SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Santa Clara beach volleyball closed out the 2018 season with a pair of losses on Friday at the West Coast Conference Championship. The Broncos fell 5-0 to second-seeded Loyola Marymount in the morning and 3-2 to sixth-seeded Portland in the afternoon.
Santa Clara was forced to forfeit duals at the No. 5 position for both matches due to an injury-shortened roster. Only nine players travelled for the Broncos (1-13), leaving the team one person short of having a full five pairs.
NO. 15 LOYOLA MARYMOUNT 5 SANTA CLARA 0
Erin Reineking/Michelle Gajdka moved up the No. 4 spot to play one of Friday's most exciting duals against Bozena Culo/Maddie Leiphardt of the Lions (20-12). Each set was decided by two points, including a 24-22 second frame for the Broncos. Culo and Leiphardt won the final set 18-16 to claim the dual.
Loyola Marymount swept at the top three positions to start the day with a victory.
No. 1 – McKayla Ferris/Savannah Slattery (LMU) def. Kirsten Mead/Hailey Lindberg (SCU) 21-12, 21-13
No. 2 – Sara Kovac/Jessie Prichard (LMU) def. Anna McCreadie/Gretchen Reinert (SCU) 21-8, 21-4
No. 3 – Veronica Nederend/Emma Doud (LMU) def. Taylor Odom/Tessie Powers (SCU) 21-15, 21-17
No. 4 – Bozena Culo/Maddie Leiphardt (LMU) def. Erin Reineking/Michelle Gajdka (SCU) 21-19, 22-24, 18-16
No. 5 – Cierra Simpson/Kristen Castellanos (LMU) win by forfeit
PORTLAND 3 SANTA CLARA 2
Reineking and fellow senior Kirsten Mead each capped their Bronco beach careers with a dual victory against the Pilots (3-7). Mead and Hailey Lindberg posted a comeback win at No. 1 by winning the last two sets 21-14, 15-11 over Tani Stephens/Cali Thompson.
Reineking/Gajdka swept Lauren Naatz/Kassidy Naone, outscoring the Portland pair 42-21 over two sets. Their seven dual wins as a pair were the most by a Bronco tandem this season.
Portland won a pair of close tilts at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, with three of the four sets decided by four points or fewer.
No. 1 – Kirsten Mead/Hailey Lindberg (SCU) def. Tani Stephens/Cali Thompson (POR) 14-21, 21-14, 15-11
No. 2 – Katie Barker/Morgan Robinson (POR) def. Ngozi Nwabuzoh/Gretchen Reinert (SCU) 21-18, 21-17
No. 3 – Carey Williams/Sarah Savoca (POR) def. Taylor Odom/Tessie Powers (SCU) 21-19, 21-15
No. 4 – Erin Reineking/Michelle Gajdka (SCU) def. Lauren Naatz/Kassidy Naone (POR) 21-8, 21-13
No. 5 – Liz Reich/McKenzie Schwan (POR) win by forfeit
QUOTABLE
"Our goal with the girls is to get them prepared for indoor season. I'm excited to see the progress they've made toward that goal and excited about the progress they made on the sand this season."
- Head Coach Jon Wallace