BERKELEY, Calif. — A return to ranked action took place on Saturday morning in Berkeley, as Saint Mary's beach volleyball played at the home of No. 11 Cal. Rested and ready with just one match on the week, the Golden Bears were able to defend their home sand courts and take down the Gaels with a 5-0 final score. Saint Mary's drops to 6-9 while Cal improves their mark to 11-3.
 
With two courts running, the Gaels ran into some buzz-saws on both courts. The fours and fives went first, with Allie Cataldo and Sadie Shipman paired in the fours and Angie Bour going with Megan Chandler Allred in the fives. Cataldo and Shipman put up 17 points in the second set, but fell in both. Bour and Chandler Allred didn't fare much better, scoring just 10 and 13 points in two losses.
 
The best chance for Saint Mary's to get a set came in the twos, where Karmin Brown and Hannah Couch nearly got the first set from Maya Gessner Ella Driebholz. The opening set was back-and-forth and came down to the wire, but in the end, it was the Cal second pair winning 21-19. They made much quicker work of Brown and Couch in the second set, winning 21-8.
 
Genevieve Bane and Paola Peralta went in the threes for the Gaels, and while they were one of the most consistent pairs for the Gaels on the day, they dropped both sets. Same can be said for Hawley Harrer and Daniella Kensinger, who scored 17 points in their second set, but lost both.
 
RESULTS
(4) Natalie Martin/Alex Young (CAL) def Allie Cataldo/Sadie Shipman (SMC): 21-9, 21-17
(5) Ava Mann/Brooke Buchner (CAL) def Angie Bour/Megan Chandler Allred (SMC): 21-10, 21-13
(2) Maya Gessner/Ella Driebholz (CAL) def Karmin Brown/Hannah Couch (SMC): 21-19, 21-8
(3) Sierra Caffo/Liz Waters (CAL) def Genevieve Bane/Paola Peralta (SMC): 21-17, 21-14
(1) Ainsley Radell/Ashley Delgado (CAL) def Hawley Harrer/ Daniella Kensinger (SMC): 21-11, 21-17
 
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's will be back in action next weekend with the annual Midseason Tournament, in conjunction with the West Coast Conference. The Gaels will see a lot of local teams over March 25-26, including teams they are likely to face in the postseason WCC Tournament.