MORAGA, Calif. — With a quick turnaround from their first beach match of the year to their second, Saint Mary's Beach Volleyball hit the sand courts once again, this time in their first WCC dual. Going against San Francisco, the Gaels looked even stronger than they did against Oregon, breezing past the Dons in straight sets across the board as they picked up the sweep to improve to a perfect 2-0 on the year.
 
The Gaels kept their lineup similar to that of the opener against Oregon, and opted to play the pair of Morgan Kendrick and Jennifer "Boo" Laird in the fours first. They were able to roll past the Dons with scores of 21-12 and 21-11, while fighting off the chilly morning temperatures. On court one, Alexsa "Crash" Parker and Hawley Harrer were slotted in the second spot and looked dominant, winning 21-7 and 21-12, proving early on that they will be tough outs for anyone in the WCC.
 
Newly inserted into the starting lineup this time around was Madison Baumann and Karmin Brown, slotted into the fives after competing in the sixth spot on Friday. After rolling past their opponents in the first set 21-7, they received a scare in the second but were able to hang on for the sweep and win 21-18. Their victory served as the clinching point as Saint Mary's secured their first WCC win of the year.
 
Shortly after Baumann and Brown won, Elena Baka and Chandler Cowell were clinching their second win as a pair in 2021. Baka and Cowell won in the threes with scores of 21-10 and 21-16. This set the stage for the new top pair for the Gaels, Sienna Young and Jasmin Suarez to cap off the sweep, and that they did with finals of 21-12 and 21-14. Rounding out the morning of competition was Aeriel Sundt and Trinity Durfee, yesterday's fifth pair, in an exhibition, and they took care of business convincingly against the Dons with scores of 21-11 and 21-9.
 
"We got better between the two days," head coach Gary Hodge said as the Gaels wrapped up their second win of the season. "We are a work in progress, of course, but we made progress. Our top pairs played the way we needed them to play. Hawley and Crash were fantastic and showed a glimpse of what they can become. I'm very excited to see where they can take this thing."
 
OVERALL RESULTS
(4) Laird/Kendrick (SMC) def. Abbruciati/Wagstaff (USF), 21-12, 21-11
(2) Parker/Harrer (SMC) def. Pemberton/Cronister (USF), 21-7, 21-12
(5) Baumann/Brown (SMC) def. Sydenham/Rivera (USF), 21-7, 21-18
(3) Baka/Cowell (SMC) def. Correa/Corti (USF), 21-10, 21-16
(1) Suarez/Young (SMC) def. Dalla Vecchia/Marshall (USF), 21-12, 21-14
(6) Durfee/Sundt (SMC) def. Denham/Eans (USF), 21-11, 21-9 (exhibition)
(7) Pemberton/Cronister (USF) def. Christensen/Joyce (SMC), 21-19, 18-21, 15-10 (exhibition)
 
UP NEXT
The Gaels will hit the road for the first time in beach play next weekend as they head to the Peninsula for a pair of matches on Saturday, with UC Davis and Stanford on tap in Palo Alto on March 6.