SANTA CLARA, Calif. — After a nine-day hiatus, Saint Mary's Beach Volleyball returned to action on Tuesday afternoon at Santa Clara to take on the Broncos. This is the second time this season that these teams have met, after the Gaels took down Santa Clara 3-2 during the Midseason Invitational, which was the last time Saint Mary's won a match. Santa Clara came back to take down the Gaels 3-2 on their home sand Tuesday afternoon, sending the Gaels to 13-12 overall on the season.
 
The afternoon started out perfectly for the Gaels, as they won the first two matches in the threes and twos. Makenna Joyce and Karmin Brown opened things up with a 21-16, 21-17 win in the threes, and Jennifer "Boo" Laird and Jasmin Suarez followed with wins of 21-11 and 21-16. After those two matches, SMC was just one win away from securing their eighth WCC win of the season.
 
That final win was hard to come by, as the Broncos came back and won the final three matches of the afternoon. The fives was won handily by the Broncos, with Jordan Bennett and Alexia Gallegos holding the Gaels to just 16 and 10 points. In the top flight, Michelle Shaffer and Julia Sangiacomo won 21-13 and 21-19, putting all the pressure on the fours. Hawley Harrer and Aeriel Sundt gave it a good run for the Gaels, but lost a pair of tight contests 21-19 and 21-17, and that secured the win for Santa Clara.
 
RESULTS
(3) Makenna Joyce/Karmin Brown (SMC) def. Elena Radeff/Alexie Epstein (SCU) 21-16, 21-17
(2) Jennifer "Boo" Laird/Jasmin Suarez (SMC) def. Alexia Inman/Casey Campbell (SCU) 21-11, 21-16
(5) Jordan Bennett/Alexia Gallegos (SCU) def. Ella Sandt/Genevieve Bane (SMC) 21-16, 21-10
(1) Michelle Shaffer/Julia Sangiacomo (SCU) def. Selbie Christensen/Chandler Cowell (SMC) 21-13, 21-19
(4) Sophia Tulino/Claire Doud (SCU) def. Hawley Harrer/Aeriel Sundt (SMC) 21-19, 21-17
(6) Megan Chandler/Trinity Durfee (SMC) def. Natalia Rentsch/Elyse Erickson (SCU) 21-18, 21-18 (exhibition)
 
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's will host their final two home beach matches of the 2022 season next week when they welcome in Santa Clara and San Francisco. The Broncos and Gaels meet again on Wednesday at 4:00 pm before the Gaels turn around and host the Dons at 4:00 pm on Thursday. The match against San Francisco will also serve as Senior Day for Saint Mary's.