Young-Gomez Crosses 50-Win Milestone
BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 6 California beach volleyball team split another pair of matches on Friday at the Death Volley Invitational, falling to No. 5 Florida State 3-2 and defeating tournament host No. 10 LSU 4-1.
Cal 4, LSU 1
Facing the Tigers (12-7) for the second time in two weeks, the Golden Bears (14-6) put together one of their strongest performances of the season, earning their third 4-1 win over a ranked opponent. It was also the program/s first win over LSU in three all-time meetings.
Cal’s pair of Marilu Pally and Alex Young-Gomez cruised to its second straight victory, claiming the Bears’ largest win of the day, 21-16, 21-11. Portia Sherman and Ella Dreibholz got their team-leading 15th win of the year on court five, 21-19, 21-15.
In her return to LSU – where she won 38 matches from 2021 to 2023 – Lara Boos won on court four alongside Jenna Colligan, 21-16, 21-18. On court two, Emma Donley and Gia Fisher made it two straight wins to start their new partnership, 21-19, 21-15.
1. Gabi Bailey/Ellie Shank (LSU) def. Sierra Caffo/Kendall Peters (CAL) 21-17, 21-19
2. Emma Donley/Gia Fisher (CAL) def. Parker Bracken/Reilly Allred (LSU) 21-19, 21-15
3. Marilu Pally/Alex Young-Gomez (CAL) def. Ella Larkin/Amber Haynes (LSU) 21-16, 21-11
4. Lara Boos/Jenna Colligan (CAL) def. Emily Meyer/Yali Ahush (LSU) 21-16, 21-18
5. Portia Sherman/Ella Dreibholz (CAL) def. Amelia Taft/Skylar Martin (LSU) 21-19, 21-15
Florida State 3, Cal 2
The Bears opened the day against the Seminoles (20-3) hoping to repeat what they did in one of their most impressive wins to date, when they ended then-No. 4 FSU’s undefeated 14-match start to the year on March 15. However, a pair of tough three-set matchups went the Seminoles’ way to give them the edge.
Pally and Young-Gomez earned a 21-16, 22-20 sweep that saw Young-Gomez reach the 50-win career milestone. Paired up for the first time ever in the 2s matchup, Donley and Fisher played through a hard-fought three-setter to take it 21-18, 20-22, 18-16.
1. Alexis Durish/Anna Long (FSU) def. Sierra Caffo/Kendall Peters (CAL) 21-15, 24-26, 15-8
2. Emma Donley/Gia Fisher (CAL) def. Alli Hansen/Maddie Anderson (FSU) 21-18, 20-22, 18-16
3. Marilu Pally/Alex Young-Gomez (CAL) def. Makenna Wolfe/Maddie Trusty (FSU) 21-16, 22-20
4. Audrey Koenig/Raelyn White (FSU) def. Lara Boos/Jenna Colligan (CAL)…
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