UCLA beach volleyball kicks off Pac-12 championship play with win over Washington

Up 11 points in the first set, Lexy Denaburg scampered across the sand.

The sophomore started sliding, stretching out her right leg nearly parallel to the ground.

Kicking the ball, Denaburg – a four-year high school letter winner in soccer – kept the rally alive and received the ball on the ensuing return before knocking a kill down the line for her duo’s 17th point of the contest.

“I knew that I had a better chance of getting it with my foot than with my hands, so I just kicked,” Denaburg said.

Kicking off the Pac-12 championship, court one’s pair of Denaburg and junior Abby Van Winkle nabbed a straight-set victory in No. 2 seed UCLA beach volleyball’s (29-5, 8-0 Pac-12) 4-0 triumph over No. 7 seed Washington (12-19, 2-8) on Wednesday. With the win, the blue and gold will face No. 3 seed Stanford (24-9, 10-3) on Thursday for a chance at a semifinal appearance in the winners bracket.

Outscoring their opponents by a combined 20 points, Denaburg and Van Winkle nabbed the Bruins’ fourth point of the dual after UCLA had already clinched the victory.

Denaburg, who snapped her personal three-match losing streak Wednesday, said the team’s mentality entering the postseason involved keying in on playing aggressively.

“Our main thing was just focusing on our side and keeping our foot on the gas, no matter what they were going to do,” Denaburg said.

Court one’s combined margin of victory was eclipsed by the Bruins’ performances on court five and court two. Freshmen Sophie Moore and Natalie Myszkowski took a 21-6, 21-5 decision on the final court – the duo’s largest win of the season.

Sophomore Devon Newberry and redshirt sophomore Jaden Whitmarsh got UCLA on the board first with a 21-6, 21-10 win on court two. The pair improved to 25-5 on the season with the victory, including its second triumph over Washington this year.

“Devon and I were solely focused on our serving and passing,” Whitmarsh said. “Once we take care of our serve-pass game, it all kind of just falls our way.”

The Bruins previously beat the Huskies at the Pac-12 North Invitational, securing a 5-0 win April 10. Despite his team’s prior victory over its first-round opponent, coach Stein Metzger said UCLA still had a new perspective.

“It’s different because it’s the Pac-12 championships,” Metzger said. “You never know how teams are going to start in the tournament, so it’s nice to see that the team was ready to rock and roll.”

Senior Lea Monkhouse and freshman Jessie Smith put up the Bruins’ dual-clinching third point with a 21-15, 21-12 win. The court three duo’s combined 15-point triumph over Washington’s Ashley Shook and Hannah Yerex marked UCLA’s smallest margin of victory across its four straight-set wins.

The Bruins will return to the sand against the Cardinal on Thursday at 10:15 a.m.