EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — For the first time since 2019, the West Coast Conference held its normally-annual WCC Championship, returning after the COVID-19 hiatus. Saint Mary's Beach Volleyball entered the seven-team field as the third-seed overall, sitting behind a pair of ranked teams. It was a mixed bag in terms of results for the Gaels, who wound up winning twice and and dropping one match on Friday during the opening rounds of the tournament. By winning twice, the Gaels have ensured they will have a chance to compete for a WCC championship on Saturday afternoon.
 
Saint Mary's handled San Francisco as they expected to in the opening match, as the third-seeded Gaels rolled past the sixth-seeded Dons without losing a set. Makenna Joyce and Selbie Christensen were the first pair to finish and they won with the biggest margins of the day, with scores of 21-11 in both sets. They also have run their winning streak to four in a row, the longest streak for any Gaels pairing. Elena Baka and Chandler Cowell snapped a losing streak as they got back on track as the top pairing, with scores of 21-18 and 21-15. The clincher came in the threes, as Jasmin Suarez and Sienna Young won 21-17 and 21-11, ensuring the Gaels would move on to the next round in the winner's bracket to face second-seeded Pepperdine.
 
#13 Pepperdine turned the tides on Saint Mary's after their opening-round sweep, besting Saint Mary's in 5-0 fashion. The Gaels did feature some close individual sets, but were unable to take down the ranked-Waves team as they did at Stanford two weekends ago. The pairing of Cowell and Baka went to 21-16 in the first set, while Joyce and Christensen were the closest to snagging a victory, with finals of 21-18 and 21-14. It marks the first time this season the Gaels had been swept by any team.
 
In the final match of the day, Saint Mary's needed to beat fourth-seeded Santa Clara to stay alive, and the Gaels did just that, doing so in straight sets again. It was Cowell and Baka finishing up first with commanding 21-9 and 21-12 wins, before Jennifer "Boo" Laird and Morgan Kendrick were consistent in their 21-15 finals (both sets). This time it was Joyce and Christensen who ensured the Gaels would be playing again on Saturday with the clinching win, doing so with scores of 21-16 and 21-12. For good measure, Jasmin Suarez and Sienna Young capped off a 2-1 day with finals of 22-20 and 21-17, and Alexsa "Crash" Parker/Hawley Harrer ended the sweep in style with a 21-9 final set.
 
RESULTS vs. SAN FRANCISCO
(1) Chandler Cowell/Elena Baka (SMC) def. Anna Dalla Vecchia/Catie Cronister (USF) 21-18, 21-15
(2) Alexsa "Crash" Parker/Hawley Harrer (SMC) def. Tanner Pemberton/Greta Corti (USF) 21-18
(3) Jasmin Suarez/Sienna Young (SMC) def. Sophie Sydenham/Katie Wagstaff (USF) 21-17, 21-11
(4) Morgan Kendrick/Jennifer "Boo" Laird (SMC) def. Bruna Correa/Serafina Rivera (USF) 21-14, 21-15
(5) Makenna Joyce/Selbie Christensen (SMC) vs. Sara Denham/Jessica Eanes (USF) 21-11, 21-11
 
ORDER FINISH: 5, 1, 3*, 4, 2
 
RESULTS vs. #13 PEPPERDINE
(1) Carly Skjodt/Melanie Paul (PEP) def. Chandler Cowell/Elena Baka (SMC) 21-16, 21-11
(2) Brook Bauer/Alexis Filippone (PEP) def. Alexsa "Crash" Parker/Hawley Harrer (SMC) 21-14, 21-12
(3) Sutton MacTavish/Simone Priebe (PEP) def. Jasmin Suarez/Sienna Young (SMC) 21-14, 21-10
(4) Mary Sinclair/Gracie Pedersen (PEP) def. Morgan Kendrick/Jennifer "Boo" Laird (SMC) 21-11, 21-8
(5) Katie Gavin/Kristine Briede (PEP) def. Makenna Joyce/Selbie Christensen (SMC) 21-18, 21-14
 
ORDER FINISH: 1, 4, 3*, 5, 2
 
RESULTS vs. SANTA CLARA
(1) Chandler Cowell/Elena Baka (SMC) def. Claire Doud/Kathryn Decker (SCU) 21-9, 21-12
(2) Alexsa "Crash" Parker/Hawley Harrer (SMC) def. Michelle Shaffer/Julia Sangiacomo (SCU) 21-18, 21-9
(3) Jasmin Suarez/Sienna Young (SMC) def. Jordan Bennett/Alex Anthony (SCU) 22-20, 21-17
(4) Morgan Kendrick/Jennifer "Boo" Laird (SMC) def. Gretchen Reinert/Katerina Georgiadis (SCU) 21-15, 21-15
(5) Makenna Joyce/Selbie Christensen (SMC) def. Alexia Gallegos/Elena Radeff (SCU) 21-16, 21-12
 
ORDER FINISH: 1, 4, 5*, 3, 2

BROWNING BITES
"A good day for the Gaels. We got to play three good teams and took care of business in the morning and the afternoon. Pepperdine played very well against us and we hope to get another shot at them tomorrow. But first thing's first, we need to take care of business tomorrow morning to put ourselves in a position to win the tournament. This is a really tough tournament with a couple of the best teams in the country here. But we came in knowing we can compete with any team in the WCC." - co-head coach, Rob Browning

CRASH COMMENTS
"Overall, today was an extremely good day. Hawley and I got to play loose and execute things we've been working on but were also able to learn from our games and have takeaways for what we need to be better at tomorrow. There's always ups and down in matches and as a whole team we're getting better at bouncing back from those lulls and learning from them. We all worked hard today and we're looking forward to a good day of volleyball tomorrow!" - Alexsa "Crash" Parker
 
UP NEXT
Day 2 of the 2021 WCC Championship takes place on Saturday, as the Gaels will look to fight off elimination from the beginning. They play in the first match of the day against the winner of fifth-seeded Pacific and sixth-seeded San Francisco, who play late in the afternoon on Friday. If the Gaels come out on top, they will then play in the finale of the consolation bracket, with a spot in the championship match on the line. Play begins Saturday morning at 10:30 am.