STANFORD, Calif. – The Stanford beach volleyball team is set to compete in the inaugural Pac-12 Conference Championships this week at the Merle Norman Stadium in Los Angeles.
“I am looking forward to going down and having a terrific weekend with a great group of individuals who have put in a lot of time for this,” said head coach Denise Corlett. “We are finally getting past that lack of beach experience we have struggled with. We are a unique squad because all of our middles play, and it’s been fun to watch them develop and enjoy the process.”
The sixth-seeded Cardinal (5-10 overall, 2-2 Pac-12) will take on third-seeded Arizona (15-3, 3-1) at 5 p.m. PT on Friday, with the victor facing the winner of No. 2 seed UCLA and No. 7 seed Washington.
The #Pac12BVB team bracket, led by defending national champion @USCBeach, gets started Friday! pic.twitter.com/e7WoLA0q54
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) April 26, 2016
One of the youngest teams in the nation, the Cardinal has seen steady improvement across the board throughout the season, with many of its players having never competed on the sand.
“The improvements of this team are definitely palpable. It’s easy to tell the difference between our first practice and now,” said freshman Halland McKenna. “Everyone has a lot more confidence, with this being so different from indoor. It’s nice to see everyone have that belief in themselves and each other.”
The tournament will start Thursday with a pairs competition including each program’s top two pairs. Stanford’s No. 1 pair of Hayley Hodson and Payton Chang, the tournament’s No. 9 seed, will face Arizona’s Jianna Bonomi and Katarina Schulz, the No. 8 seed.
Stanford’s No. 2 pair of Catherine Raquel and Ivana Vanjak were seeded 14th and will face Megan and Nicole McNamara of UCLA, the No. 3 seed.
NEW: The brackets for the inaugural #Pac12BVB Championships have been released. First, the pairs bracket ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/qIccnIK0k3
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) April 26, 2016
“We’re really excited for Pac-12’s. We want to finish the season as strong as possible and this tournament is the perfect opportunity to do that,” said sophomore Catherine Raquel, who was also pleased with the team’s progress throughout the season. “I’m really proud of the whole team - we’ve all improved a lot. It has certainly been a season for growth, and we have yet to realize our full potential.”
“We can’t put too much pressure on ourselves because we don’t have the experience that some of these other Pac-12 teams have,” added Corlett, who is in her 27th season on The Farm. “Our goal is to go enjoy the experience and play some good volleyball in front of our families and friends.”
Two days until the inaugural @pac12conference Championships in Los Angeles! #GoStanford
A photo posted by Stanford Beach Volleyball (@stanfordbeachvb) on Apr 26, 2016 at 11:44am PDT
Play begins with the 16-team pairs’ championship first round on Thursday at 1 p.m. PT. Round of 16 and quarterfinal matches will be played on the first day. On Friday, the Pac-12 Networks will broadcast the semifinals and the championship match at 10 and 11 a.m. PT, respectively.
At 1 p.m., the team competition begins with a top seed vs. the No. 8 seed. The double-elimination bracket will run through Saturday and conclude with semifinals at 9 a.m. on Sunday, and the title match set for 4 p.m. PT. All four of Sunday’s duals will be carried on Pac-12 Networks.
Notes
- Stanford’s No. 3 pair for all 15 duals, Merete Lutz and Halland McKenna, lead the team in wins with 10.
- The Cardinal wrapped up its regular season two weeks ago, dropping 4-1 decisions to San Jose State and Santa Clara at the Stanford Sand Volleyball Stadium.
- Stanford has faced three Pac-12 opponents, going 1-1 against Oregon while defeating Arizona State and losing to Cal for a 2-2 conference record.
- Karina Robinson and Jennifer DiSanto have played the most matches of any Cardinal (16).