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.
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The Cardinal's first meeting against rivals Cal saw two similarly ranked teams square off in Alki Beach.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Full Results:
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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
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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
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