The Santa Clara University beach volleyball team opened the Boise State Beach Classic with a split on April 3, defeating the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) 4-1 before falling to No. 20 Boise State by a score of 5-0 at the Boise State Beach Volleyball Complex.
The event marks an important part of Santa Clara’s season as they look to build momentum in tournament play and test themselves against nationally ranked opponents.
In their morning match against UTEP, Santa Clara won four out of five pairs. Avery Cukjati and Sadie Snipes led at the No. 1 position with a straight-set victory over Paulina Acuna and Madison Hill, winning 21-14, 13-8. Reilly Rose Gilliland and Alexandra Urbina secured another point for Santa Clara in the fourth pair slot, while Ciara Cantlen and Kawena Chillingworth closed out their match with a win in the fifth position. Teagan Wilson and Sammy Wood came back from an initial set loss to win their match in three sets. The only loss for Santa Clara came at No. 2, where Mandy Hansen and Noelle Niederman were defeated by Kennedy Llewellyn and Mila Popovic.
Facing host Boise State in the afternoon session, Santa Clara was unable to secure a win but kept several sets close against top-ranked competition. Cantlen and Chillingworth lost narrowly at No. 5 pairs with scores of 21-14, 21-18, while Cukjati and Snipes pushed their first set into extra points before dropping it 24-22.
Santa Clara will conclude its participation in the tournament on Saturday with matches against CSUN at 9:30 a.m. PDT followed by Oregon at 1:30 p.m., according to information provided by SantaClaraBroncos.com.
The team’s performance demonstrates both progress during tournament play as well as challenges when facing higher-ranked programs.
