USC’s Kelly Claes, Sarah Hughes Win Pac-12 Beach Pairs Championship

  0 Wendy Mayer | April 29th, 2017 | College - Beach, News, Pac-12

2017 PAC-12 Beach Volleyball Championships

On a day riddled with upsets, there was no surprise, however, at who was standing atop the podium at day’s end in the Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Pairs Championship on Saturday. USC’s top duo, Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes, won all three of their matches in straight sets, including their title match victory over teammates Sophie Bukovec and Allie Wheeler.

Bukovec and Wheeler, the tournament’s No. 6 seed, knocked off No. 3 seed Bianca Arellano and Whitney Follette (19-21, 21-19, 16-14) in the quarterfinals, then edged Stanford’s No. 7 pair of Kathryn Plummer and Jenna Gray (18-21,21-18, 15-13) to reach the championship match.

For their part, Cleas and Hughes continued their dominance, holding foes under 15 points in every set. In the quarterfinals, UCLA’s No. 8 seed Zappia and Van Winden fell victim (1-12, 21-14). In the semifinals, it was Arizona’s No. 5 seeded duo of Madison and McKenna Witt (21-15, 21-18).

Next on the beach slate is the NCAA Championships, which will be played May 5-7 in Gulf Shores, Alabama. The eight team field, which consists of three teams from the West Region, three from the East Region and two at-large selections, will be announced at 7 p.m. ET tomorrow on NCAA.com.

Saturday’s Results

Match 11: #1 Claes/Hughes, USC def. #8 Zappia/Van Winden, UCLA, 21-12, 21-14

Match 12: #5 Witt/Witt, ARIZ def. #4 Scambray/Jones, WASH, 21-13, 21-14

Match 13: #6 Bukovec/Wheeler, USC def. #3 Arellano/Follette, ASU, 19-21, 21-19, 16-14

Match 14: Gray/Plummer, STAN def. Tan/Yeomans, UCLA, 15-21, 21-18, 15-11

Match 15: #1 Claes/Hughes, USC def. #5 Witt/Witt, ARIZ, 21-15, 21-18

Match 16: #6 Bukovec/Wheeler, USC def. #7 Plummer/Gray, STAN, 18-21, 21-18, 15-13

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH/Match 17: #1 Claes/Hughes, USC def. Bukovec/Wheeler, USC, 21-6, 21-11

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About Wendy Mayer

Wendy Mayer

Wendy Mayer has worked in athletics media relations for the last 20 years. The Northwest Missouri State alumna is currently senior writer for Volleymob.com after spending the last 15 years with Purdue athletics.

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