HERMOSA BEACH, Calif. – On the first day of competition at the USA Volleyball Collegiate Beach Championships, seniors Lindsey Calvin and Lindsey Knudsen swept through their competition. Their success on day one included a thrilling, 3-set upset over the 7-seeded pair from Florida State to win the pool.
 
The Gaels' day started out with an efficient, 2-set victory over 24-seed Logan Manusky and Lauren Freed from College of Charleston (21-13, 21-13). Then, the day culminated with a match against Payton Rund and Sara Putt who were the top seed in the pool. FSU finished the year ranked third in the nation and the duo the Gaels faced primarily played in the No. 2 spot, going 13-3 from that position. Rund was a familiar face to the Lindseys as she spent the last three years with Saint Mary's and was a 2-time beach volleyball All-WCC First Team and All-WCC Freshman Team honoree. The match started out in favor of the Seminoles who took the first set by the score of 21-19. Then, Calvin and Knudsen came back to claim the second in a set which took 25 points to decide (25-23). The final set was just as tightly-contested, but the SMC's grit came through as they triumphed with a 17-15 final score.

"The final match was against an incredible FSU duo," said head coach Gary Hodge. "The difference was service pressure and defense. The Gaels both served extremely tough, keeping the FSU players off-balanced throughout. Add to that Knudsen's cagey defense and Calvin's intimidating block, and the Gaels were able to beat one of the best pairs in the nation."
 
Saint Mary's will look to ride their momentum into Friday: day two of the three-day tournament. Full the full bracket and results, click here.
 
SMC's victory comes on the heels of an AVCA All-American Honorable mention for Lindsey Knudsen who received the award on Wednesday. Click here for the full story.
 
#GaelsRise