PHOENIX— The Colorado Mesa University beach volleyball squad went 2-1 as a team and combined for 11 match victories on Saturday during the Grand Canyon University Tournament here at the GCU Beach Volleyball Stadium.
The Mavs' No. 2 duo of
Riley Daugherty and
Lizzy Hood and the No. 3 pair of
Barett Nolan and
Ania Swartzendruber both went 3-0 as the Mavs beat two of the top four ranked teams at the NAIA level before dropping a 3-2 heartbreaker to NCAA Division I Saint Mary's.
The Mavs defeated NAIA No. 1 Ottawa (Ariz.), 4-1 in the first dual of the tournament and then blanked NAIA No. 4 Arizona Christian, 5-0 in their second match-up.
The NCAA Division II Mavs then had a 2-1 lead over Saint Mary's before the Gaels rallied to claim the final two matches, including a 15-12 third-set decision in the top flight to squeak out the win.
The Mavs are now 4-1 on the young season and will play Saint Mary's again on Sunday at 8 a.m. to wrap up the week of the season in Arizona.
The Daugherty/Hood and Nolan/Swartzendruber pairs are both 5-0 this week and season after they helped CMU claim a pair of 4-1 wins over Benedictine Mesa on Thursday.
Colorado Mesa 4, Ottawa (Ariz) 1
Daugherty and Hood defeated OUAZ duo Amey Rainaud and Eliana Dean by a 24-22, 21-17 to give the Mavs the first point before
Taylor Scherff and
Jessica Passi scratched out a 21-18, 15-21, 15-13 win at No. 4.
Nolan and Swartzendruber then provided the clinching point, with a 21-9, 21-12 win over Julianne Hemphill and Railey Dykstra in the third flight.
The Spirit did salvage a 3-set win at No. 5 before CMU No. 1 pair
Ellie Ask and
Gracyn Spresser picked up their first win of the season by a 21-15, 14-21, 15-11 margin over Olivia Andersh and Summer Hanks. That win was the first of Ask's freshman season and collegiate career.
Colorado Mesa 5, Arizona Christian 0
The Mavericks were able to win all five matches but needed three sets to claim wins in three of those matches.
Ask and Spresser were more dominant 21-9, 21-10 victors while
Lucy Kaufman and
Izzy Burns picked up a 21-12, 21-13 win at No. 5, their only win of the day.
Meanwhile, Daugherty and Hood battled to a 20-22, 21-19, 19-17 victory over Riley and Haley Brown.
Nolan and Swartzendruber also came from a set behind to win at No. 3, getting past Eliana Cho and Abigail Nelson, 18-21, 22-20, 15-9.
Scherff and Passi had won the first completed match, 21-12, 16-21, 15-9 in the fourth flight.
Saint Mary's 3, Colorado Mesa 2
The Gaels took the early lead with a win in the fourth flight before Daugherty and Hood defeated Sedona Sherman and Chloe Swanson in three sets, 21-12, 19-21, 15-9 to equal the score.
Nolan and Swartzendruber then finished off a 21-19, 23-21 win at No. 3 over the Gaels' Angelina Bour and Nya Crump.
However, the Gaels quickly answered at No. 5 as Delaney Nicholls and Grace Travis defeated Burns and Kaufman, 21-17, 21-13.
That set the stage for the Geels' Allie Cataldo and Hannah Couch, who took a 15-12 win in the top flight. The Gael pair had lost the first set 22-20 to Ask and Spresser but won the second 21-19 to keep the match alive.
