NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – The Utah Beach Volleyball team continued competition in California over spring break with a pair of matches on Tuesday afternoon. The Utes split Tuesday’s competition after earning a 5-0 win over Hope International and dropping a 4-1 match to Concordia Irvine.
Utah 1, Concordia Irvine 4
The Utes began the day against Concordia Irvine where they fell behind early in the match after dropping the contest on court two. Kylie Pitzak and Sydney Jacinto earned the sole dual point for Utah with a competitive 21-19, 21-19 victory on court four to even the match 1-1. Concordia went on to pick up straight-set wins on court one and five to clinch the match despite Sonja Wessel and Savannah Cottam’s efforts trying force a third set on court five where they ultimately dropped a heartbreaking 33-31 second set.
Utah’s No. 3 pair of Bella Vezzani and Abby Karich bounced back in the second set after dropping the first, winning 21-14 to force a decisive third set. In the third frame, Vezzani and Karich narrowly fell 15-13 to round out the first match of the day.
Utah 5, Hope International 0
Utah got back on track with a 5-0 sweep over Hope International to close out the day’s action. Pitzak and Jacinto picked up the first point of the dual with a quick straight-set win on court four, defeating their opponents 21-9, 21-15 to go undefeated on Tuesday. Grace Andrews and Marissa Koch recorded another straight-set win for the Utes (21-16, 21-15) to push Utah ahead 2-0.
Clinching the match was Utah’s fifth pairing of Cottam and Wessel, who picked up another dominating win 21-7, 21-13 to secure the win. Following suit, Karich and Vezzani took another win in two sets after defeating Hope International’s third duo by a score of 21-15, 21-16. The top court went on to be the only court headed to a third set, but Amaya Messier and Katie McAlister rebounded after the first set loss and went on to win 21-13 in the second set before taking the 15-8 win in the final set to complete the Ute sweep.
Utah continues play against Santa Clara and Cal Poly tomorrow in San Luis Obispo, Calif. The Utes are set to play Santa Clara at 5:30 p.m. MT and Cal Poly at 8 p.m. MT.
Concordia Irvine 4, Utah 1
1. Hannah Phair/Olivia Highstreet (CUI) def. Amaya Messier/Katie McAlister (Utah), 21-12, 21-14
2. Hailee Ryan/ Kelia…
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