PALO ALTO, Calif. — Saint Mary's Beach Volleyball was playing for a shot at the championship of the Stanford Invitational on Saturday afternoon. Had the Gaels scored a win in their first match, they'd have a shot at the title against the hosting Cardinal, and another crack to take them down. Unfortunately, both teams that Saint Mary's drew came out ready to fight, and Saint Mary's dropped a pair of 4-1 decisions to #12 Cal and #11 Pepperdine in the consolation match. Saint Mary's is now 8-8 on the season as it nears a conclusion.
 
Saint Mary's got started in the fours and twos against #12 Cal, needing a win to secure a spot in the championship. They came close in the fours with Morgan Kendrick and Jennifer "Boo" Laird, but they ultimately fell short with scores of 21-12 and 21-18, with the final set being their best chance. They were able to secure their first and only victory of the match in the third set, when Jasmin Suarez and Sienna Young and were able to win for the second time in the tournament, after besting their Stanford foes on Saturday. The score this time around was 21-16 and 21-10.
 
The loss dropped Saint Mary's into a rematch against #11 Pepperdine, and the Waves were ready this time around. Again it was the twos and fours going first for Saint Mary's, and Alexsa "Crash" Parker and Hawley Harrer came close to picking up a win. Dropped down into the twos, Parker and Harrer won the second set 21-12, but then fell in the deciding set 15-10. The fours also went down to the wire, with Kendrick and Laird winning their opening set 21-19, but then dropping tightly contested sets 21-18 and 15-10.
 
Saint Mary's did pick up a win against Pepperdine, and it came in the fives, where Makenna Joyce and Selbie Christensen scored their second win of the tournament, with both coming over the Pepperdine fifth flight. Joyce and Christensen were winners with scores of 21-12 and 21-19, to improve their season-mark to 6-4. In that match's exhibition, the Gaels were also winners via Madison Baumann and Karmin Brown, who downed the Waves with scores of 21-16 and 21-9.
 
RESULTS vs. #12 CAL
(1) Mim Mirkovic/Caroline Schafer (CAL) def. Chandler Cowell/Elena Baka (SMC) 21-18, 21-14
(2) Jordan Polo/Ainsley Radell (CAL) def. Alexsa "Crash" Parker/Hawley Harrer (SMC) 21-18, 21-9
(3) Jasmin Suarez/Sienna Young (SMC) def. Alexia Inman/Grace Paulson (CAL) 21-16, 21-10
(4) Maya Gessner/Maddie Micheletti (CAL) def. Morgan Kendrick/Jennifer "Boo" Laird (SMC) 21-12, 21-18
(5) Brooke Buchner/Ava Mann (CAL) def. Makenna Joyce/Selbie Christensen (SMC) 21-12, 21-12
(6) Kate Bierly/Katie Smoot (CAL) def. Trinity Durfee/Aeriel Sundt (SMC) 25-23, 21-18 (exhibition)
 
ORDER FINISH: 4, 2, 3, 5*, 1
 
RESULTS vs. #11 PEPPERDINE
(1) Carly Skjodt/Melanie Paul (PEP) def. Chandler Cowell/Elena Baka (SMC) 21-17, 21-16
(2) Alexis Filippone/Brooke Bauer (PEP) def. Alexsa "Crash" Parker/Hawley Harrer (SMC) 21-11, 12-21, 15-10
(3) Simone Priebe/Sutton Mactavish (PEP) def. Jasmin Suarez/Sienna Young (SMC) 21-14, 21-19
(4) Mary Sinclair/Gracie Pedersen (PEP) def. Morgan Kendrick/Jennifer "Boo" Laird (SMC) 19-21, 21-18, 15-10
(5) Makenna Joyce/Selbie Christensen (SMC) def. Calista Wright/Cameron Baklenko (PEP) 21-12, 21-19
(6) Karmin Brown/Madison Baumann (SMC) def. Katie Gavin/Kristine Briede (PEP) 21-16, 21-9 (exhibition)
 
ORDER FINISH: 2, 4, 5, 1*, 3
 
BROWNING BITES
"Thank you to Stanford for hosting this excellent event. It was a good weekend for our team. The win over Pepperdine was awesome and we had great battles by different pairs. We are focused on getting as good as we can possibly be before the WCC Championships in two weeks. These matches were exactly what we needed to prepare ourselves for that. We have different pairs that are beating good opponents at different times which shows our depth and balance, and we are taking some of the best pairs in the country to the limit in sets and matches. We are close to breaking through." – co-head coach, Rob Browning
 
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's has just two matches left in the regular season, both of them taking place on Saturday, April 24. Saint Mary's will play Santa Clara and #6 Cal Poly, with both matches being hosted by Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. The season will then conclude with the WCC Championships on April 30 and May 1 in Santa Monica.