The Master’s sweeps Arizona Christian for GSAC beach volleyball title after Firestorm’s semifinal upset
MESA, Ariz. - The Master’s claimed the Great Southwest Athletic Conference beach volleyball championship Friday, defeating Arizona Christian 3-0 at Arizona Athletic Grounds to secure an automatic berth to the NAIA Women’s Beach Volleyball National Invitational.
The title dual followed a dramatic start to Championship Friday, when No. 4 seed Arizona Christian upset top-seeded OUAZ 3-2 in the semifinal to reach the championship match. But in the final, The Master’s, ranked No. 4 nationally, controlled the decisive courts from the outset against a 10th-ranked Arizona Christian team that came in riding the momentum of its earlier win.
The Mustangs took the first point on court 2, where Ashlan VanGroningen and Isabela Rodriguez delivered the most decisive result of the championship, beating Emma Zeis and Sydney Siebert 21-13, 21-11. The lead grew to 2-0 on court 4 as Macy Gebhards and Krista Brady defeated Jasmin Joseph and Haley Tedrow 21-16, 21-19.
With the conference title within reach, The Master’s closed the dual on court 1, where Emma Winter and Zoe Yates won the tightest completed match of the afternoon, 21-19, 22-20, over Emily Casner and Emee Fellens.
Courts 3 and 5 were stopped after the clinching point. Arizona Christian’s Alyssa Robles and Abigail Nelson held a 21-15, 18-17 edge over Addy Brock and Ashlyn Unruh on court 3 when play ended. On court 5, Arianna DeRaffaele and Kayla Goodwin of The Master’s and Kapri Espinosa and Lilly Petersen of Arizona Christian had split the first two sets, 24-26, 21-10.
Arizona Christian’s path to the final was the day’s biggest early development. The Firestorm opened the semifinal by taking court 4, where Joseph and Tedrow beat OUAZ’s pairing 21-19, 21-16. OUAZ answered on court 2 as Olga Romero and Shayna Martinez won 21-18, 21-17, but Arizona Christian regained control on court 1 behind Casner and Fellens, who posted a 21-14, 21-11 victory. OUAZ forced a 2-2 tie with a narrow win on court 5, where Marielle Ramos and Gabriela Corrales prevailed 21-19, 22-20.
The semifinal turned on court 3. After dropping the opening set, Robles and Nelson rallied for Arizona Christian and took the final two sets 21-16 and 15-5, clinching the upset and sending the Firestorm into the title match.
Even with the semifinal loss, OUAZ had already secured its national tournament place by winning the GSAC regular-season title. The Master’s now joins OUAZ in the national field after capturing the conference crown, and the full eight-team bracket for the NAIA Women’s Beach Volleyball National Invitational is scheduled to be announced April 13. The national championship is set for April 23-25 at Arizona Athletic Grounds in Mesa.
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