LONG BEACH, Calif. – Utah Beach Volleyball fell to CSUN and #16 Stetson on Friday to begin the weekend in Long Beach. Lauren Sayre and Azure McOmber made their season debuts with four of Utah’s five pairings remaining the same as they had all season.
Utah 0, CSUN 5
Utah opened the weekend of matches against CSUN where it won two of the five first sets on Friday. Utah’s top duo of Amaya Messier and Katie McAlister picked up a 21-18 victory in the first set after holding onto their early lead, while Utah’s fifth pair of Savannah Cottam and Sonja Wessel took a 21-19 win despite trailing 15-13 earlier in the frame.
CSUN got the first point of the dual after their No. 2 duo earned a 21-15, 21-14 win over Grace Andrews and Marissa Koch. The lead was extended to 2-0 after court four earned a straight-set win over Kylie Pitzak and Lauren Sayre, who paired together for the first time this season as Sayre made her season debut.
The Matadors managed to clinch the match with a win on court three. Bella Vezzani and Abby Karich held a lead in the first set, but ultimately dropped the frame 21-17, and fell behind late in the second set to eventually drop their match 21-18 in the final set. With two courts remaining, both court one and court five were headed to third sets after the Utes couldn’t close out the second set for wins.
Messier and McAlister trailed 8-2 early in their third set and could not complete a comeback before CSUN’s top duo ran away with the win 15-9. On court five, Wessel and Cottam found themselves in a similar scenario as the duo trailed early and could not make a late rally, falling 15-7 to close out the match.
Utah 0, #16 Stetson
Utah faced its fourth top-20 team of the season when it played #16 Stetson. The Utes picked up a first set win on court three from Vezzani and Karich after the duo collected a narrow 23-21 victory. Stetson managed to earn wins on the other four courts in the first set and went on to pick up its first point of the dual on court two.
Stetson continued its momentum to take straight set wins on court five and court one as well, clinching the victory. Azure McOmber made her season debut for the Utes with Pitzak on court five. Wessel and Cottam competed on court four together for the first time this year and fell in a competitive contest 21-17, 21-19. Rounding out the match, Vezzani and…
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