GULF SHORES, Ala.— The Colorado Mesa University Beach Volleyball team dominated McKendree and Wingate in pair of Pool B matches on Friday, the first day of the AVCA Small College Beach Championships here at the Gulf Shores Public Beach.
The tournament's second-seeded Mavericks won both matches, played to clinch, by 3-0 margins and had big leads in the other completed matches.
The Mavs did not drop a set in either dual and improved to 16-8 on the season and now sit atop the pool alongside Saint Leo, who they will play in their first of two Saturday matches at 2:30 p.m. CDT (1:30 p.m. Mountain).
The results of that match against the No. 7 seeded Lions and a later match against No. 10 Erskine will decide which bracket the Mavs will be in on Championship Sunday.
Additionally,
Avery Malek and
Jada Whitall went 2-0 to win Pool E of the Pairs Challenge tournament that was also contested on Friday.
Against No. 18 seed McKendree, the Mavericks picked up convincing wins in the first, fourth and fifth flights.
Lauren Rohlwing and
Regan Rothley, who went 2-0 during the day, were the first to win, taking a 21-14, 21-11 win at No. 4.
Jessica Passi and
Stormi Tadlock then 21-11, 21-18 at No. 5 before
Ellie Ask and
Gracyn Spresser won the top flight matches, 21-13, 21-15 over the Bearcats Brooke Junker and Natalie Witt.
Right as that match ended,
Ewelina Gacek and
Ania Swartzendruber finished off a 21-14, 21-18 victory that was not officially counted.
The Mavs' No. 3 pair of
Mikala Henderson and
Addie Ritterbush was also just a point away from winning their match and led Samantha Coe and Abby Hickman by a 21-12, 20-12 margin.
Rohlwing and Rothley were also able to post a dominant 21-12, 21-12 win in the afternoon dual against No. 15 seed Wingate. That win came after
Ava Blanco and Tadlock teamed up for a dominant 21-7, 21-3 win at No. 5.
Henderson and Ritterbush then clinched the dual with a 21-15, 21-17 victory at No. 3.
The Mavs' top two pairs were also on the verge of winning when their matches were truncated. Ask and Spresser led 21-15, 19-11 over Kate Beezer and Lilou Thieme while Gacek and Swartzendruber were up 21-18, 20-11 and just a point away from victor over Ella Hamr and Naomi Hilliard.
In the Pairs Challenge, Malek and Whitall breezed to a 21-12, 21-6 win over Erskine's Caroline Kelly and Lily Pragle in their first match. They then took down Florida Southern's Annabelle Korta and Haven Miscia by a 21-11, 21-10 in the Group E final.
Meanwhile, CMU's other pair in the event—
Bella Friess and
Eva Stewart went 0-2 in Pool J.
