Husky beach volleyball pulls out last set thriller over Arizona State for first win of PAC-12 North tournament
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – Their first opponent played in the PAC-12 North tournament at Alki Beach saw the Washington Husky beach volleyball team take on an Arizona State team that was ranked #12 in the nation coming into Friday’s sets. Washington was able to take the first two matches of the dual, as the pairing of Zoey Henson and Lauren Wilcock took the first point for the Huskies while Scarlett Dahl and Natalie Martin picked up the second, as the final point of the dual was won by the pairing of Kierstyn Barton and Kendall Mather to secure an upset and get Washington’s start to this year's PAC-12 North tournament off successfully. If the Huskies are to secure their first-ever bid in the NCAA tournament, some winning results over the course of this weekend could go a long way for Washington, but an upset such as this to kick things off is a strong way to get things going.
The duo of Zoey Henson and Lauren Wilcock took the first point of the day for the Washington Huskies, winning the last two sets of their match to get the win. (Photos by Nate Koppelman)
Strong start early
The #2 pairing of Zoey Henson and Lauren Wilcock began the upset of the Sun Devils, as they were able to overcome losing the first set by a score of 17-21 before taking the next two in a row which featured consecutive aces in the second set. That thrilling second set helped push them forward into the third set with plenty of momentum, and they’d dominate that third frame by a score of 15-5 to give Washington their first point of the dual. The #4 pair of Scarlett Dahl and Natalie Martin had a tight back and forth affair with Arizona State as well, splitting the first two sets in their contest before winning their third set after grabbing hold of a 5-3 lead and never looking back, ending in a 15-12 result to give Washington the second point of the dual.
The pairing of Scarlett Dahl and Natalie Martin picked up the thrilling second point of the dual for the Washington Huskies, en route to their upset victory over the Arizona State Sun Devils. (Photos by Nate Koppelman)
Nail biting decision
Matches #1 and #5 were won by the Sun Devils, as the pairing of Piper Monk-Heidrich and Magdalena Rabitsch fell just short of Arizona State in the first set and couldn’t comeback in the second one. In match #5, the duo of Brook Balue and Sarah Wilcock weren’t able to handle the Sun Devils, leaving the third match as the important deciding contest on if this was going to go in favor of Washington or Arizona State. The pairing of Kierstyn Barton and Kendall Mather swapped identical sets of 21-16 with the Sun Devils, heightening the drama by pushing things to that decisive third set. Within the first eleven points of this set, there were three lead changes between the Sun Devils and Huskies, but the Barton-Mather duo was able to get their lead to four to win by a final score of 15-11 and give #13 Washington the upset victory over #12 Arizona State.
The duo of Kierstyn Barton and Kendall Mather pulled out the third and final point for the Washington Huskies in their upset victory over the Arizona State Sun Devils, as things came down to the final set. (Photos by Nate Koppelman)
What’s next?
Following this tight victory over Arizona State, the Washington Huskies beach volleyball team has a second contest today, as they’ll take on #2 ranked Stanford with a start time of 3PM PDT at Alki Beach. It’s another tough contest following this battle against #12 Arizona State, and amidst a PAC-12 North tournament that has them facing off against three of their four opponents that are ranked within the top 12 in the country. It’s not going to be an easy road for the Huskies as they continue to push forward towards the potential of their first ever bid into the NCAA Tournament, that only welcomes in 16 teams, so there’s no better proving ground than a tournament such as this with these specific opponents. Their destiny will very much remain in their hands regarding whether the Huskies will be headed to their first ever NCAA Tournament, and a nice victory like this against the Sun Devils is a good piece of progress moving forward to doing just that.
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