Pepperdine University
Pairs Championship
Woolever, Larsen Repeat as USAV Collegiate Challenge Champs
3/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Beach Volleyball
CHULA VISTA, Calif. - For the second year in a row, Kellie Woolever and Kelley Larsen of the Pepperdine sand volleyball team topped the podium at the USAV Collegiate Challenge at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista. The duo defeated teammates Becca Strehlow and Lara Dykstra in the all-Pepperdine pairs championship final.
The All-American pair of Team Kell(i)ey, comprised of Woolever (Long Beach, Calif./Woodrow Wilson HS) and Larsen (Jamul, Calif./Christian HS), won four matches in straight sets today to take their second pairs title of the season, and fifth overall. Woolever and Larsen won the Gold Bracket at the USAV Collegiate Challenge in Chula Vista last year, after winning the Silver Bracket in 2013. They were previously crowned the Gold Bracket winners at the Rainbow Wahine Invitational last weekend.
This year, the USAV Collegiate Challenge moved to one single-elimination pairs bracket. Five of the Waves' six pairs advanced out of the opening round of 32, contested yesterday, while three would go on to reach the semifinals.
All three of Pepperdine's top teams, including Woolever/Larsen, Strehlow (Long Beach, Calif./Woodrow Wilson HS/UCLA)/Dykstra (Redondo Beach, Calif./Redondo Union HS/Nebraska), and Delaney Knudsen (Valencia, Calif./Valencia HS)/Emily Cook (Huntington Beach, Calif./Murrieta Valley HS) won in straight sets in their first match of the day.
Pepperdine's No. 4 tandem of Sophie Asprey (Southlake, Texas/Liberty Christian/Tulane) and Taylor Racich (Santa Barbara, Calif./Dos Pueblos HS) was eliminated in the round of 16, but it took Hawaii's No. 1 duo of Nikki Taylor and Brittany Tiegs three sets to do so.
Katie Messing (The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands HS) and Corinne Quiggle (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla./Ponte Vedra HS), holding down the No. 5 spot in the Pepperdine lineup, also made their exit in the round of 16, falling in three sets to the Rainbow Wahine's No. 2 team of Olivia Urban and Katie Spieler.
The three Wave pairs left all charted two-set wins in the quarterfinals. Dykstra and Strehlow avenged Asprey and Racich's loss, dispatching Taylor and Tiegs 21-15, 21-19.
Cook and Knudsen, found at No. 3 in the Waves' dual lineup, saw their run end in the semifinals to Dykstra and Strehlow, who play at No. 2.
Woolever and Larsen, the Waves' No. 1 pair for the second year in a row, defeated Grand Canyon's Mackenzie Phelps and Shannon Dugan, 21-14, 21-16 to punch their ticket to the finals.
Team Kell(i)ey defeated Strehlow and Dykstra in the All-Pepperdine final, 21-14, 21-18. All four players were AVCA All-Americans last season.
Next up, the Waves face local rival Long Beach State on the road on Thursday, March 19 at 1 p.m.
Pairs | USAV Collegiate Challenge
March 15, 2014 | Chula Vista, Calif.
Round of 16
Nikki Taylor/Brittany Tiegs (UH) def. Sophie Asprey/Taylor Racich (PEP) 18-21, 21-15, 15-12
Lara Dykstra/Becca Strehlow (PEP) def. Sydney Haynes/Danika Youngblood (CSUB) 21-14, 21-18
Emily Cook/Delany Knudsen (PEP) def. Natalie Gower/Shane Peters (TCU) 21-13, 21-9
Olivia Urban/Katie Spieler (UH) def. Corinne Quiggle/Katie Messing (PEP) 21-18, 19-21, 16-14
Kellie Woolever/Kelley Larsen (PEP) def. Alexia Heist/Sutton Sunstrum (TCU) 21-10, 21-5
Quarterfinals
Lara Dykstra/Becca Strehlow (PEP) def. Nikki Taylor/Brittany Tiegs (UH) 21-15, 21-19
Emily Cook/Delany Knudsen (PEP) def.Molly O'Hagen/Mariah Alvidvez (CSUB) 21-15, 21-19
Kellie Woolever/Kelley Larsen (PEP) def. Sammie Brown/Hannah Rooks (UH) 21-14, 25-23
Semifinals
Lara Dykstra/Becca Strehlow (PEP) def. Emily Cook/Delany Knudsen (PEP) 21-13, 21-17
Kellie Woolever/Kelley Larsen (PEP) def. Mackenzie Phelps/Shannon Dugan (GC) 21-14, 21-16
Finals
Kellie Woolever/Kelley Larsen (PEP) def. Lara Dykstra/Becca Strehlow (PEP) 21-14, 21-18
