University of Washington
Saint Mary's
Sand Dawgs Earn First Two Wins In Program History
March 22, 2015 | Beach Volleyball
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – With two victories in their first two matches of the season today, the Huskies proved they are ready to take a big step forward in the rapidly growing sand volleyball world. Washington not only posted the first two wins in program history, but did so against experienced programs that had already played several matches this year.
The Huskies opened up against St. Mary's, which was ranked No. 8 in the AVCA's preseason sand top-10, and earned a 3-2 victory, with freshmen Crissy Jones and Tia Scambray breaking the 2-2 tie with the clincher at No. 2. The Dawgs followed that up with a 4-1 win over Pacific, which replaced St. Mary's at the No. 8 spot in the most recent sand rankings from March 10.
This is the second season of the Washington Sand Volleyball program, but UW played just twice in its first year in 2014, falling to Oregon and Boise State in the only two full matches of year one. But the year of progress plus added depth with a strong freshman class led Head Coach Keegan Cook to set the bar higher in year two, with an eight-match dual season that began this afternoon at the Sacramento Softball Complex.
“One of the goals was to raise our competitive level and play more good teams, and we certainly got a look at that today,” said Cook. “In the first match, St. Mary's is a really good serving team and a technical team. They serve and set and hit good shots. They were much better in those areas than us, but we did a good job playing around the net and we competed really well.”
Washington showed off its improved depth right away, as the first wins came from the lower part of the lineup. Lianna Sybeldon and Kim Condie paired up to record a 21-9, 21-17 victory over Hannah Liserra and Nicole Singh of St. Mary's at the No. 5 spot. At No. 4, Bailey Tanner and Courtney Schwan, in their first career sand match, edged Maegan Conroy and Madi Wilkerson by a 21-19, 21-19 count.
St. Mary's rallied with a 21-19, 21-14 win at No. 3 as Krista Vansant and Carly DeHoog fell short against Mary Hernandez and Mileva Popovic. St. Mary's top team of Samantha Tinsley and Dalas Dodd then beat Kaleigh Nelson and Cassie Strickland at No. 1 to level it. But Jones and Scambray, the former club teammates and Pac-12 All-Freshman Team members in the fall, clinched the win with a 21-19, 21-15 victory over Alexis Salmons and Clare Powers at No. 2.
Taking on a Pacific team that was 7-2 already this season would require another big effort, but the Huskies delivered, thanks in part to a pair of comeback wins again from the lower lineup.
Tanner and Schwan lost a heartbreaking first set to Wilk and Whitson of Pacific, 23-25, but came back to return the favor with a close 21-19 second set win. In the third set, played to fifteen, Tanner and Schwan took command and took the match with a 15-11 win.
At No. 5, Melanie Wade and Justice Magraw swapped in for UW to face Pacific's Taylor Poncetta and Andie Shelton. The Tigers won the first set, 21-17, but Wade and Magraw pulled away for a 21-12 second set win. They then pulled out the tight third set, 15-13, to give UW a 2-0 lead.
The Huskies clinched the win when Vansant and DeHoog notched a straight set win at No. 3 over Mia Feiner and Gillian Howard, 21-12, 21-16, making it 3-0 at that point for UW.
Jones and Scambray then completed their day without dropping a set, as they beat the No. 2 Pacific team of Bauer and Birch, 21-18, 21-11. Pacific's only point came at the No. 1 spot, as Nelson and Strickland came up short against Lexi Elman and Kat Schulz, 21-17, 21-12.
“Between the first and second matches I asked our team to improve our serving and setting and communication,” said Cook. “We had two great wins in the four and five spots, come-from-behind wins, which was really exciting. We got better between matches one and two. We played two teams that have been playing sand for a couple of years, that are experienced and have good players and we went toe to toe and came out on top.”
Washington will face Sacramento State on Sunday and then head to Stockton, Calif. for a rematch against Pacific on Monday.
Washington Sand Volleyball
March 21, 2015
Sacramento, Calif. – Sacramento Softball Complex
First Match
Washington 3, St. Mary's 2
1. Tinsley/Dodd (SMC) def. Nelson/Strickland (UW), 21-17, 21-12
2. Jones/Scambray (UW) def. Salmons/Powers (SMC), 21-19, 21-15
3. Hernandez/Popovic (SMC) def. Vansant/DeHoog (UW), 21-19, 21-14
4. Tanner/Schwan (UW) def. Conroy/Wilkerson (SMC), 21-19, 21-19
5. Sybeldon/Condie (UW) def. Liserra/Singh (SMC), 21-9, 21-17
Order of finish: 5, 4, 3, 1, 2
Second Match
Washington 4, No. 8 Pacific 1
1. Elman/Schulz (Pac) def. Nelson/Strickland (UW), 21-15, 21-12
2. Jones/Scambray (UW) def. Bauer/Birch (Pac), 21-18, 21-11
3. Vansant/DeHoog (UW) def. Feiner/Howard (Pac), 21-12, 21-16
4. Tanner/Schwan (UW) def. Wilk/Whitson (Pac), 23-25, 21-19, 15-11
5. Wade/Magraw (UW) def. Poncetta/Shelton (Pac), 17-21, 21-12, 15-13
Order of finish: 4, 5, 3, 1, 2
