No. 11 Cal Sweeps Saint Mary’s, No. 8 Stanford

Al Sermeno/KLC fotos

Cal overcame a 0-2 deficit to defeat Stanford

BVB3/18/2023 5:47 PM | By: Cal Athletics

Cal Improves to 5-3 Against Ranked Opponents

BERKELEY – The No. 11 California beach volleyball team began a new win streak on Saturday, taking down Saint Mary’s, 5-0, and securing the Big Spike victory over No. 8 Stanford, 3-2, at the Clark Kerr Sand Courts and now improves to 12-3 on the season.
 
No. 11 Cal 5, Saint Mary’s 0
The Bears swept their opponent for the eight time this season as all five Bear pairs won in straight sets. Junior Natalie Martin and sophomore Alex Young tipped things off with a 21-9, 21-17 court one victory, quickly followed by juniors Ava Mann and Brooke Buchner with a 21-10, 21-13 win on court two. Junior Maya Gessner and sophomore Ella Dreibholz sealed the victory with a 21-19, 21-8 win on court one.
 
1.  Ainsley Radell/Ashley Delgado (CAL) def Hawley Harrer/ Daniella Kensinger (SMC): 21-11, 21-17
2.  Maya Gessner/Ella Dreibholz (CAL) def Karmin Brown/Hannah Couch (SMC): 21-19, 21-8
3.  Sierra Caffo/Liz Waters-Leiga (CAL) def Genevieve Bane/Paola Peralta (SMC): 21-17, 21-14
4.  Natalie Martin/Alex Young-Gomez (CAL) def Allie Cataldo/Sadie Shipman (SMC): 21-9, 21-17
5.  Ava Mann/Brooke Buchner (CAL) def Angie Bour/Megan Allred (SMC): 21-10, 21-13
Order of finish: 4, 5, 2, 3, 1
 
No. 11 Cal 3, No. 8 Stanford 2
The Bears battled back, overcoming a 0-2 deficit after the first two matches of the competition, which both went to three sets. Sophomore Sierra Caffo and junior Liz Waters gave Cal a chance with 21-17, 21-17 win on court one which was followed by junior Maya Gessner and sophomore Ella Dreibholz, who secured a three-set win to make the final pairing of seniors Ainsley Radell and Ashley Delgado the deciding match for the Big Spike. The duo came through with a 21-15 first set win, before holding off a Stanford comeback in the second set with a 21-19 win.
 
1.  Ainsley Radell/Ashley Delgado (CAL) def Charlie Ekstrom/Kate Reilly (STAN): 21-15, 21-19
2.  Sierra Caffo/Liz Waters-Leiga (CAL) def. Xolani Hodel/Maddi Kriz (STAN): 21-17, 21-17
3.  Maya Gessner/Ella Dreibholz (CAL) def. Maya Harvey/Taylor Wilson (STAN): 21-15, 19-21, 15-10
4.  Kelly Belardi/Ashley Vincent (STA) def. Natalie Martin/Alex Young-Gomez (CAL): 21-11, 19-21,…