Hawaii beach volleyball: Former SandBow Karissa Cook wins gold at Pan Am Games

Jace Pardon, left, and UH beach volleyball alumna Karissa Cook, right, showed their gold medals for the USA at Costa Verde San Miguel during Pan American Games Lima 2019. / Photo copyright Juan Carlos Guzman, Lima 2019

Former Hawaii beach all-American Karissa Cook and partner Jace Pardon teamed to win gold at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, on Tuesday.

The U.S. pair rallied to beat Argentina 14-21, 22-20, 15-10 — the first time in the tournament that the duo dropped a set. Cook/Pardon defeated Argentina’s defending Pan Am Games champion and two-time Olympian Ana Gallay and her partner Fernanda Pereira,

Thick fog from the nearby Pacific Ocean blanketed the hills surrounding the sandy venue in Lima. But the 28-year-old Cook, who grew up in Santa Cruz, Calif., said it was ideal.

“My hometown is just like this,” Cook told the Associated Press. “I love this weather.”

Cook played indoor volleyball at Stanford before transferring to Hawaii for one season. In 2014, she went 38-6 with fellow all-American Brittany Tiegs at No. 1 and were the runners-up in the AVCA Pairs National Championship, two seasons before the NCAA began sanctioning the sport.
Tuesday was the first gold medal for the U.S. at the Pan American Games.

In the 2014 AVCA National Sand Volleyball Championships, then-UH senior Karissa Cook, with partner Brittany Tiegs (not pictured), competed against Florida State at Gulf Shores, Ala. / Star-Advertiser file photo by Wally Nell

COMMENTS

  1. Mean Uncle Dan July 31, 2019 7:53 am

    Jace Pardon is the little sister of University of Hawaii water polo player Sivan Pardon


  2. islandman July 31, 2019 9:15 am

    Today’s paper said they used a split blocking system “in which they both spent time defending at the net and in the backcourt.
    That allowed them to attack from behind the baseline.”


  3. Cindy Luis July 31, 2019 9:21 am

    1. Sivan played 2009-12.
    Coincidently Pardon and Tiegs were former partners, won several tournaments together. The two were at Florida State before Tiegs transfered to UH.
    2. they’re both ‘Bigs’ so that allows them to do so.


  4. Cindy Luis July 31, 2019 5:31 pm

    https://www.hawaiiwarriorworld.com/?p=50411
    new thread up for Thursday.


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