PALO ALTO, Calif. — Do not let the final scores fool you: Saint Mary's Beach Volleyball came to play on Sunday afternoon in their regular season finale. The Gaels drew two ranked teams in No. 11 California and No. 8 Stanford on Sunday, and they showed perhaps their greatest fight of the season. The end result may have been two losses to drop their record to 15-16 overall, but the Gaels were right there with both Pac-12 schools, serving as a big confidence boost heading into the West Coast Conference Championship.
 
Match 1: No. 11 California 4, Saint Mary's 1
 
A first was accomplished on Sunday afternoon, as the Gaels saw their first pair victory against a ranked opponent in 2022. This came from Jasmin Suarez and Jennifer "Boo" Laird in the twos, and they took down Lexi McKeown and Ella Dreibholz of Cal. Suarez and Laird actually lost the first set 21-16, but then came back and finished strong. The second set went to SMC with a 21-15 final, and then in a back-and-forth third set, Suarez and Laird were rewarded with a 15-13 win, tying the overall team score at 1-1 and giving the Gaels some life.
 
Saint Mary's had a chance to potentially take one or two more matches and take down the Golden Bears, but they again lost a few nail-biting sets that gave Cal what they needed to take the 4-1 win. Makenna Joyce and Karmin Brown dropped their second set 22-20 after leading early in the set. Ella Sandt and Genevieve Bane took their match to three sets after they came back and won the second set 22-20, but were bounced in the third set. In the ones, Chandler Cowell and Selbie Christensen dueled hard with the Golden Bears top pair, but lost the second set 25-23. Just as Saturday, if those sets are flipped and the Gaels win, the entire outcome could change.
 
RESULTS
(4) Brooke Buchner/Ashley Delgado (Cal) def. Aeriel Sundt/Hawley Harrer (SMC) 21-11, 21-17
(2) Jasmin Suarez/Jennifer "Boo" Laird (SMC) def. Lexi McKeown/Ella Dreibholz (Cal) 16-21, 21-15, 15-13
(3) Ainsley Radell/Ava Mann (Cal) def. Makenna Joyce/Karmin Brown (SMC) 21-8, 22-20
(5) Alex Young-Gomez/Natalie Martin (Cal) def. Ella Sandt/Genevieve Bane (SMC) 21-12, 20-22, 15-5
(1) Maya Gessner/Ana Costa (Cal) def. Chandler Cowell/Selbie Christensen (SMC) 21-9, 25-23
 
Match 2: No. 8 Stanford 5, Saint Mary's 0
 
Wrapping up a long weekend of beach volleyball, the Gaels put up perhaps their best fight against No. 8 Stanford. The first two flights to finish both went into the third set, and it looked as if the Gaels might take both. Sundt and Harrer were strong in the fours, winning the first set 21-17 and fell by just three points in the second set. The third set went down to the wire, with Stanford taking it 15-13 to hold on for a massive first point. In the twos, Suarez and Laird took the second set 21-14 and had the best battle of the day in the third set. Neither pair could pull ahead of the other, needing extra points to settle a winner, and unfortunately for the Gaels, Stanford won 19-17 to take a 2-0 lead overall.
 
The third flight saw Saint Mary's nearly take a match from the Cardinal, as Joyce and Brown were once again scrappy and ready for a fight. Both of the opening sets went 22-20, with the Gaels winning the second set, and they were competitive in the final set as well. Very few squads are able to push Stanford, or California for that matter, to the limit, but Saint Mary's continued to do that all weekend long.
 
RESULTS
(4) Maddie Dailey/Maya Harvey (STAN) def. Aeriel Sundt/Hawley Harrer (SMC) 17-21, 21-18, 15-13
(2) Charlie Ekstrom/Maddi Kriz (STAN) def. Jasmin Suarez/Jennifer "Boo" Laird (SMC) 21-17, 14-21, 19-17
(5) Emma Morris/Jordan McKinney (STAN) def. Ella Sandt/Genevieve Bane (SMC) 21-15, 21-12
(1) Xolani Hodel/Kate Reilly (STAN) def. Chandler Cowell/Selbie Christensen (SMC) 21-10, 21-11
(3) Emmy Sharp/Taylor Wilson (STAN) def. Makenna Joyce/Karmin Brown (SMC) 22-20, 20-22, 15-10

QUOTABLES
"Really proud of our team. We are basically a part-time beach program going toe-to-toe with full-time, fully-funded programs and we are right there with them. This is excellent preparation for the West Coast Conference Championships next weekend." - Rob Browning
 
UP NEXT
With the regular season over, Saint Mary's will now prepare for the 2022 West Coast Conference Championship, beginning on April 29 and ending on April 30. The double-elimination tournament will feature every beach team in the WCC, and it is expected that Saint Mary's will enter the tournament as the third seed. Last season, Saint Mary's finished third overall after starting the tournament as the third seed.