SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — It had been a while since Saint Mary's Beach Volleyball found a pair of wins on the beach courts. Part of that was due to the fact that Saint Mary's has only had four beach matches since February, and part of that was due to the rigorous scheduling: three of the last four matches have been against ranked teams. No matter the case, the Gaels found their winning ways again on Thursday at the WCC Midseason Invitational, winning both of their matches against WCC teams in San Francisco and Santa Clara. With a pair of 4-1 wins, the Gaels improved to 4-4 on the season.
 
Beginning the day against San Francisco, the Gaels and Dons met up for the second time this season and SMC proved that the outcome from the February match would be similar this time around. San Francisco scored one win on the day in the twos, but the Gaels cruised through the rest of the matches. Chandler Cowell and Elena Baka were positioned as the top pair and set the tone, with a 21-10 and 21-16 win. Jennifer "Boo" Laird and Morgan Kendrick were back in the threes and also used strong performances to down the Dons with scores of 21-9 and 21-12.
 
The overall clinching win for Saint Mary's was credited to Aeriel Sundt and Trinity Durfee, who saw time in their third match of the season and they were dominant, defeating USF with scores of 21-12 and 21-6. Their performance helped them earn a spot in the fours against Santa Clara, where they again won. Madison Baumann and Karmin Brown closed out the first match with a three-set win over the fourth-pair of the Dons, with a 15-7 win in the closing set.
 
Saint Mary's came just one match away from pulling off a sweep against Santa Clara in their first and only scheduled match on the year, starting off strong again with Cowell and Baka in the twos, defeating their opponents from Santa Clara 21-7 and 21-13 for their first wins of the year in the twos. Sundt and Durfee were good again in the fours, as they won 21-17 and 21-19. The clinching win for Saint Mary's came in the fives this time around, with Makenna Joyce and Selbie Christensen pulling off the straight-set win 21-18 and 21-13 to secure the daily sweep.
 
A pair of three setters closed out the day for Saint Mary's, and it was their top pair of Alexsa "Crash" Parker and Hawley Harrer getting the job done first. After dropping the first set to Santa Clara, the Gaels top pair responded with wins of 21-11 and 15-10 to seal the deal and get the Gaels one step closer to a sweep. Three sets between Laird/Kendrick and the Broncos third pair were all decided by two points, but in the third set, Santa Clara snuck away with a 17-15 win to avoid a sweep.
 
RESULTS vs. USF
(1) Chandler Cowell/Elena Baka (SMC) def. Catie Cronister/Tanner Pemberton (USF) 21-10, 21-16
(2) Anna Dalla Vecchia/Greta Corti (USF) def. Jasmin Suarez/Sienna Young (SMC) 21-17, 21-15
(3) Jennifer "Boo" Laird/Morgan Kendrick (SMC) def. Sophie Sydenham/Katie Wagstaff (USF) 21-9, 21-12
(5) Aeriel Sundt/Trinity Durfee (SMC) def. Sara Denham/Jessica Eanes (USF) 21-12, 21-6
(4) Madison Baumann/Karmin Brown (SMC) def. Bruna Correa/Serafina Rivera (USF) 14-21, 21-14, 15-7
 
RESULTS vs. SCU
(2) Chandler Cowell/Elena Baka (SMC) def. Claire Doud/Kathryn Decker (SCU) 21-7, 21-13
(4) Aeriel Sundt/Trinity Durfee (SMC) def. Alexia Gallegos/Gretchen Reinert (SCU) 21-17, 21-19
(5) Makenna Joyce/Selbie Christensen (SMC) def. Elizabeth Held/Nani Spaar (SCU) 21-18, 21-13
(6) Karmin Brown/Sienna Young (SMC) def. Kat Georgiadis/Elena Radeff (SCU) 21-9, 21-16 (exhibition)
(1) Alexsa "Crash" Parker/Hawley Harrer (SMC) def. Michelle Shaffer/Julia Sangiacomo (SCU) 15-21, 21-11, 15-10
(3) Jordan Bennett/Alex Anthony (SCU) def. Jennifer "Boo" Laird/Morgan Kendrick (SMC) 21-19, 22-24, 17-15

ELENA ELABORATES
"It was so fun being out there playing by the beach today. Today's game versus Santa Clara was a really good opportunity for Chandler and I to perform the things we have been working on in practice. We were very consistent and on top of our plays. Our team is doing great and we are excited to grind and get better tomorrow." - Elena Baka

BAUMANN BITES
"I'm really proud of the way each pair fought today. it was great to finally be out on the sand competing against other great WCC programs. Everyone came out focused and fired up and we are excited to get back out there and grind tomorrow!" - Madison Baumann
 
UP NEXT
Two more matches at the WCC Midseason Invitational remain for the Gaels, as they take on Pacific bright and early at 9:00 am before a midday affair against #5 LMU at 12:30 pm. Beginning with the LMU match, five of the final seven regular season matches for Saint Mary's will be against teams actively ranked inside the top-20 of the AVCA Beach Volleyball rankings.