Arizona's Beach Volleyball team picked up two wins over the New Mexico Lobos 4-1 and Washington Huskies 3-2 in the first day of the Arizona Invitational. UA closed out the day now holding a 5-0 overall record.
Arizona began the tournament strong against the Lobos. The No. 5 pair of Jonny Baham and Caroline Cordes earned a win against New Mexico's Kayla Long and Abbey Willison, (21-6, 21-9). Senior Hailey Devlin along with Makenna Martin took victory over No. 4 pair of Carly Beddingfield and Emily Nenninger, (21-15, 21-9). Next to finish, Arizona's No. 2 tandem of Kacey Nady and Olivia Hallaran defeated yasmin Tan and Chloe Crappell (21-11, 21-12).
Natalie Anselmo and Olivia Macdonald claimed a victory over New Mexico's No. 1 pair of Maddie Irwin and Erin Martin through a third match, (13-21, 21-19, 15-13). To end the first round of matches, the Cats then fell to the Lobos in the No. 3 seed battle with Arizona's Mia Mason and Brooke Burling and New Mexico's Eastyn baleto and Lauren Twitty, (16-21, 21-23).
The Wildcats then went on to face the Washington Huskies in the 6 p.m. match with a thrilling victory, 3-2. UA's No. 4 team of Jonny Baham and Hailey Devlin picked up a win against Natalie Robinson and Anna Crabtree with a score of (21-15, 21-18). On court two, Kacey Nady and Olivia Hallaran took down the Huskies No. 2 pair of Destiny Julye and Courtney Schwan.
At the No. 5 position, Makenna Martin and Caroline Cordes fell short to Washington's Emma Calle and Kara Bajema, (18-21, 13-21). Arizona's No. 1 pair of Natalie Anselmo and Olivia Macdonald defeated Kimmy Gardiner and Jordan Anderson, (21-12, 21-16).
To close out the match, the No. 3 Mia Mason and Brooke Burling tandem rallied and took the match to three sets. After hard competition, Arizona garnered another win, (21-7, 11-21, 15-5).
Head Coach Steve Walker commented, "All things considered, I am pleased with the growth of our players individually and collectively. I feel like we're starting to make strides in the right direction when it comes to competitive repetitions... Right now, it's just a matter of transferring the things that we're doing really well in practice to the competition...This is a very hard-working and fun group of ladies to be around. I'm looking forward to what tomorrow brings and what the rest of the season brings our way."
To close out the two-day tournament, UA will hit the sand against the LMU Lions tomorrow, Mar. 3.
Arizona Invitational Schedule:
Friday, March 2
12:00 p.m. Arizona vs. New Mexico
2:00 p.m. LMU vs. Washington
4:00 p.m. New Mexico vs. LMU
6:00 p.m. Arizona vs. Washington
Saturday, March 3
9:00 a.m. New Mexico vs. Washington
11:00 a.m. Arizona vs. LMU
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