PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. -- In day one of the 2023 NAIA Beach Volleyball Invitational the Spirit took on two Pool Play opponents in No. 3 Park (Mo.) and No. 1 Westcliff. Against Park (Mo.) the Spirit battled hard but eventually fell 3-2. The Spirit met a similar fate against No. 1 seeded Westcliff as they took a 4-1 loss. The No. 2 Spirit will return tomorrow, Friday, April 21, for the First Round of Championship play. OUAZ will take on Vanguard at 7 a.m. PT for a chance at moving to the semifinals. 

GAME ONE: OUAZ 2, Park (Mo.) 3
In the Spirit's first match of pool play, No. 3 seeded Park took the dual over the No. 2 Spirit. Despite the loss, OUAZ made the Buccaneers work for the victory, forcing a third set on all five courts. 

Olivia Andersh and Liv De Pra made quick work on court one, taking down Deborah Bernardi and Giowananna Bello 21-15, 18-21, 15-9 to earn the first point of the dual. The Spirit's second point came on court five where Sam Baer and Madison Wampler went 21-16, 8-21, 15-13 to take down Laura Danezzi and Mafalda Bras. 

Unfortunately, courts two, three and four drew losses but not before advancing to three sets. Summer Hanks and Sam Leight fell 9-21 in the first set but came back for an impressive 21-17 in set two on court two. The pair were neck-and-neck in the third but fell 15-13. In the closest set scores of the match, and the dual deciding court, Amanda Carlson and Grace Hughes fought for three hard sets, eventually falling to Maria Ramos and Patricia Libeda 25-23, 20-22 17-15 to give Park the win.

GAME TWO: OUAZ 1, Westcliff 4
Against No. 1 Westcliff, the Spirit took a 4-1 loss with all five courts coming to a decision in just two sets. OUAZ's sole point came thanks to Carlson and Hughes on court two, where they swept Faith Webb and Luise Palenczat in a crazy short 21-12 first set and a 22-20 point grabbing second. 

Raygoza and Wilson got just points away from clinching another dual point on court three after going 21-19, 21-18 but they could not complete the win. Andersh and DePra on court one had back to back 21-17 sets to get within reach but fell to Kinna and Moesching.

FULL SCORES:
OUAZ 2, Park (Mo.) 3
1. Olivia Andersh, Livia DePra (OUAZ) def. Deborah Bernardi, Giowananna Bello (Park Mo.) 21-15, 18-21, 15-9
2. Julia Alvarez, Sxonja Stollar (Park Mo.) def. Summer Hanks, Sam Leight (OUAZ) 9-21, 21-17, 15-13
3. Melissa Knaut, Carla Pons (Park Mo.) def. Dayana Raygoza, Mattea Wilson (OUAZ) 16-21, 21-15, 15-5
4. Maria Ramos, Patricia Libeda (Park Mo.) def. Amanda Carlson, Grace Hughes (OUAZ) 25-23, 20-22, 17-15
5. Sam Baer, Madison Wampler (OUAZ) def. Laura Danezzi, Mafalda Bras (Park Mo.) 21-16, 8-21, 15-13

OUAZ 1, Westcliff 4
1. Marine Kinna, Fiona Moesching (WCU) def. Oivia Andersh, Livia DePra (OUAZ) 21-17, 21-17
2. Amanda Carlson, Grace Hughes (OUAZ) def. Faith Webb, Luise Palenczat (WCU) 21-12, 22-20
3. Sabrina Galassi, Maddie Septson (WCU) def. Dayana Raygoza, Mattea Wilson (OUAZ) 21-19, 21-18
4. Gianna Guinasso, Mia Scheepens (WCU) def. Summer Hanks, Sam Leight (OUAZ) 21-17, 21-18
5. Brooke Scheidle, Rena Comer (WCU) def. Sam Baer, Madison Wampler (OUAZ) 21-14, 21-10