SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Saint Mary's Beach Volleyball embarked on a first during the 2022 season: three beach matches in one day. The daunting task came against some usual Bay Area rivals in San Francisco, Sacramento State, and Pacific. The Gaels were up to the challenge, winning 14 of 15 matches on the day en route to three team wins against USF, Sac State, and Pacific. Saint Mary's has now won four in a row after losing their first four and own a record of 4-4.
 
Match 1: Saint Mary's 5, San Francisco 0
 
Saint Mary's took care of business against San Francisco in convincing fashion, failing to lose a single set against the Dons in their first WCC match of the year. The combination of Makenna Joyce and Karmin Brown was particularly strong in the threes, as they rolled past their USF counterparts with scores of 21-7 and 21-13.
 
One change SMC made to their lineup was their fifth pair, putting Megan Chandler and Allie Cataldo together for the first time in actual competition. The results paid off for the Gaels, who saw the two freshmen put up wins of 21-16 and 21-17 to earn their first victories together.
 
(1) Jasmin Suarez/Jennifer "Boo" Laird (SMC) def. Orsula Staka/Letizia Aquilino (USF) 21-18, 21-12
(2) Chandler Cowell/Selbie Christensen (SMC) def. Tanner Pemberton/Katie Wagstaff (USF) 21-19, 21-12
(3) Makenna Joyce/Karmin Brown (SMC) def. Sophie Sydenham/Shyia Richardson (USF) 21-7, 21-13
(4) Aeriel Sundt/Trinity Durfee (SMC) def. Bruna Correa/Lana Kutakhina (USF) 22-20, 21-15
(5) Megan Chandler/Allie Cataldo (SMC) def. Francesca Stanschus/Sara Denham (USF) 21-16, 21-17
 
Match 2: Saint Mary's 4, Sacramento State 1
 
Saint Mary's survived some close calls against Sacramento State in their second match of the day, winning four of the games played. Three sets went into bonus points, and the Gaels won two of them: Jasmin Suarez and Jennifer "Boo" Laird in their opening set (23-21) and Aeriel Sundt and Trinity Durfee in their winning set (26-24).
 
Another change in the fives saw Ella Sandt and Genevieve Bane make their beach debuts for Saint Mary's after they participated in exhibition play at home on Tuesday. The new beach pair made good work of their first match, beating Caty Cardano and Karlee Soderberg of the Hornets 21-14 and 21-17.
 
(1) Jasmin Suarez/Jennifer "Boo" Laird (SMC) def. Kalani Hayes/Macey Hayden (SAC) 23-21, 21-15
(2) Chandler Cowell/Selbie Christensen (SMC) def. Caitlin Volkmann/Bridgette Smith (SAC) 21-7, 17-21, 15-9
(3) Ashtin Olin/McKenna Smith (SAC) def. Makenna Joyce/Karmin Brown (SMC) 21-17, 23-21
(4) Aeriel Sundt/Trinity Durfee (SMC) def. Ellie Tisko/Tiya Kamba-Griffin (SAC) 21-12, 26-24
(5) Ella Sandt/Genevieve Bane (SMC) def. Caty Cordano/Karlee Soderberg (SAC) 21-14, 21-17
 
Match 3: Saint Mary's 5, Pacific 0
 
The Gaels closed out the day with some of their best performances, winning all but one set en route to a 5-0 sweep of Pacific. From top to bottom, every pair brought more than enough to close out strong. Chandler Cowell and Selbie Christensen allowed just 19 points scored against them in two sets, while the first, second, and fourth pairs for Saint Mary's all closed out 3-0 days individually. Kristen Erland and Laura Studebaker were the third new pairing in the fives, and they were able to win in the deciding third set 15-13.
 
(1) Jasmin Suarez/Jennifer "Boo" Laird (SMC) def. Jenny Todd/Sammie Sheppard (UOP) 21-14, 21-12
(2) Chandler Cowell/Selbie Christensen (SMC) def. Brooklynn Thomas/Hania Taduran (UOP) 21-12, 21-7
(3) Makenna Joyce/Karmin Brown (SMC) def. Francheska Aguilar/Darina Kumanova (UOP) 21-12, 21-18
(4) Aeriel Sundt/Trinity Durfee (SMC) def. Lucy Carpenter/Miranda Baptista (UOP) 21-18, 21-17
(5) Kristen Erland/Laura Studebaker (SMC) def. Shahrzad Sadeghi/Megan Nishimura (UOP) 11-21, 21-12, 15-13
 
PLAYER/COACH QUOTES
"Today was a great test of our endurance and determination as a team. Each pair faced tough competition and was able to stay connected and focused throughout. I'm so proud of how much we are improving and the direction we are going." – Selbie Christensen
 
"A good performance today from the Gaels. Ell and Genevieve got their feet wet in the fives. Makenna and Karmin bounced back big time after a tough loss to Sac State. Jasmin and Boo were dominant against Pacific to finish the day. We always want to be better at the end of the day and I'm confident all our pairs accomplished that. We're excited for what lies ahead." – Rob Browning
 
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's has a bit of an oddity in the schedule on the way, as they are now in the middle of playing the Pacific Tigers for three consecutive matches. After finishing up with Pacific on Saturday, the two teams will meet again on Tuesday in Stockton, and then again on March 16 in Moraga, with no other matches in between for Saint Mary's.