams surrounded the No. 2 matchup, each team willing their teammates to win each point. After a 13-13 tie in the third set, the Trojans’ Sophie Bukovec and Allie Wheeler won the next two to claim the third and final point needed to win the conference team crown (21-10, 18-21, 15-13).

That winning feeling! #FightOn #USCBeach pic.twitter.com/nJYsazOgXO

— USC Beach Volleyball (@USCBeach) April 28, 2017

The first match of the day was also between the Bruins and Trojans, but UCLA was victorious pulling out a 3-2 win, putting the Trojans in the contenders bracket. The win snapped a USC 62-match duals winning streak. Washington recorded another upset when it defeated host Arizona 4-1. The Huskies could not pull off anymore upsets and the Trojans cruised to the championship match against the Bruins, 5-0.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
McKenna Witt/Madison Witt, Arizona
Nicole McNamara/Megan McNamara, UCLA
Jordan Anderson/Izzy Carrey, UCLA
Elise Zappia/Torrey Van Winden, UCLA
Kelly Claes/Sara Hughes, USC
Sophie Bukovec/Allie Wheeler, USC
Courtney Schwan/Destiny Julye, Washington 
* Three-way tie for fifth place

MATCH 13: #2 UCLA def. #1 USC, 3-2
1. Kelly Claes/Sarah Hughes (USC) def. Nicole McNamara/Megan McNamara (UCLA), 21-11, 21-19
2. Sophie Bukovec/Allie Wheeler (USC) def. Kamila Tan/Madi Yeomans (UCLA), 19-21, 21-8, 17-15
3. Elise Zappia/Torrey Van Winden (UCLA) def. Terese Cannon/Nicolette Martin (USC), 21-18, 21-13
4. Jordan Anderson/Izzy Carrey (UCLA) def. Abril Bustamente/Katrina Kernochan (USC), 22-20, 22-20
5. Lilly Justine/Savvy Simo (UCLA) def. Jenna Bolton/Jo Kremer (USC), 21-17, 21-15
Order of finish: 1, 5, 3, 4, 2

MATCH #14: #7 WASHINGTON def. #3 ARIZONA, 4-1
1. Crissy Jones/Tia Scambray (WASH) def. McKenna Witt/Madison Witt (ARIZ) 21-19, 21-15
2. Courtney Shwan/Destiny Julye (WASH) def. Olivia Macdonald/Olivia Hallaran (ARIZ) 21-17, 25-23
3. Cassie Strickland/Carly Dehoog (WASH) def. Hailey Devlin/Sam Manley (ARIZ) 21-19, 21-18
4. Melanie Wade/Shayne McPherson (WASH) def. Brooke Burling/Mia Mason (ARIZ) 21-16, 21-19
5. Natalie Anselmo/Halli Amaro (ARIZ) def. Anna Crabtree/Lindsay Chalmers (WASH) 21-10, 21-14
Order of finish: 5, 1, 3, 2, 4

Match #15: #1 USC def. #7 WASHINGTON, 5-0
1. Kelly Claes/Sara Hughes (USC) def. Crissy Jones/Tia Scambray (WASH) 21-17, 21-15
2. Sophie Bukovec/Allie Wheeler (USC) def. Courtney Shwan/Destiny Julye (WASH) 21-18, 21-19
3. Terese Cannon/Nicolette Martin (USC) def. Cassie Strickland/Carly Dehoog (WASH) 21-13, 21-14
4. Abril Bustamante/Katrina Kernochan (USC) def. Melanie Wade/Shayne McPherson (WASH) 21-12, 21-19
5. Jenna Belton/Jo Kremer (USC) def. Anna Crabtree/Lindsay Chalmers (WASH) 21-18, 21-11
Order of finish: 5, 3, 2, 1, 4

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: USC def. UCLA, 3-2
1. Kelly Claes/Sara Hughes (USC) def. Nicole McNamara/Megan McNamara (UCLA) 21-8, 21-16
2. Sophie Bukovec/Allie Wheeler (USC) def. Kamila Tan/Madi Yeomans (UCLA) 21-10, 18-21, 15-13
3. Terese Cannon/Nicolette Martin (USC) def. Elise Zappia/Torrey Van Winden (UCLA) 21-14, 21-18
4. Jordan Anderson/Izzy Carey (UCLA) def. Abril Bustamante/Katrina Kernochan (USC) 21-18, 21-9
5. Lily Justine/Savvy Simo (UCLA) def. Jenna Belton/Jo Kremer (USC) 10-21, 21-14, 15-13
Order of finish: 1, 4, 3, 5, 2