Sand Volleyball: Ross and Racich Place Second in Pairs Championship at USC Tournament
SANTA MONICA, Calif. – The Pepperdine women’s sand volleyball team’s top pair of Summer Ross and Caitlin Racich placed second in the pairs championship on the third and final day of the USC Tournament. The duo cruised through the first three rounds with straight-set victories before narrowly falling to Florida State’s Aurora Newgard and Brittany Tiegs in the finals.
Ross (Carlsbad, Calif./Carlsbad Seaside Academy) and Racich (Santa Barbara, Calif./Dos Pueblos HS) opened the morning with 21-9, 21-17 triumph over USC’s Kendall Bateman and Sam Hirschman.
In the quarterfinals, Ross and Racich met with teammates Kelley Larsen (Jamul, Calif./Christian HS) and Stevi Robinson (Hermosa Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS) and won 21-18, 21-13.
Larsen and Robinson earned a spot in the quarterfinals after downing the Trojans’ No. 1 pair of Sara Shaw and Geena Urango, 21-16, 24-22, in the round of 16.
Emily Cook (Huntington Beach, Calif./Murrieta Valley HS) and Michaela Christiaansen (Tucson, Ariz./Ironwood Ridge HS) also had the misfortune of meeting with their teammates in the quarterfinals as Victoria Adelhelm (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif./Santa Fe Christian HS) and Kellie Woolever (Long Beach, Calif./Woodrow Wilson HS) advanced following a three set victory.
Adelhelm and Woolever’s run would be cut short, however, as the duo went up against Ross and Racich in the semifinals. Ross and Racich won 21-14, 21-16.
Kim Hill (Portland, Ore./Portland Christian HS) and Lilla Frederick (Huntington Beach, Calif./Cornelia Connelly HS), the only Wave pair in the bottom half of the bracket, defeated Kati Duddridge and Megan Thornberry of USC before falling to the Seminoles’ top team of Jace Pardon and Jekaterina Stepanova, 21-19, 21-19.
In the championship match, Ross and Racich took the opening frame 21-16 before Newgard and Tiegs evened the match with a 21-16 win in set two. In the deciding set, the FSU tandem won 15-10 to be dubbed the pairs champion.
The day’s single elimination bracket play was contested under challenging weather conditions, with constant on-shore winds gusting at 25 to 30 miles per hour and the temperature around 50 degrees.
Seedings for Sunday’s play were determined by Friday’s pool play, which saw one pairs team from each school compete randomly in each of the five pools. Pepperdine dominated that first day of play, as three of its five pairs teams won all three of their pool play matches to help the Waves post an overall record of 12-3 (Florida State went 8-7 on Friday, followed by USC at 7-8 and Long Beach State at 3-12).
The Waves handily won Saturday’s (March 17) team championship, finishing with 18 points in the double elimination flight play, followed by Florida State with 12 points. USC and Long Beach State each scored 10 points, with the Trojans winning the tie-breaker for third place.
Next week, Pepperdine travels to Long Beach State on Wednesday, March 21 for a 2 p.m. dual versus the 49ers. Action continues that weekend when the Waves travel to Charleston, S.C. to face Alabama-Birmingham, Mercer and the College of Charleston.
PAIRS CHAMPIONSHIP (March 18, 2012)
Play-In Matches
16 Kendall Bateman-Sam Hirschman (USC 4) def. 17 Chelsea Cabrajac-Bre Mackie (LBSU 3) 21-9, 21-17
20 Libby Fontanilla-Alma Serna (LBSU 4) def. 13 Visnja Djurdjevic-Melanie Pavels (FSU 3) 21-17, 21-15
15 Mallory Kiley-Stephanie Pellitteri (FSU 4) def. 18 Lauren Minkel-Jocelyn Neely (LBSU 2) 18-21, 23-21, 15-10
14 Tyler Jackson-Janisa Johnson (LBSU 5) def. 19 Lauryssa Blackman-Jeassica McGregor (FSU 5) 21-17, 21-15
Round of 16
1 Caitlin Racich-Summer Ross (PEP 1) def. Bateman-Hirschman (USC 4) 21-9, 21-17
9 Kelley Larsen-Stevi Robinson (PEP 3) def. 8 Sara Shaw-Geena Urango (USC 1) 21-16, 24-22
4 Michaela Christiaansen-Emily Cook (PEP 5) def. Fontanilla-Serna (LBSU 4) 21-17, 21-15
5 Victoria Adelhelm-Kellie Woolever (PEP 4) def. 12 Kirby Burnham-Kelly Irvin (USC 3) 21-16, 17-21, 15-11
2 Jace Pardon-Jekaterina Stepanova (FSU 1) def. Kiley-Pellitteri (FSU 4) 18-21, 23-21, 15-10
7 Lilla Frederick-Kim Hill (PEP 2) def. 10 Kati Duddridge-Megan Thornberry (USC 5) 21-18, 21-15
3 Aurora Newgard-Brittany Tiegs (FSU 2) def. Jackson-Johnson (LBSU 5) 21-17, 21-15
6 Caitlin LeDoux-Tara Roenicke (LBSU 1) def. 11 Katie Fuller-Natalie Hagglund (USC 2) 18-21, 21-12, 16-14
Quarterfinals
Ross-Racich (PEP 1) def. Larsen-Robinson (PEP 3) 21-18, 21-13
Adelhelm-Woolever (PEP 4) def. Christiaansen-Cook (PEP 5) 26-24, 19-21, 15-11
Pardon-Stepanova (FSU 1) def. Frederick-Hill (PEP 2) 21-19, 21-19
Newgard-Tiegs (FSU 2) def. Ledoux-Roenicke (LBSU 1) 21-16, 15-21, 15-5
Semifinals
Newgard-Tiegs (FSU 2) def. Pardon-Stepanova (FSU 1) 21-14, 21-10
Racich-Ross (PEP 1) def. Adelhelm-Woolever (PEP 4) 21-14, 21-16
Final
Newgard-Tiegs (FSU 2) def. Racich-Ross (PEP 1) 16-21, 21-16, 15-10