WAIKIKI, Hawaii — For the second season in a row, Saint Mary's beach volleyball began the spring portion of their season in Hawaii at the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Classic. Taking some of the best teams in the country, the Gaels are getting a taste of what it takes to be one of the best teams in the country. They showed they can hang tough with these programs as well, even though the Gaels lost both matches to No. 10 Hawaii and No. 1 UCLA.
 
Match 1: No. 10 Hawaii 5, Saint Mary's 0
 
The opening match of the tournament saw the Gaels take on their first ranked opponent in the Rainbow Wahine, and they were sharp across the board. The most success that Saint Mary's found came with their top pair, as Hawley Harrer worked with Daniella Kensinger to take down Hawaii's top pair 22-20 in the opening set. Hawaii came back strong in the second set to win, setting up the decisive third set. It was back-and-forth the whole way, but Hawaii wound up getting the final point when they were up 14-13, clinching it at 15-13, and securing the sweep.
 
Scores improved across the board for SMC in the second set of each match, with Karmin Brown and Hannah Couch coming the closest in the twos. After their dropped their opening set 21-13, they battled back and scored 17 points in the second set. Angie Bour and Cameron Martinez also made it interesting in the fives, scoring 15 points in their final set after recording just 10 in the first set.
 
RESULTS
(3) Kaylee Glagau/Caprice Lorenzo (UH) def. Genevieve Bane/Paola Peralta (SMC) 21-10, 21-12
(4) Lea Kruse/Sofia Russo (UH) def. Allie Cataldo/Sadie Shipman (SMC) 21-10, 21-13
(5) Ilihia Huddleston/Sophie Buschmann (UH) def. Angie Bour/Cameron Martinez (SMC) 21-10, 21-15
(2) Kylin Loker/Riley Wagoner (UH) def. Karmin Brown/Hannah Couch (SMC) 21-13, 21-17
(1) Jamie Santer/Brooke Van Sickle (UH) def. Hawley Harrer/Daniella Kensinger (SMC) 20-22, 21-10, 15-13
 
Match 2: No. 1 UCLA 5, Saint Mary's 0
 
The second match on Thursday morning finished in a similar fashion to how the first one went, but this time the Gaels were taking on the top-ranked team in the country in UCLA. The Gaels third pair, led by Genevieve Bane and Paola Peralta, took the opening set from the Bruins in thrilling fashion, winning 22-20, but were unable to capture that magic the rest of the way through. They dropped the second set, and did hold a two-point lead midway through the third set before falling 15-12.
 
That was the best chance that Saint Mary's had to earn a point in the second match, as UCLA swept through the remaining pairs. Hawley Harrer teamed up with Daniella Kensinger on the top line this time and took UCLA to bonus points in the first set, but lost 23-21. Angie Bour and Cameron Martinez made a six-point improvement from their first set to the second set, putting up 15 points in the second set against UCLA.
 
RESULTS
(2) Abby Van Winkle/Jessie Smith (UCLA) def. Karmin Brown/Hannah Couch (SMC) 21-10, 21-12
(5) Rileigh Powers/Haley Hallgreen (UCLA) def. Angie Bour/Cameron Martinez (SMC) 21-9, 21-15
(1) Lexy Denaburg/Maggie Boyd (UCLA) def. Hawley Harrer/Daniella Kensinger (SMC) 23-21, 21-14
(4) Tessa Van Winkle/Jaden Whitmarsh (UCLA) def. Allie Cataldo/Sadie Shipman (SMC) 21-15, 21-9
(3) Natalie Myszkowski/Peri Brennan (UCLA) def. Genevieve Bane/Paola Peralta (SMC) 20-22, 21-13, 15-12
 
UP NEXT
The Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Classic continues on Friday afternoon in Hawaii with afternoon matches for the Gaels. First up they will take on Stephen F. Austin at 1:30 pm PT before taking on No. 9 Stanford at 4:00 pm PT. The playoff for the event will take place on Saturday morning.