Mesa, Ariz. — The No. 1-ranked OUAZ Beach Volleyball team continued its strong run through conference play Thursday with a 5-0 sweep of Park-Gilbert at the Arizona Athletic Grounds.
With the win, the Spirit move to 12-1 overall, remain perfect against NAIA competition at 12-0, and improve to 7-0 in GSAC play.
OUAZ controlled the dual from the start, claiming four flights in straight sets. The No. 2 pairing of Olga Romero and Shea Marovich secured the first point of the day with a convincing 21-7, 21-15 victory. The Spirit quickly followed with another win in the No. 4 flight as Alicia Romero and Katy Shockey defeated Kyla Knight and Hayven Lick 21-11, 21-16.
At the top position, Eliana Dean and Maya Blake delivered a dominant performance, defeating Porsche Bauer and Adriana DeMario in straight sets, 21-8, 21-13. The No. 3 duo of Shayna Martinez and Railey Dykstra followed with a 21-8, 21-18 win to secure another point for the Spirit.
The final match of the dual came in the No. 5 flight, where Mariella Ramos and Gabriela Corrales battled through the only three-set contest of the day. After dropping the opening set, the pair responded with a dominant 21-5 second set before closing out the match with a 15-11 win in the third to complete the sweep.
OUAZ will return to action on Saturday, March 14, when the Spirit host a pair of matches at the Avondale Sports Complex. OUAZ will face Arizona Christian, who is receiving votes in the national poll, at 9 a.m., before taking on No. 10 Benedictine Mesa at 11 a.m. in another GSAC matchup.
