SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — Saint Mary's beach volleyball hit the coast on Saturday for an all-day affair at the Big West Coast. The first two matches of the day were West Coast Conference matches, with the Gaels sweeping their ways past Pacific and San Francisco, before ending the day with a 4-1 loss against UC Davis. With the three matches in on Saturday, Saint Mary's is now 5-7 on the year.
 
Match 1: Saint Mary's 5, Pacific 0
 
Saint Mary's made quick work of the Tigers in the opening match of the Big West Coast, sweeping past the Tigers will losing just one set. The morning began with a quick win in the fives, as the Gaels pair of Megan Chandler Allred and Hailee Garcia holding the Tigers to just 15 total points (nine in the first set, and six in the second). The threes were next to finish, with Karmin Brown and Hannah Couch winning with the same final in both sets of 21-14. Genevieve Bane and Paola Peralta then picked up their first win of the season, winning as the Gaels second pair with finals of 21-17 and 21-15, clinching a team win for SMC.
 
Allie Cataldo and Sadie Shipman earned another victory in the fours with finals of 21-10 and 21-14, putting the onus on Hawley Harrer and Daniella Kensinger to try and close out a perfect sweep. The Tigers top pair fought back and won the second set, which forced a decisive third set. Harrer and Kensinger were sharp in the final set, limiting the Tigers to just seven points and wrapping up a perfect 5-0 win for Saint Mary's.
 
RESULTS
(5) Megan Chandler Allred/Hailee Garcia (SMC) def. Jewel. Turner/Miranda Baptista (UOP) 21-9, 21-6
(3) Karmin Brown/Hannah Couch (SMC) def. Josephine Kinlan/Jillian Rodig (UOP) 21-14, 21-14
(2) Genevieve Bane/Paola Peralta (SMC) def. Sedona Sherman/Camdyn Albrecht (UOP) 21-17, 21-15
(4) Allie Cataldo/Sadie Shipman (SMC) def. Abby Miller/Joli Ruby (UOP) 21-10, 21-14
(1) Hawley Harrer/Daniella Kensinger (SMC) def. Hania Taduran/Jenny Todd (UOP) 21-11, 19-21, 15-7
 
Match 2: Saint Mary's 5, San Francisco 0
 
The second match of the day followed a very similar script to the first one, with the Gaels remaining perfect in WCC play with win over San Francisco. Allie Cataldo and Sadie Shipman started it off with authority, taking down the USF fours by finals of 21-12 and 21-10. Those would be the most lopsided wins of the match for Saint Mary's, with Megan Chandler Allred and Hailee Garcia following (21-11 and 21-18) and then Genevieve Bane and Paola Peralta once agains clinching the win thanks to scores of 21-13 and 21-19.
 
Karmin Brown and Hannah Couch were moved up into the second slot, and they delivered with wins of 21-16 and 21-17, earning their first win as the Gaels second pair this year. That lined up Hawley Harrer and Daniella Kensinger to once again close it out with a sweep, and after losing the second set, they were able to cruise in the deciding third set, winning 15-6 and and getting another 5-0 win for the Gaels.
 
RESULTS
(4) Allie Cataldo/Sadie Shipman (SMC) def. Claire Crijns/Branson Lannon (USF) 21-12, 21-10
(5) Megan Chandler Allred/Hailee Garcia (SMC) def. Jolie Gutierrez/Anna Petrova (USF) 21-11, 21-18
(3) Genevieve Bane/Paola Peralta (SMC) def. Francesca Stanschus/Isadora Nicolai (USF) 21-13, 21-19
(2) Karmin Brown/Hannah Couch (SMC) def. McKenna Towne/Letizia Aquilino (USF) 21-16, 21-17
(1) Hawley Harrer/Daniella Kensinger (SMC) def. Rainie Stevens/Rylie Reeves (USF) 21-17, 19-21, 15-6
 
Match 3: UC Davis 4, Saint Mary's 1
 
The day ended with a tough loss to UC Davis, as the Aggies were able power past Saint Mary's in four of the five flights. The only one that Saint Mary's was able to win came in the fives, as Megan Chandler Allred and Hailee Garcia won a five-set thriller in which all three sets were competitive. The first set went to the Gaels fifth pair 21-19, but UC Davis took the second one by the same score. Chandler Allred and Garcia came back to win the final set 15-13, just sneaking past to avoid a sweep and help get the Gaels a point.
 
RESULTS
(1) Tabitha Mitchell/Finley Rollins (UCD) def. Daniella Kensinger/Grace Travis (SMC) 21-12, 21-8
(2) Colleen McGuire/Kylie Miller (UCD) def. Karmin Brown/Hannah Couch (SMC) 21-10, 24-22
(3) Megan Luly/Mia Olen (UCD) def. Genevieve Bane/Paola Peralta (SMC) 21-19, 21-12
(4) Sam Lazenby/Morgan Coolbaugh (UCD) def. Allie Cataldo/Sadie Shipman (SMC) 22-24, 21-16, 15-10
(5) Megan Chandler Allred/Hailee Garcia (SMC) def. Alicia Letvin/Sydney Rau-Kim (UCD) 21-19, 19-21, 15-13
 
UP NEXT
The first home matches of the season take place next weekend, as the Gaels get the weekend started by hosting Utah and UC Davis on Friday, March 10 at the beach volleyball courts on campus. The Gaels play Utah at 9:00 am and then UC Davis at 3:00 pm, with both opponents playing each other in the middle of the day. This is the first of just four home dates on the Gaels schedule this season.