MORAGA, Calif. — Back on the beach courts for the first time in nearly a month, Saint Mary's Beach Volleyball got a great test right out of the gate against #12 Stanford. These teams met in early March when the Gaels were last in beach competition, and Saint Mary's nearly pulled off an impressive five-match win over the Cardinal. Unfortunately for the Gaels, they once again wound up on the wrong side of a 3-2 decision, with Stanford walking away the victors in Moraga, sending Saint Mary's to 2-3 on the season overall and 0-2 against a tough Stanford team.
 
Saint Mary's took home their first win on the day in the third match to go final, with Chandler Cowell and Elena Baka doing the honors in convincing fashion against their Stanford opponents. In the threes, Cowell and Baka locked up a close set-one win with a final of 21-18, but then dominated in the second set, with a 21-8 final that was never in question. For those two, they remain a perfect 3-0 on the 2021 beach season.
 
The final match of the afternoon to go final was also in favor of SMC, with Hawley Harrer and Alexsa "Crash" Parker going the distance against Sunny Villapando and Charlie Ekstrom of Stanford. The Gaels top pairing dropped the first set 21-17, but then responded with a much cleaner set two, and a 21-11 final. The third set was back-and-forth in every way, but Harrer and Parker were able to close it out with a 15-13 final. At that point, Stanford had already secured a win, but it was impressive nonetheless.
 
Morgan Kendrick and Jennifer "Boo" Laird went three sets in their matchup, ultimately dropping the final one with a score of 18-16. Aeriel Sundt and Trinity Durfee went three sets in their exhibition as well, dropping the final set in the same fashion as Kendrick and Laird with an 18-16 score. Makenna Joyce and Selbie Christensen got things started for the Gaels with a pair of competitive sets against the fives of Stanford, but dropped them with finals of 22-20 and 21-18.

FULL RESULTS
(5) Amelia Smith/Emmy Sharp (STAN) def. Makenna Joyce/Selbie Christiensen (SMC) 22-20, 21-18
(6) Ellie Gamberdella/Kylee Matheson (STAN) def. Aeriel Sundt/Trinity Durfee (SMC) 21-17, 19-21, 18-16 (exhibition)
(3) Chandler Cowell/Elena Baka (SMC) def. Maya Harvey/Maddi Kriz (STAN) 21-18, 21-8
(4) Jordan McKinney/Maddie Dailey (STAN) def. Morgan Kendrick/Jennifer "Boo" Laird (SMC) 21-14, 19-21, 18-16
(2) Kate Reilly/Xolani Hodel (STAN) def. Jasmin Suarez/Sienna Young (SMC) 21-9, 21-17
(1) Hawley Harrer/Alexsa "Crash" Parker (SMC) def. Sunny Villapando/Charlie Ekstrom (STAN) 17-21, 21-11, 15-13
 
CRASH COMMENTS
"Today was a really good step in the right direction for Hawley and I. We had to grind and we couldn't let up because we knew if we gave them an inch they would take a mile. So we really worked to keep the pressure on their side of the court. It was a blast to get to play and actually implement the things we've finally been able to work on in practice. The whole team had to grind today as well. Everyone pushed their opponents to close sets and they overall played awesome and I'm super proud of how our team performed today!" – Alexsa "Crash" Parker
 
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's will resume beach play on Tuesday, April 6 when they welcome in another team from the Pac-12, #9 Cal. The Bears are 8-3 on the season and will be the second consecutive ranked team Saint Mary's plays in advance of the WCC Midseason Tournament, set for the weekend of April 8 and 9.