UCLA
Saint Mary's
No. 8 UCLA Remains Undefeated with 4-1 Win Over No. 18 Saint Mary's
March 28, 2015 | Beach Volleyball
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LOS ANGELES - Eighth-ranked UCLA improved to 3-0 on the year with a 4-1 win over No. 18 Saint Mary's (3-8) on Saturday afternoon at the Bruins' home opener and first-ever dual at Sunset Canyon Sand Volleyball Courts.
It was also the first-ever meeting between the two teams and UCLA had the dual wrapped up when it won the first three bouts (order of finish: 5, 4, 3, 2, 6, 1).
The Bruins opened up with a pair of straight-set victories at the No. 4 and No. 5 slots.
At #4 doubles, the Bruins' Karly Drolson and Rachel Inouye defeated SMC's Maegan Conroy and Madi Wilkerson, 21-11, 21-15. Inouye had a match-high 15 kills and 17 digs. Drolson added a double-double of 10 kills and 11 digs. The Bruin pair is now 3-0 on the year.
At the fifth-spot, a new pairing of Ivey Schmitt and Anastasia Kunz faced little resistance from the Gaels' duo of Hannah Liserra and Nicole Singh, posting a 21-5, 21-9 win. Schmitt had match-highs of 12 kiills and 18 digs to go with five aces. Kunz also had a double-double of 10 kills and 17 digs with one ace. the Bruin pair held the SMC duo to a combined -0.075 hitting efficiency (6K, 10E, 53TA). They are now 1-0 in 2015.
The Bruins also got a pair of wins in three-set thrillers.
At No. 3 doubles, Julie Consani and Laurel Weaver came back to win a tightly contested match, 20-22, 21-16, 15-11 over Saint Mary's Clare Powers and Mileva Popovic. Consani had a match-high 24 kills to go with 19 digs and a personal-best nine service aces. Weaver also had a double-double of 11 kills and 19 digs. The Bruin tandem is now 3-0 this season.
Another new Bruin pair was on display at flight two as Kamila Tan and Zoë Nightingale won a nail-biter, 21-17, 17-21, 15-12. Nightingale had a match-high 19 kills and 17 digs to go with four blocks and two aces. Tan also had a double-double of 17 kills and 14 digs and led all hitters at .406 (17K, 4E, 32TA).
Moving up to No. 1 doubles is the duo of Elise Zappia and Madie Smith, who were coming off their gold medal performance at the "Dad" Center Founder's Cup last weekend in Honolulu. They fell in three today to the Gaels' Samantha Tinsley and Dalas Dodd, 18-21, 21-11, 15-10 and are now 4-2 on the year. Smith had 25 kills, the most by any player on the day, to go with 12 digs. Zappia chipped in two kills, four digs, one ace and one block.
In an exhibition match, UCLA's Lexi Jasper-Baylin and Kendahl Hettick posted a straight-set victory over SMC's Madi Wilkerson and Jordan Patchell, 21-12, 21-10. Jasper-Baylin had a match-high 10 kills and six aces to go with three digs. Hettick had five kills, six digs and an ace. The Bruin tandem held the Gaels' duo to a combined -0.143 on the day in hitting percentage (8K, 12E, 28TA).
The Bruins return to action on Wednesday, April 1 when they host a rematch with #9/12 Loyola Marymount at 1:00 p.m. at Sunset Canyon Sand Volleyball Courts. The dual will be televsied live on the Pac-12 Networks.
#8 UCLA 4, #18 Saint Mary's 1 - Saturday, March 28, 2015 - Los Angeles, Calif.
#1 - Samantha Tinsley/Dalas Dodd (SMC) def. Elise Zappia/Madie Smith (UCLA) 18-21, 21-11, 15-10
#2 - Kamila Tan/Zoë Nightingale (UCLA) def. Mary Hernandez/Alexis Salmons (SMC) 21-17, 17-21, 15-12
#3 - Laurel Weaver/Julie Consani (UCLA) def. Clare Powers/Mileva Popovic (SMC) 20-22, 21-16, 15-11
#4 - Karly Drolson/Rachel Inouye (UCLA) def. Maegan Conroy/Madi Wilkerson (SMC) 21-11, 21-15
#5 - Ivey Schmitt/Anastasia Kunz (UCLA) def. Hannah Liserra/Nicole Singh (SMC) 21-5, 21-9
Exh. Lexi Jasper-Baylin/Kendahl Hettick (UCLA) def. Jordan Patchell/Madi Wilkerson (SMC) 21-12, 21-10
