Beach Volleyball Drops Pair of Matches To Top-10 Teams
MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. – The Utah Beach Volleyball team suffered a pair of losses to close out the weekend after falling to No. 9 Hawaii and No. 5 Loyola Marymount at Manhattan Beach on Sunday. The Utes have now played six opponents this season ranked in the top-10 of the country.
Utah began the day against Hawaii where the Rainbow Wahine picked up wins on courts four and two to take the 2-0 lead. Grace Andrews and Bella Vezzani pushed their opponents on court two in the first set, but ultimately fell 23-21 and went on to drop the match. The match for Hawaii was clinched at the top spot, while Hawaii managed to pick up courts five and three shortly after. Kylie Pitzak and Sydney Jacinto battled each set and fell by a score of just 21-19, 22-20, while Marissa Koch and Samantha Leight also fell in narrow sets.
Against LMU, the Utes dropped matches on the top two courts to fall into a 2-0 hole early on. The fourth and fifth courts for Utah played in competitive sets as Sommer Daniel and Lauren Sayre, and the duo of Pitzak/Jacinto stayed within a few points, but Loyola Marymount wins in the end on both courts, as well as court three, would end the match 5-0.
Utah returns to Pac-12 play next weekend as the team heads back to California to compete in the Pac-12 North Invitational. Utah opens competition against Arizona and Washington on Saturday, Apr. 9, at 12 p.m. MT and 5 p.m. MT, respectively. Utah will also play Arizona State and California on Sunday, Apr. 10. The matches will begin at 9 a.m. MT and 12 p.m. MT in Stanford, Calif.
#9 Hawaii 5, Utah 0
1. Brooke Van Sickle/Kaylee Glagau (UH) def. Sage Patchell/Amaya Messier (UU) 21-9, 21-18
2. Kylin Loker/Sarah Penner (UH) def. Grace Andrews/Bella Vezzani (UU) 23-21, 21-14
3. Sofia Russo/Anna Maidment (UH) def. Marissa Koch/Samantha Leight (UU) 21-17, 21-19
4. Jaime Santer/Megan Widener (UH) def. Sommer Daniel/Lauren Sayre (UU) 21-13, 21-10
5. Ilihia Huddleston/Riley Wagoner (UH) def. Kylie Pitzak/Sydney Jacinto (UU) 21-19, 22-20
#5 LMU 5, Utah 0
1. Megan Rice/Reka Orsi Toth (LMU) def. Sage Patchell/Amaya Messier (UU) 21-8, 21-11
2. Avery Poppinga/Marine Kinna (LMU) def. Grace Andrews/Bella Vezzani (UU) 21-13, 21-11
3. Vilhelmiina Prihti/Macy Gordon (LMU) def. Marissa Koch/Samantha Leight (UU) 21-10, 21-12
4. Isabelle Reffel/Jacinda Ramirez (LMU) def. Sommer Daniel/Lauren Sayre (UU) 21-16, 21-16
5. Madi Finnett/Cassie Chinn (LMU) def. Kylie Pitzak/Sydney Jacinto (UU) 21-16, 21-17