TUCSON, Ariz. – Kathryn Plummer and Jenna Gray's run in the Pac-12 Conference Pairs Championship concluded with a narrow defeat in the semifinals to USC on Saturday at Bear Down Beach.
"Jenna and Kathryn gave their teammates a lot to cheer for – Karissa and I love the togetherness of this team," said first-year head coach Andrew Fuller, who guided Stanford to a 13-10 record in 2017. "We wanted to take steps towards becoming the best possible versions of ourselves through this whole season, and I'm really happy about the trajectory of this program."
Seventh-seeded Plummer and Gray took the lead in the semifinals by claiming the opening set against the Trojans' pair of Allie Wheeler and Sophie Bukovec by a score of 21-18. USC matched Stanford with a 21-18 win in the second frame, forcing a final set to 15. Stanford and USC traded punches throughout the deciding set, but the Trojans came out on top by a score of 15-13.
Kathryn Plummer and Jenna Gray force a final set with a 21-18 win in the second! #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/uw34gcQFoL
— Stanford Beach VB (@StanfordBeachVB) April 29, 2017
Stanford's top pair advanced to the semifinals after a comeback win over UCLA's pair of Madi Yoemans and Kamila Tan in the quarterfinals. Yoemans and Tan jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a 21-15 win in the first set, but Plummer and Gray struck back with a 21-18 triumph in the second frame. After starting the final set in a 10-10 stalemate, Plummer and Gray punctuated their win with a 5-1 run to make the final score 15-21, 21-18, 15-11.
"We are so grateful for the Pac-12 and Arizona for hosting such a great environment for our student-athletes," said Fuller. "This tournament set the bar high, from athlete care and experience, to the great viewership for fans. We are looking forward to hosting a great Pac-12 tournament next season."
A post shared by Stanford Beach Volleyball (@stanfordbeachvb) on Apr 29, 2017 at 11:27am PDT
Yesterday, Stanford's 2017 season came to a close with a 3-2 loss against Arizona in the contenders bracket of the team competition. Stanford began the tournament on Thursday with a 5-0 loss against Arizona State, but shook off elimination with a dominant 5-0 win against Utah. The Cardinal faced off with the host Wildcats in another elimination match, dropping a dramatic 3-2 decision which came down to the final set in the No. 4 match.
"Karissa, Lauren and I are looking forward to gleaning a lot of information about the areas of play in which our program is progressing, widening gaps and how we can close gaps with some of the best competition in the country in the Pac-12," added Fuller.