SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Saint Mary's beach volleyball went up to Sacramento State on Saturday for a pair of matches hosted at Hornet Beach. It's rare for the Gaels to get this deep into the season without having faced Sacramento State, but the two squared off in the afternoon after a morning duel with Concordia. SMC dropped the opener in a tight one to Concordia 3-2 before rebounding to beat the Hornets 5-0. The Gaels are now 9-14 on the season with two weeks left in the regular season.
 
Match 1: Concordia 3, Saint Mary's 2
 
Concordia might be a DII, but they play a strong schedule that features many DI opponents, and they pulled off the upset on Saturday morning. The Gaels scored a pair of wins in the twos and the threes, but were unable to get enough team points to earn a win over Concordia in their first-ever matchup.
 
Hawley Harrer and Daniella Kensinger were victorious in the twos to begin the day, but they had to grind it out in order to get a win. Their first set victory was 21-17, but their second set was a thriller with a final of 23-21 that could have gone either way. Karmin Brown and Hannah Couch had a tough bout as well in the threes, but they were able to escape with wins of 21-19 and 21-19 to earn the second team point for the Gaels.
 
The match was really decided in the fours, where Allie Cataldo and Paola Peralta lost in three sets which were as air-tight as they can get. They dropped the first set in bonus points with a 22-20 final but then came back to win the second set 21-19, which set up the decisive third-set. In that third set, it went back and forth to the end, but the Gaels fell 15-13 to lose the overall match.
 
RESULTS
(1) Sara Ostojic/Hannah Phair (CUI) def. Genevieve Bane/Sadie Shipman (SMC) 21-16, 21-13
(2) Daniella Kensinger/Hawley Harrer (SMC) def. Hailee Ryan/Tatum Smith (CUI) 21-17, 23-21
(3) Karmin Brown/Hannah Couch (SMC) def. Kelissa Lemoine/Eva Prewitt (CUI) 21-19, 21-19
(4) Ashleigh Souza/Isabella Bush (CUI) def. Allie Cataldo/Paola Peralta (SMC) 22-20, 19-21, 15-13
(5) Carly Moreno/Lily Dyer (CUI) def. Angie Bour/Hailee Garcia (SMC) 21-16, 21-8
 
Match 2: Saint Mary's 5, Sacramento State 0
 
Saint Mary's bounced back in a big way, taking down the Hornets to the tune of a 5-0 win. Everyone had strong performances, starting up top with the Gaels top pair of Hawley Harrer and Daniella Kensinger. They made things a little bit easier against Sacramento State's top pair, with wins of 21-18 and 21-11. Hannah Glick and Angie Bour picked up a victory in the fives with scores of 22-20 and 21-14 to earn their first victory of the season together.
 
There were multiple three-set wins for the Gaels against the Hornets, with those coming in the twos and the fours. Genevieve Bane and Sadie Shipman got a victory in the twos as they won a third set that went into bonus points, emerging victorious with a score of 16-14. In the fours, Paola Peralta and Allie Cataldo were able to make up for their loss earlier in the day by winning 16-14 in the third set to help set up the sweep for Saint Mary's over Sacramento State.
 
RESULTS
(1) Hawley Harrer/Daniella Kensinger (SMC) def. Kalani Hayes/Bridgette Smith (SAC) 21-18, 21-11
(2) Genevieve Bane/Sadie Shipman (SMC) def. Ellie Tisko/Caitlin Volkmann (SAC) 20-22, 23-21, 16-14
(3) Hannah Couch/Karmin Brown (SMC) def. Greta Davis/Ashlynn Archer (SAC) 21-17, 22-20
(4) Paola Peralta/Allie Cataldo (SMC) def. Tiya Kamba-Griffin/Carrie Crom (SAC) 17-21, 23-21, 16-14
(5) Hannah Glick/Angie Bour (SMC) def. Caty Cordano/Hailey Plugge (SAC) 22-20, 21-14
 
UP NEXT
The Gaels will be at home next weekend for a pair of home dates that begin on Thursday, April 13. It all starts at 10:00 am as SMC hosts San Jose State before they take on Sacramento State later in the afternoon at 4:00 pm. On Saturday, it's #9 Cal coming to Moraga for a beach match at 10:00 am before Saint Mary's plays Cabrillo College at 1:00 pm.