STANFORD, Calif. — After a weekend off, Saint Mary's beach volleyball hit the sand at Stanford for a pair of matches against ranked teams. The Gaels took on #17 Tulane and #10 Stanford on Wednesday morning and into the afternoon, capping off a run of five-straight matches against ranked teams. Saint Mary's fought all day, but wound up dropping the match to Tulane 4-1 and Stanford 5-0. With the decisions, Saint Mary's sits at 8-13 heading into Saturday's action.
 
Match 1: #17 Tulane 4, Saint Mary's 1
The Gaels jumbled up their order against the Green Wave and were able to get a point early with Hawley Harrer and Daniella Kensinger in the twos. They are now 3-0 in that slot after taking down Tulane 21-14 and 21-15, at the time tying the match up 1-1. That would be the last point the Gaels got in the match, unfortunately, as the next three pairs all went to Tulane.
 
The fives had a chance to make it a 3-2 defeat after taking the second set with a score of 21-17. That was a great comeback from Angie Bour and Hailee Garcia, who dropped the opening set by scoring just 15 points. In the third set, they kept it close, but ultimately it was the Green Wave winning 15-10 to score their fourth and final team point.
 
RESULTS
(4) Ashton Mares/Abby Jackson (TUL) def. Allie Cataldo/Paola Peralta (SMC) 21-18, 21-11
(2) Hawley Harrer/Daniella Kensinger (SMC) def. Sara Hall/Maddie Speicher (TUL) 21-14, 21-15
(1) Mollie Ebertin/Kendall Peters (TUL) def. Genevieve Bane/Sadie Shipman (SMC) 21-14, 21-15
(3) Samantha Mehlman/Emily Heintzelman (TUL) def. Karmin Brown/Hannah Couch (SMC) 21-15, 21-16
(5) Lara Torruella/Savka Popovic (TUL) def. Angie Bour/Hailee Garcia (SMC) 21-15, 21-17, 15-10
 
Match 2: #10 Stanford 5, Saint Mary's 0
 
This was the first time this season that Saint Mary's was unable to get a point from the Cardinal, though they had a few chances that just escaped their grasp. In the twos, Hawley Harrer and Daniella Kensinger lost for the first time this season, despite winning the first set. They took that opening set 21-16, but it wound up going three sets, where they put up just five points in the decisive set. Allie Cataldo and Paola Peralta scored 17 points in the first set of the threes, but the Gaels were unable to close that one out as well.
 
Another strong performance came in the fives, where Hannah Glick made her season debut with Angie Bour. The two nearly were able to upset the Cardinal in the opening set, taking it to bonus points, but wound up dropping the first set 23-21. Their second set went to the tune of a 21-14 loss, but their efforts in the first set should be commended. Up at the top, Sadie Shipman and Genevieve Bane scored 19 points in the first set, but dropped the second one 21-16 to cap off the afternoon on The Farm.
 
RESULTS
(4) Sophie Kubiak/Ashley Vincent (STAN) def. Allie Cataldo/Paola Peralta (SMC) 21-17, 21-11
(2) Charlie Ekstrom/Maya Harvey (STAN) def. Hawley Harrer/Daniella Kensinger (SMC) 16-21, 21-17, 15-5
(3) Daria Gusarova/Emmy Sharp (STAN) def. Karmin Brown/Hannah Couch (SMC) 21-8, 21-15
(5) Line Andersson/Taylor Wilson (STAN) def. Angie Bour/Hannah Glick (SMC) 23-21, 21-14
(1) Xolani Hodel/Maddi Kriz (STAN) def. Genevieve Bane/Sadie Shipman (SMC) 21-19, 21-16
 
UP NEXT
The Gaels will be back in action on Saturday as they head up to Sacramento State for a pair of matches on Hornet Beach. SMC will take on the hosting Hornets and DII Concordia beginning at 10:00 am. This will be the first time the Gaels and Hornets meet this season, with the two teams meeting again in Moraga on Thursday, April 13.