Greeneville, Tenn. - Arizona Christian Beach Volleyball is on the doorstep of the 2024 NAIA Women's Beach Volleyball Invitational championship match after sweeping pool play and downing #6 Saint Katherine in the quarterfinals. Through four matches at Greeneville Beach Volleyball Complex, the Firestorm boast three undefeated pairs and a 16-3 point differential.
Friday began with Coach Vanessa Burwick's squad defeating #1 Corban 4-1 to complete pool play at a perfect 3-0. The even pairs of Haley Brown/Riley Brown and Sydney Shaw/Brianna Boeckman gutted out long second sets to put two early points on the board. Following a one-pair loss, Amaya Brown/Emily Katzer overcame a dropped first set (18-21, 21-16, 15-13) and secured the clinching third point. The threes Eliana Cho/Railey Dykstra added icing on the cake of knocking off the top-ranked Warriors with a thunderous three-set victory.
ACU earned Pool A's top spot and had a date with the #6 Firebirds, who closed out play in Pool B with an 0-3 record. Brown/Brown pocketed the match's first point in two back-and-forth sets (21-18, 21-19) before Shaw/Boeckman backed up their morning work with their second three-set win of the tournament. After a lopsided loss in the threes, Brown/Katzer remained perfect (4-0) and clinched the Firestorm's third match.
Because the single-elimination matches are "played to decision" (till one team reaches three points), Mia Scheepens/Misty McCall did not have to finish their individual match. The one pair was on the brink of a victory, ahead 20-18 in the second set.
MATCH INFO
Score 1: #4 Arizona Christian 4, #1 Corban 1
Score 2: #4 Arizona Christian 3, #6 Saint Katherine 1
Order of Finish 1: 2,4,1,5,3
Order of Finish 2: 2,4,3,5,1
Location: Greeneville Beach Volleyball Complex - Greeneville, TN
Times: 10:00 AM, 3:30 PM EST
MATCH-BY-MATCH RESULTS
ACU 4, CU 1
1. Megan Dennis/Emma Bischoff (CU) def. Mia Scheepens/Misty McCall (ACU) 21-15, 21-13
2. Haley Brown/Riley Brown (ACU) def. Jessica McMillian/Danae Stokes (CU) 21-16, 22-20
3. Eliana Cho/Railey Dykstra (ACU) def. Emmi Marks/Nicole Bantilan (CU) 21-18, 16-21, 19-17
4. Sydney Shaw/Brianna Boeckman (ACU) def. Allison Reid/Erin Scott (CU) 21-15, 23-21
5. Amaya Brown/Emily Katzer (ACU) def. Cammie Masanda/Sydney Sanford (CU) 18-21, 21-16, 15-13
ACU 3, USK 1
1. Mia Scheepens/Misty McCall (ACU) vs. Alexcis Morris/Anne Mayfield (USK) 21-12, 20-18*
2. Haley Brown/Riley Brown (ACU) def. Katie Alexander/Natalie Hill (USK) 21-18, 21-19
3. Camille Harvey/Bailey Combs (USK) def. Eliana Cho/Railey Dykstra (ACU) 21-13, 21-12
4. Sydney Shaw/Brianna Boeckman (ACU) def. Makenzie Nutting/Denisse Sanchez (USK) 13-21, 21-16, 15-10
5. Amaya Brown/Emily Katzer (ACU) def. Emily Wilson/Jadyn Starling (USK) 21-7, 21-15
*Played to decision
NEXT FOR THE FIRESTORM
Arizona Christian will play GSAC foe #7 Vanguard for the fourth time this season in the semifinals of the 2024 NAIA Women's Beach Volleyball Invitational. The penultimate match of the national tournament begins tomorrow at 11:00 AM EST/8:00 AM MST. Stay up to date with ACU Beach Volleyball by following @acufirestorm on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and checking out @firestorm_bvb on Instagram.
Roll Storm!
