Scottsdale, Ariz. - In a battle between the newly dubbed #1 and #3-ranked teams, the Lady Firestorm could not overcome first-set woes and fell 4-1 to their rival and undefeated OUAZ Spirit.

Both the number two and four pairs lost in back-and-forth three setters before Amaya Brown/Emily Katzer won a two-set thriller, in which the five pair powered through the first set 25-23. Any momentum built from this victory was dashed, as Mia Scheepens/Misty McCall could not respond to a narrow first-set loss (22-20) and Brianna Boeckman/Eliana Cho could not manage to outlast the Spirit's three pair (Amanda Carlson/Grace Hughes) in three highly-contested sets. 

The first NAIA Beach Volleyball Coaches' Top-10 poll of the 2024 regular season (February 21) had the Firestorm make the largest jump of any team, from RV up to #3 in the nation. 

MATCH INFO

Score: #3 Arizona Christian 1, #1 OUAZ 4
Records: #3 ACU (6-2, 3-2 GSAC), #1 OUAZ (8-0, 5-0 GSAC)
Location: Scottsdale Ranch Park - Scottsdale, AZ
Time: 10:00 AM

MATCH RESULTS

OUAZ 4, ACU 1

1. Diana Enriquez/Summer Hanks (OUAZ) def. Mia Scheepens/Misty McCall (ACU) (22-20, 21-12)
2. Olivia Andersh/Mattea Wilson (OUAZ) def. Haley Brown/Riley Brown (ACU) (20-22, 21-17, 15-12)
3. Amanda Carlson/Grace Hughes (OUAZ) def. Brianna Boeckman/Eliana Cho (ACU) (24-22, 19-21, 19-17)
4. Shea Marovich/Dayana Raygoza (OUAZ) def. Sydney Shaw/Railey Dykstra (ACU) (21-13, 18-21,15-8)
5. Amaya Brown/Emily Katzer (ACU) def. Sam Baer/Gabriela Corrales (OUAZ) (25-23, 21-16)

THOUGHTS FROM COACH VANESSA BURWICK

"Today was a tough loss, but it was such great competition," Coach Burwick said. "Our 2s, 3s, and 4s all went to three sets and put up a good fight. I'm proud of the integrity and love this team showed. We could never get better without the high intensity and pressure felt in the games today. Time to get back at it in practice so we can beat them next time!"

NEXT FOR THE FIRESTORM

Arizona Christian takes a breather from GSAC play with two matches against NCAA Division I programs (GCU and UAB) this Saturday at GCU Beach Volleyball Stadium. Action gets underway at 10:00 AM with GCU first to play the Firestorm. Stay up to date with ACU Beach Volleyball by following @acufirestorm on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and checking out @firestorm_bvb on Instagram.


Roll Storm!