Beach Falls Twice on First Day of NAIA Invitational

PANAMA CITY, Fla. – The first day of action at the NAIA Beach Volleyball National Invitational saw OUAZ fall in both matches at the Russell Fields City Pier. OUAZ lost to Park (Mo.) 3-2 to begin the day and then fell to Westcliff 4-0.

The day's results left the Spirit at 17-12 on the season, and they are the third-place team in Pool B. That pairs them against Corban in a first round dual on Friday at 10 a.m. (AZ) as bracket play begins.

MATCH 1: Park 3, OUAZ 2
The day began with the third-seeded Spirit going back and forth with the No. 6 seed Park. The Pirates scored the first point when Giovanna Bello & Debora Bernardi defeated Katia Dizon & Kate Pestova 21-15, 21-17 in the No. 1 match.

Katelyn Viray & Mattea Wilson got the Spirit on the board with a 21-14, 21-17 win in the No. 3 match. After Park won the No. 5 match, Noel Chavarria & Katie Defer tied the dual at 2-2 by winning the No. 2 match 22-20, 21-14.

With the No. 4 court remaining to decide the winner, the action went to a third set before Laura Danezzi & Mafalda Bras rallied by Mia Lara & Amanda Carlson for a 16-21, 23-21, 15-9 win.

MATCH 2: Westcliff 4, OUAZ 0
In their second dual of the day, OUAZ was shutout by No. 2 Westcliff 4-0. The Warriors swept all four finished matches, starting with a 21-12, 21-12 win by Kylie Cordero & Brooke Scheidle over Chavarria & Defer in match No. 2.

The OUAZ deficit was 2-0 after Olivia Andersh & Zoey Mohring fell in the No. 5 match 19-21, 18-21. Westcliff clinched the victory with a 21-16, 21-18 win from Elena Eckhardt & Megan Yoon over Viray & Wilson in the No. 3 match.

Dizon & Pestova split the two sets in the No. 1 match, 17-21, 21-19, only to have the match called due to the dual being decided.

If the Spirit can get past Corban – the No. 5 seed in the field – in the first round match, they will advance to face Westcliff at 2 p.m. (AZ).

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