Sand Volleyball
    Shaw-Urango, Burnham-Irvin Get To Quarterfinals of AVCA Pairs Tourney
    Competition concludes the 2012 women's sand volleyball season.
    Geena Urango (l) and Sara Shaw
    Geena Urango (l) and Sara Shaw

    April 29, 2012

    USC's women's sand volleyball pairs teams of Sara Shaw-Geena Urango and Kirby Burnham-Kelly Irvin both advanced to the quarterfinals of the pairs championship of the first AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball Championship on Sunday (April 29) in Gulf Shores, Ala., before losing in the single elimination 16-team tourney.

    Shaw-Urango, USC's No. 1 team, beat Hawaii's Croson-Lee in the first round, 16-21, 21-19, 15-11, but then fell to eventual pairs national champion Racich-Ross of Pepperdine, 21-19, 21-8, in the quarters.

    Burnham-Irvin, USC's No. 2 squad, defeated Pizzocheri-Tate of Florida Atlantic in the opening round, 21-16, 24-22, then lost to Florida State's Pardon-Stepanova in the quarters, 21-17, 23-21.

    On Saturday (April 28), Pepperdine defeated Long Beach State to win the AVCA team championship.

    The AVCA Collegiate San Volleyball Championship concludes the first-season of women's sand volleyball as an NCAA-sponsored "emerging sport."