BERKELEY, Calif.- Santa Clara beach volleyball finished its regular season Saturday by splitting matches against Saint Mary's and No. 14 Cal.
The 20th-ranked Broncos (10-3, 2-3) fell to the Gaels (11-4, 4-1) in a West Coast Conference matchup before rebounding for a win against the Bears (16-9) on their home court.
Match 1: Saint Mary's 4 No. 20 Santa Clara 1
The Broncos dropped their first match Saturday to a tough Gaels squad. After Santa Clara won the first dual, Saint Mary's went on to win the next four for the victory, handing the Broncos just their second loss in the last 10 matches.
The Gaels' Dalas Dodd and Lindsey Knudsen clinched the match by beating the Broncos' Kirsten Mead and Sabrina Clayton in straight sets 21-14, 21-18 at the No. 1 pairing.
Santa Clara's lone victory of the match came at the No. 5 slot where Madison Dutra and Mary Shepherd cruised to a 21-7, 21-15 two-set victory over Saint Mary's Hannah Liserra and Hallie Sullivan.
Each dual match was decided in the minimum two sets.
Results:
No. 1 - Dalas Dodd/Lindsey Knudsen (SMC) def. Kirsten Mead/Sabrina Clayton (SCU); 21-14, 21-18
No. 2 - Mary Hernandez/Payton Rund (SMC) def. Danielle Rottman/Nikki Hess (SCU); 22-20, 21-19
No. 3 - Alexis Salmons/Emily Bible (SMC) def. Hailey Lindberg/Sarah Vaccaro (SCU); 24-22, 21-16
No. 4 - Madi Wilkerson/Alex O'Sullivan (SMC) def. Jensen Cunningham/Lacey Maas (SCU); 21-19, 21-18
No. 5 - Madison Dutra/Mary Sheperd (SCU) def. Hannah Liserra/Hallie Sullivan (SMC); 21-7, 21-15
Match 2: No. 20 Santa Clara 4 No. 14 Cal 1
The Broncos bounced back in their second match of the day, taking down the 14th-ranked Bears in convincing fashion. It was Santa Clara's second victory of the season over Cal, after winning 3-2 on March 12.
The Broncos held a 2-1 lead before their No. 2 pairing of Danielle Rottman and Nikki Hess finished off the victory by defeating the Bears' Bryce Bark and Kory Lamet 21-12, 21-17.
Another strong Santa Clara performance was turned in by its No. 1 group of Kirsten Mead and Sabrina Clayton, which defeated Cal's Sara Cole and Mia Merino in three hard-fought sets. Mead/Clayton, who won 21-18, 19-21, 15-12, avenged a straight-set loss to Cole/Merino in their previous meeting this season.
Madison Dutra and Mary Shepherd was the only Bronco pairing to win both of their matches on the day. Playing in the 5th spot, Dutra/Shepherd took down Rachel Wilson and Karina Langli 21-15, 21-15.
Down a player in the match, the Broncos were forced to shuffle around a couple of their pairings, leaving them with two duos that had no experience playing together.
Sarah Vaccaro and Lacey Maas was one such Santa Clara pair playing together for the first time, but the duo meshed nicely on its way to a two-set (21-16, 21-17) win over Cal's Teya Neff and Kaity Uythoven at the No. 4 spot.
The Broncos' Tatiana San Juan saw her first official collegiate action, pairing with Jensen Cunningham as the No. 3 duo. The pair fell to the Bears' Olivia Rodberg and Grace Campbell 21-7, 21-15.
Results:
No. 1 - Kirsten Mead/Sabrina Clayton (SCU) def. Sarah Cole/Mia Merino (Cal); 21-18, 19-21, 15-12
No. 2 - Danielle Rottman/Nikki Hess (SCU) def. Bryce Bark/Kory Lamet (Cal); 21-12, 21-17
No. 3 - Olivia Rodberg/Grace Campbell (Cal) def. Tatiana San Juan/Jensen Cunningham (SCU); 21-7, 21-15
No. 4 - Sarah Vaccaro/Lacey Maas (SCU) def. Teya Neff/Kaity Uythoven (Cal); 21-16, 21-17
No. 5 - Madison Dutra/Mary Shepherd (SCU) def. Rachel Wilson/Karina Langli (Cal); 21-15, 21-15
Next Up:
The Broncos travel to Santa Monica, California for the WCC Championships on April 22-23.
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