Playing at home for the first time in program history, the Pacific sand volleyball team did not disappoint their home fans as the Tigers took home a pair of victories on Sunday, April 14. Opening the day against future WCC rival Santa Clara, the Tigers picked up a 3-2 win in the morning session of play. In the afternoon, Pacific used four quick wins to down Cal for the second-time in as many weeks, this time by the score of 4-1 to end their home tournament.
In the opening match, the Tigers took home the overall match victory within the first hour of action as Pacific's first three teams on the court took care of business with match victories. Opening play with No. 1, No. 4, and No. 5 on the courts first, the Tigers saw two run away with victories as Pacific won in straight sets in each of the first two matches off the court. Finishing first, the freshmen duo of Kimmy Whitson and Alicja Wilk made short work of Santa Clara's Katy Schatzman and Chloe Sliger as Pacific's No. 4 team won 21-9 and 21-12 in just 26 minutes of play.
Not far behind, senior Hannah Clancy and freshman Kat Schulz took the No. 1 match in straight sets, winning a close set one, 21-18, before cruising to the 21-9 win in set two against Taylor Milton and Danielle Rottman. With the first two wins coming easily, Pacific won in a battle at No. 5 as the newest member of the sand team, junior Emily Reber, joined forces with sophomore Katy Tagart to down Kim Meyer and Lacey Mass in three-sets. After winning the opening set, 21-11, the Tigers fell 21-17 in set two to force a decisive third-set. That third set proved to be a tough one for both teams as extra-points were needed to decide the winner before Reber and Tagart finished the Bronco duo off with back-to-back points at 16-16 to secure the overall match for the Tigers.
After winning the opening match of the tournament, Pacific returned to the court in the afternoon sun and promptly defeated Cal for the second time in as many tries. Once again, the Tigers' No. 1, No. 4, and No. 5 teams hit the courts first and once again took home the points needed to secure the overall victory. Just as they did in the morning session, Whitson and Wilk won in straight sets as the duo posted a 21-9, 21-11, win over Alyssa Jensen and Katarina Milosavlijevic. On the next court over, Reber and Tagart made it two in a row on the day as the No. 5 team for the Tigers won their first straight-set match with a 21-16, 21-17 showing against Christina Higgins and Jenelle Jordan.
At the top court, Pacific's undefeated duo of Clancy and Schulz were pushed to the limit in their match with Joan Caloiaro and Lindsey Parrott, but once again found a way to win for the fifth-straight match. After splitting the first two sets, 21-17 and 16-21, the Tigers' top duo buckled down and used a late run against the Bears to take a 15-9 final set victory and secure the overall win for the Tigers. With the win already decided, Pacific grabbed a fourth and final point for good measure out of their No. 3 duo when junior Megan Birch and freshman Mia Feiner combined for their first win as a duo. Taking on Kat Brown and Mary McKennon, Pacific's No. 3 team won in straight-sets as they posted a dominating 21-9 victory in set one before finishing their day with a 21-17 win.
Pacific is back in the sand on Tuesday, April 16 when the Tigers travel to Stanford to take on the Cardinal at 3:30 pm.
Match 1
Pacific 3 - Santa Clara 2
1) Schulz/Clancy (PAC) def. Milton/Rottman (SCU) - 21-18, 21-9 2) Anderson/Camerson (SCU) def. Bauer/Howard (PAC) - 21-13, 21-12 3) Douglass/Valarro (SCU) def. Feiner/Birch (PAC) - 20-22, 21-18, 15-13 4) Whitson/Wilk (PAC) def. Schatzman/Slicker (SCU) - 21-9, 21-12 5) Reber/Tagart (PAC) def. Myers/Maas (SCU) - 21-11, 17-21, 18-16
Match 2
Pacific 4 - Cal 1
1) Schulz/Clancy (PAC) def. Caloiaro/Parrott (CAL) - 21-17, 18-21, 15-9 2) Vukasovic/Gehan (CAL) def. Bauer/Howard (PAC) - 21-15, 16-21, 15-10 3) Feiner/Birch (PAC) def. Brown/McKennon (CAL) - 21-9, 21-17 4) Whitson/Wilk (PAC) def. Jensen/Milosavlijevic (CAL) - 21-9, 21-11 5) Reber/Tagart (PAC) def. Higgins/Jordan (CAL) - 21-16, 21-17