SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — Saint Mary's Beach Volleyball comes into the Midseason Invitational as one of the hottest teams in the conference. Winners of 11 out of 12 matches in the month of March, the Gaels sought to keep the good times rolling at the Main Beach in Santa Cruz. Saint Mary's scored a victory in their first match of the day over San Francisco before falling to #16 Pepperdine to close out the afternoon. Heading into the second day of the invitational, the Gaels are 12-6 overall.
 
Match 1: Saint Mary's 4, San Francisco 1
 
The Midseason Invitational got off to a great start for the Gaels, who remained perfect in WCC play by beating the Dons 4-1. Arguably their most dominant pair of the season, Selbie Christensen and Chandler Cowell, were back in action in the twos and scored the first point of the day for SMC by cruising past San Francisco's second pair with scores of 21-6 and 21-12. Karmin Brown and Makenna Joyce made it a 2-0 start for Saint Mary's when they scored a win in the threes in relatively easy fashion, 21-15 and 21-10.
 
The clinching result for the Gaels came with their top pair, Jennifer "Boo" Laird and Jasmin Suarez. They had to work hard in the first set against Orsula Staka and Letizia Aquilino of USF, as they went deep into bonus points. A couple of big kills from the Gaels sealed a 26-24 win in the first set, which set the tone for the second set, where the Gaels top pair won 21-14 to secure a win and a date with Pepperdine later in the afternoon.
 
RESULTS
(2) Selbie Christensen/Chandler Cowell (SMC) def. Katie Wagstaff/Lana Kutakhina (USF) 21-6, 21-12
(3) Karmin Brown/Makenna Joyce (SMC) def. Tanner Pemberton/Jess Eanes (USF) 21-15, 21-10
(5) Shyia Richardson/Bruna Correa (USF) def. Genevieve Bane/Ella Sandt (SMC) 21-11, 21-15
(1) Jennifer "Boo" Laird/Jasmin Suarez (SMC) def. Orsula Staka/Letizia Aquilino (USF) 26-24, 21-14
(4) Hawley Harrer/Aeriel Sundt (SMC) def. Sophie Sydenham/Sara Denham (USF) 21-16, 21-15
 
Match 2: #16 Pepperdine 5, Saint Mary's 0
 
Things were different in the second go-round for Saint Mary's, as they lost all five to a ranked Pepperdine team, but they did manage to get a few set wins along the way. The fives and the ones made life difficult for the Waves, as Genevieve Bane and Ella Sandt shook off their loss from earlier in the afternoon and won the second set against Cameron Baklenko and Rio Frohoff 21-18. They gave it a fight in the deciding third set, but fell 15-10. The Gaels top pair of Laird and Suarez were pretty dominant in their second-set win over the Waves top pair (21-12), but they dropped the third set as well with a final of 15-8.
 
RESULTS
(2) Simone Priebe/McKenna Thomas (PEPP) def. Selbie Christensen/Chandler Cowell (SMC) – 21-10, 21-11
(3) Peyton Lewis/Juju Quintero (PEPP) def. Makenna Joyce/Karmin Brown (SMC) – 21-14, 21-13
(4) Mary Sinclair/Kate Clermont (PEPP) def. Hawley Harrer/Aeriel Sundt (SMC) – 21-16, 21-17
(5) Cameron Baklenko/Rio Frohoff (PEPP) def. Genevieve Bane/Ella Sandt (SMC) – 21-11, 18-21, 15-10
(1) Melanie Paul/Madison Shields (PEPP) def. Jennifer "Boo" Laird/Jasmin Suarez (SMC) – 18-21, 21-12, 15-8

QUOTABLES
"Today was a great challenge battling some tough teams while practicing controlling the ball in the wind. Our team played well and are definitely looking forward to some more competitive volleyball tomorrow!" - Jennifer "Boo" Laird

"Today the Gaels fought hard against USF and Pepperdine. We all worked on focusing during every play and going 100% in every rally, regardless of who was on the other side of the net. Some of our pairs went to three sets against Pepperdine, and it was a big moment for the Gaels as we proved to ourselves that we are able to beat a nationally ranked team." - Aeriel Sundt
 
UP NEXT
Play continues in the Midseason Invitational on Saturday, with matches beginning at 9 am on the Main Beach in Santa Cruz. The Gaels are the No. 2 seed in the Gold Bracket, meaning they will take on a No. 1 seed at 9:00 am, and their first opponent will be fifth-ranked Loyola Marymount. A win would set up a potential rematch with Pepperdine, whereas a loss would send the Gaels to play Santa Clara in the afternoon.