SEATTLE, Wash. – No. 14 Stanford earned two wins on the final day of the Pac-12 North Invitational, defeating No. 13 Cal and Washington at Alki Beach. The Cardinal's No. 2 pairing of Courtney Bowen and Sunny Villapando earned All-Tournament honors for their 4-0 performance on the weekend.
The Cardinal's first meeting against rivals Cal saw two similarly ranked teams square off in Alki Beach.
The Golden Bears took an early 1-0 lead with a win at the five, where Shannon Richardson and Blake Sharp fell to Cal's Micheletti/Campbell, 21-16, 24-22.
Stanford evened the dual up at one point apiece with its win at the No. 1 pairing. Amelia Smith and Morgan Hentz, who have played every match together this season, took care of the Bears, 22-20, 21-15.
Cal responded with a win at four, outdueling Stanford's Caitlin Keefe and Payton Chang in straight sets, 21-17, 21-17. The Cardinal then used a three-set win at the three to even the match at two points for each team. Kate Formico and Catherine Raquel rallied from losing their first set to take the match.
It all came down to the No. 2 flight, where Courtney Bowen and Sunny Villapando locked horns with Cal's Dueck/Bark. The Cardinal won the first set, 26-24, but fell in a marathon second set, 30-28. In the decisive third set, the duo prevailed over the Bears, 15-10, to secure the match and the dual for Stanford.
After going a perfect 4-0 at the two this weekend, Courtney Bowen and Sunny Villapando have been named to the Pac-12 North Invitational All-Tournament Team!#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/lBKFXDwZD6
— Stanford Beach Volleyball (@StanfordBeachVB) April 15, 2018
Stanford returned to the beach against Washington, looking to earn its second win of the day.
The Cardinal picked up a win at the one, where Morgan Hentz and Amelia Smith defeated the Huskies in straight sets, 21-14, 24-22. Washington won the third flight, tying the match, 1-1.
Stanford's No. 4 pairing of Caitlin Keefe and Payton Chang put together a 21-18, 21-14 performance to give the Cardinal a 2-1 lead on the dual.
The clincher came at the two, where Bowen and Villapando won in straight sets, 21-13, 21-17. It was the duo's fourth win of the weekend and seventh in eight matches as a pair. The tandem was named to the Pac-12 North Invitational All-Tournament team for having the best record among all No. 2 pairings that played at least three matches together.
With two wins today, Stanford moves to 16-10 on the season with one dual left in the regular season. The Cardinal's 16 wins are the most in program history, surpassing last season's mark of 13.
Full Results:
No. 14 Stanford 3, No. 13 Cal 2
1. Smith/Hentz (STAN) def. Inman/Mirkovic (CAL), 22-20, 21-15
2. Villapando/Bowen (STAN) def. Dueck/Bark (CAL), 26-24, 28-30, 15-10
3. Formico/Raquel (STAN) def. Gaffney/Lindahl (CAL), 19-21, 21-13, 15-11
4. Schafer/Merino (CAL) def. Keefe/Chang (STAN), 21-17, 21-17
5. Micheletti/Campbell (CAL) def. Richardson/Sharp (STAN), 21-19, 21-12
Exh: Waldburger/Stepanof (CAL) def. Anderson/Red-Horse Mohl (STAN), 21-16, 24-22
No. 14 Stanford 4, Washington 1
1. Hentz/Smith (STAN) def. Anderson/Gardiner (UW), 21-14, 24-22
2. Villapando/Bowen (STAN) def. Schwan/Julye (UW), 21-13, 21-17
3. DeHoog/McPherson (UW) def. Formico/Raquel (STAN), 21-13, 21-15
4. Chang/Keefe (STAN) def. Crabtree/Bajema (UW), 21-18, 21-14
5. Sharp/Richardson (STAN) def. Drechsel/Robinson (UW), 21-19, 21-23, 17-15
Exh: Anderson/Red-Horse Mohl (STAN) def. Newton/Calle (UW), 21-17, 21-18