MORAGA, Calif. — The wait is over as Saint Mary's Beach Volleyball season begins this weekend, with the Gaels heading to Phoenix to take part in the season opening GCU Tournament. The Gaels will see RV Arizona, #18 Grand Canyon and Colorado Mesa twice in the tournament that is scheduled over Saturday and Sunday, February 22 and 23. Now under the third year direction of Head Coach Janice Harrer, the Gaels look to continue their upward trajectory since Coach Harrer took the reins, as she saw her team make a four win jump between year one and year two.
Coming off of a 19-16 season, good for their best win total since 2019, the Gaels are primed and ready to keep growing in 2025. The Gaels did graduate starters Karmin Brown (20-15 in 2024), Hawley Harrer (23-12 in 2024), Paola Peralta (18-17 in 2024) and Sadie Shipman (16-19 in 2024), while seeing AJ Slojkowski (16-16 in 2024) transfer to Oregon, however, they do return the other five starters from last year, all of which are ready to make even bigger contributions than their solid 2024 seasons. Angie Bour is the returning wins leader from a year ago, after going 22-13 split between playing in the #3 and #4 pair for the Gaels. Allie Cataldo is also back after being the only Gael to occupy four different slots in the lineup, only not seeing time at #5. She amassed a record of 18-17 a year ago. Hannah Couch saw more time in the #1 position than anyone else on the Gael roster last year, going 9-10 there, 9-6 in the #2 spot, and 1-0 in the #3 slot, for a season record of 19-16. Sedona Sherman (12-21), Chloe Swanson (11-8) and Nya Crump (6-8) round out the group of key returners.
The Gaels brought in six newcomers this year, three true freshmen and three transfers. Renee Nachtigall (Jr., Hartnell College), Stephanie Gonzalez (So., Univ. of New Orleans) and Deanna Vinitski (So., Houston Christian Univ.) make up the transfer class, with Nachtigall being the only one who saw time on the sand at her previous institution. True freshmen Greta Kesmodel, Sierra Garza, and Sophia Fields will all look to hone their skills as well in their first collegiate seasons of competition. The Gaels also re-recruited redshirt junior Genevieve Bane, who played for the Gael beach program from 2022-23, before focusing on just indoor in 2024.
In the offseason, the Gaels added legendary beach player Taylor Crabb to their staff. A current professional player, Crabb is a two time AVP MVP, and looks to help the Gaels prepare to compete at the highest level.
This opening weekend will see three opponents for the Gaels; RV Arizona, Colorado Mesa and #18 Grand Canyon. For the Wildcats, Annie Kost and Kate Phillips both return after each going 21-11, helping their team to a 21-12 overall record, including 16-6 in the state of Arizona. Colorado Mesa is a Division II program that finished in third place in last year's AVCA Small College Beach Championship. After losing their top four players from last season, the Mavericks will turn to senior Barett Nolan to lead the squad this year. Grand Canyon should be the toughest challenge for the Gaels, entering the season ranked 18th in the the preseason AVCA polls. The Lopes return their best player from a year ago, Jessica Drake, who went 24-9 a year ago, and looks to keep it rolling now in her junior year. The Gaels were swept by Arizona in their first ever meeting last year, are 0-3 all-time vs Grand Canyon and have never met Colorado Mesa.
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