Choy and Barton Go Undefeated at Stanford Invitational

Saturday, March 11

Stanford, Calif.

10:00 AM

University of Utah

California

Choy and Barton Go Undefeated at Stanford Invitational

3/11/2017 5:01 PM | Beach Volleyball

The freshmen duo win all three matches in Palo Alto.

PALO ALTO, Calif. – The Utah beach volleyball team wrapped up its first weekend of competition at the Stanford Invitational on Saturday in Palo Alto, Calif. Utah dropped dual matches against California and St. Mary's on the second day of the event, but freshmen Bailey Choy and Dani Barton went undefeated throughout the entire tournament, winning all three matches.

Utah began competition Saturday against California and would later take on St. Mary's to close out the Stanford Invitational.

Choy and Barton picked up the win as the No. 2 pairing against Cal's Olivia Rodberg and Grace Campbell in three sets. The freshman duo dropped the first set 21-23, but would bounce back and win big, 21-7. In the decisive third set, Choy and Barton pulled out the tough match with a score of 15-13.

The Golden Bears would ultimately take the dual victory, winning 4-1.

In the No. 1 spot, juniors Adora Anae and Eliza Katoa fell 21-17, 23-21, to Bryce Bark and Mia Merino. Junior Carly Trueman and freshman Brianna Doehrmann competed in the No. 3 position and fell in two sets, 21-7, 21-15, against Camille Stepanof and Jessica Gaffney.

As Utah's No. 4 pair, junior Tawnee Luafalemana and freshman Torre Glasker took Cal to three sets but fell short of the win. Luafalemana and Glasker faced Nicole Anderson and Iya Lindahl, which had set scores of 19-21, 21-14, 15-8. Sophomores Emily Twohig and Berkeley Oblad competed in the No. 5 spot for the Utes and came up short in two sets, 21-18, 21-18, when the duo faced Teya Neff and Bridget Gustafson.

Playing in an exhibition match, sophomore Megan Boudreaux and freshman Lauren Sproule dropped straight sets, 21-12, 21-10, against Katie Regalia and Madison Dueck.

The Utes closed out the Stanford Invitational against St. Mary's Saturday afternoon. St. Mary's picked up the team win, 4-1, but Choy and Barton would pick up their third win as partners to go perfect in the tournament.

Choy and Barton pulled out the victory in two sets, 22-20, 21-19, against St. Mary's No. 2 pair of Sarah Chase and Emily Bible. Utah's freshman duo improved to 3-0 on the season.

Utah's No. 1 pair of Anae and Katoa fell short 21-13, 21-15, against the St. Mary Gaels top duo Lindsey Knudsen and Payton Rund.

In the No. 3 position, Doehrmann and Trueman took the first set 21-19, but the Gaels would force a third set after winning the second set 25-23. St. Mary's Lindsey Calvin and Mary Hernandez captured the win in the third set, 15-9.

In the No. 4 position, Glasker and Oblad paired together, where they would fall in two sets, 21-10, 21-13, to Alexsa Parker and Alexis Salmons. Luafalemana and Twohig competed in the No. 5 spot, and would take the first set from the Gaels 21-16, but dropped the second and third set 21-16, 15-9, to fall to Madi Wilkerson and Sienna Young.

In the exhibition match, Boudreaux and Sproule fell in three sets to Alex O'Sullivan and Dominique Dodd. Boudreaux and Sproule dropped the first set 21-7, but would force a third set after taking the second set 21-18. The Ute partners would fall in the third set, 15-10.

Utah will head to San Francisco to play two matches on Sunday. The Utes begin competition against San Francisco at 10 a.m. MT and finish action against University of the Pacific at 11:30 a.m. MT.