IRVINE, Calif. -- After a day against NCAA Division I schools on Friday, VU beach volleyball hit the sand courts at the OC Great Park for matches against CSU Los Angeles and CUI on Saturday. The Lions got back in the win column against CSULA, while falling to CUI, putting the Blue and Gold at 5-4 after fighting golden eagles all day.
VU 4 CSULA 1
Against the Golden Eagles from LA, the Lions won all five pairings to move to 2-0 over Cal State LA on the season. The even pairs saw
Gianna Pecile and
Jadyn Starling win 21-18, 21-11 over McKinley Chase and Arielle Chandler, while
Avery Bennett and
Hayden Johnston needed three frames to beat Juliana Speski and Agnieszka Gastala, though the VU duo won the encounter 21-10, 19-21, 15-13. The odd-numbered flights were more lopsided, as the top couple of
Thea Snider and
Josephine Springer took the ones in quick fashion 21-9, 21-5.
Jordan Packer and
Elsa Gilmore beat Zuhal Cetin and Avalon Heint 21-15, 21-18, and
Jenae Moore and
Anne Mayfield cruised at the fives to a 21-9, 21-12 decision.
CUI 5 VU 0
The Golden Eagles out of Irvine had the better of VU, though Moore and Mayfield got the Blue and Gold a set victory. The fifth pair had a very close contest against Julie Watney and Madi Kelly, as each set went to bonus rallies, but the Lions had decisive kills when it mattered to prevail 23-21, 22-20. Packer and Gilmore had a narrow defeat in set one, falling 21-19, though CUI's Kelia Giusta and Ashley Rossi won the second set 21-13. Snider and Springer dropped the top flight 21-8, 21-14 to Olivia Medina and Aliyah Moore, while Pecile and Starling had a good tussle with Rosie Cline and Jordan Vander Veen, but fell 21-15, 21-16.
What was said? "We made some shifts today in the lineup, and the team responded well. We're challenging them to continually step into the new skills from practice, and this was a good showcase of continual improvement," said Head Coach
Kris Dorn.
What's Next? Vanguard heads to Bakersfield for a brace against The Master's and CSU Bakersfield on February 28.
