Huntington Beach, Calif. - Arizona Christian kept their conference championship hopes above water by splitting their opening two matches of the 2024 GSAC Beach Volleyball Tournament. The Lady Firestorm avenged an earlier loss regular-season loss to #10 The Master's with a 3-2 win in the morning match before being defeated 3-2 by host #8 Vanguard.
As 1-seed OUAZ defeated 3-seed The Master's 3-2 to survive and move on, the Firestorm will meet the Spirit in an elimination match of their own tomorrow morning. The winner will get another shot at the Vanguard in the championship, each having lost to Lions in the four-team bracket.
With an automatic bid in the championship match on the line, ACU was put into a 2-0 hole against 4-seed Vanguard after losing in both the twos and fours. Five pair Amaya Brown/Emily Katzer won a three-setter (13-21, 21-15, 15-11) to avoid an early sweep but the match was settled soon after with Mia Scheepens/Misty McCall on the wrong end of two sets. Eliana Cho/Railey Dykstra earned the Firestorm a second point, no small feat considering it went a full three sets and what it could potentially mean heading into tomorrow.
In the tournament's opener, the Firestorm had secured victory over 3-seed The Master's through the first three pairs' matches. The fours duo Sydney Shaw/Brianna Boeckman displayed grit and determination to ensure the second point would be ACU's, rebounding from a second-set loss with a convincing 15-9 tie-breaking third. Brown/Katzer were unwavering in their play to clinch a postseason win for their squad.
MATCH INFO
Score 1: #3 Arizona Christian 3, #10 The Master's 2
Score 2: #3 Arizona Christian 2, #8 Vanguard 3
Order of Finish 1: 2,4,5,1,3
Order of Finish 2: 4,2,5,1,3
Location: Brookhurst Courts - Huntington Beach, CA
Times: 10:00 AM, 1:00 PM
MATCH-BY-MATCH RESULTS
ACU 3, TMU 2
1. Annika Booker/Evi Yates (TMU) def. Mia Scheepens/Misty McCall (ACU) 21-14, 22-20
2. Haley Brown/Riley Brown (ACU) def. Zoe Yates/Faith Wada (TMU) 21-12, 21-18
3. Breanna Brooks/Isabela Rodriguez (TMU) def. Eliana Cho/Railey Dykstra (ACU) 21-7, 21-12Â
4. Sydney Shaw/Brianna Boeckman (ACU) def. Ashlyn Unruh/Violet Avila (TMU) 21-18, 17-21, 15-9Â
5. Amaya Brown/Emily Katzer (ACU) def. Eleana Niehus/Arianna DeRaffaele (TMU) 21-14, 21-19
VU 3, ACU 2
1. Hannah Wilmes/Emma Galloway (VU) def. Mia Scheepens/Misty McCall (ACU) 21-18, 21-12
2. Madi Nash/Madison Arnold (VU) def. Haley Brown/Riley Brown (ACU) 21-13, 21-19
3. Eliana Cho/Railey Dykstra (ACU) def. Paige Cartwright/Gianna Pecile (VU) 21-15, 13-21, 16-14Â
4. Bailey Coffin/Logan Daniels (VU) def. Sydney Shaw/Brianna Boeckman (ACU) 21-18, 24-22
5. Amaya Brown/Emily Katzer (ACU) def. Kourtney Hitt/Ana Broadhead (VU) 13-21, 21-15, 15-11
NEXT FOR THE FIRESTORM
Arizona Christian will lay it all on the line tomorrow morning at 10:00 AM in an elimination game with rival #1 OUAZ. The winner will earn a berth into the championship match with #8 Vanguard at 1:00 PM from Brookhurst Courts. 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!
