SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Saint Mary's beach volleyball has a busy final week of the regular season on tap, and that week officially began with a West Coast Conference match at Santa Clara. Despite being geographical rivals, these teams had not yet played this season, and it came down to the wire. At the end, Saint Mary's was able to pull ahead and secure a 3-2 win against the Broncos, improving their record to 13-15 on the season, while running their recent hot streak to 5-1 over their last six matches.
 
Saint Mary's continues to get strong performances from their top flight, and that was no different on Wednesday. Hawley Harrer and Daniella Kensinger picked up their 17^th win as a pair this season, the most on the team. They took down the SCU top pair 21-12 and 21-17, winning with relative ease.
 
Karmin Brown and Hannah Couch rank second on the Gaels in total wins with 14, and that 14^th win of the year came in the threes against Santa Clara. They always like to make things interesting, and the first set was certainly that, with a 22-20 final after it briefly went into bonus points. The second set was a bit easier, with Brown and Couch winning 21-14 for another Gaels team point.
 
The fours played a pivotal role in the Gaels earning the victory, and it took them three sets to get the job done. Allie Cataldo and Paola Peralta won the first set 21-16, but then fell in a reversal 21-13 in the second set. It came down to the deciding set, but Peralta and Cataldo used enough surges to win 15-11 and earn a crucial point for Saint Mary's to wrap up the win.
 
RESULTS
(1) Hawley Harrer/Daniella Kensinger (SMC) def. Nicole Robison/Julia Sangiacomo (SCU) 21-12, 21-17
(2) Ella Duffner/Elena Radeff (SCU) def. Genevieve Bane/Sadie Shipman (SMC) 21-11, 21-11
(3) Karmin Brown/Hannah Couch (SMC) def. Casey Campbell/Katie Kishton (SCU) 22-20, 21-14
(4) Allie Cataldo/Paola Peralta (SMC) def. Jordan Bennett/Claire Doud (SCU) 21-16, 13-21, 15-11
(5) Hailey Benesz/Alexie Epstein (SCU) def. Angie Bour/Hannah Glick (SMC) 21-13, 21-14
(6) Caroline Kedeshian/Hayley Hahn (SCU) def. Cameron Martinez/Grace Travis (SMC) 21-14, 20-22, 15-6 (exhibition)
 
UP NEXT
The Gaels will play two ranked teams at Stanford on Friday beginning at 10:00 am. Their first match is their first of the season against #7 Grand Canyon, and their follow-up is a rematch against #9 Cal. The Gaels have one win against a ranked team this season, coming against #18 Pepperdine on March 26 at the West Coast Challenge.