MORAGA, Calif. — Saint Mary's beach volleyball has returned home from the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Classic which took place in Hawaii this past weekend. The Gaels are coming back to the courts on Wednesday March 1 in Palo Alto and Saturday March 4 in Santa Cruz. These two days will consist of the Gaels playing Stanford, Portland, and a few other west coast teams who will be participating in the Big West Coast, which is an annual event.

THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels (2-5) at No. 7 Stanford and Portland
Wednesday, March 1 beginning at 2:00 pm
Stanford Beach Courts - Stanford, Calif.
Live Stats (Game 1) | Live Stats (Game 2)

Big West Coast
Saturday, March 4 beginning at 10:00 am
Santa Cruz, Calif.

LAST TIME OUT
The Gaels have returned from their time competing in the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Classic with the ending result of 2-5. This tournament housed some of the best teams in the nation so the Gaels had some stiff competition throughout, with UCLA being No. 1 beach volleyball team in the preseason polls and two other top-10 teams in the field. The Gaels played the UCLA Bruins twice throughout the tournament, ultimately losing 5-0 both times. However, the Gaels beat Stephen F. Austin both times they stepped onto the courts with winning 3-2 both matches.

DYNAMIC DUOS
The ending results in Hawaii may not have been perfect but the Gaels put up a strong effort against some of the best teams the NCAA has to offer. With UCLA being No. 1 preseason team, these matches weren't expected to be easy. However, Karmin Brown and Hannah Couch went to three sets after they won their second set against the Bruins, but ultimately dropped the third sets. Hawley Harrer and Daniella Kensinger wrapped up the trip to Hawaii by going to three sets against Hawaii's top pair, coming the closest to winning, but fell in the final set. The overall team results for Harrer and Kensinger are 2-5, with Brown and Couch also sitting at 2-5, but their records are deceiving for this point in the season. 

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
Saint Mary's will play against No. 7 Stanford again after meeting for the first time this season in the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Classic last weekend. In Hawaii, the Gaels dropped the match 4-1, but won in the threes thanks to Brown and Couch. The Gaels will then take on the Portland Pilots and this is the Gaels first conference game of the year. The Pilots haven't played a game for their 2023 season yet, but during their 2022 season they had an overall record of 7-17. The Big West Coast will take place March 4 in Santa Cruz, and that wraps up the weekend. There will be teams all across the West Coast competing against the Gaels during this challenge, with the preliminary schedule featuring Pacific, San Francisco, and UC Davis.