Greeneville, Tenn. - On Friday, the Arizona Christian Sandy Birds saw their season come to an end after falling in their final pool play match and the quarterfinals of the NAIA National Invitational. With their two wins on Friday, Hailey Brown and Riley Brown took over the top spot in career wins for ACU Beach Volleyball.
Match one of the day concluded pool play as the fifth seeded Firestorm squared off with Southern Oregon- the eight seed but surprise team of the invitational.
The first three completed matches went in favor of the Raiders though the duo of Emily Katzer and Jaiden Zeis won their second set to force a third and decisive set. But the Browns claimed a win at the ones for the single Firestorm point.
At the end of pool play, Arizona Christian was the four team from Pool A and faced Corban- the top team from Pool B- in the quarterfinals. The Warriors won both matches of the first wave even though Katzer and Zeis took the first set at the fours. The Browns closed out their careers with double 22-20 set wins at one. Unfortunately, Corban claimed the decisive team point by winning at the threes.
Three wins at the national invitational pushed the Browns to the top of the career wins list with 43 victories. With a 19-7 overall record, the Browns set a new season best win percentage at .731. The 19 wins are the second most all-time in a season.
With the tie at the top, Brianna Boeckman ends up in third with 41 wins. Katzer is fifth all-time with 34 wins.
MATCH INFO
Match One Score: Southern Oregon - 4, Arizona Christian - 1
Order of Finish: 2,4,5,1,3
Match Two Score: Corban - 3, Arizona Christian - 1
Order of Finish: 2,4,1,3
Records: Arizona Christian - 12-14, Southern Oregon - 18-10, Corban - 25-1
Location: Greeneville Beach Volleyball Complex, Greeneville, TN
MATCH ONE RESULTS
1. Haley Brown/Riley Brown (ACU) def. Madi Gray/Tessa Zimmerman (SOU) 25-23, 21-14
2. Grace Gulbrandsen/Linda Conceicao (SOU) def. Brianna Boeckman/Eliana Cho (ACU) 22-20, 21-13
3. Kira Sandoval/Lucretia Benolken (SOU) def. Abigail Nelson/Emee Fellens (ACU) 21-14, 22-20
4. Natalie Perez/Andressa RiberioSoar (SOU) def. Emily Katzer/Jaiden Zeis (ACU) 21-18, 15-21, 15-12
5. Skyy Nihipali-Botelho/Kendal Hadwick (SOU) def. Alyssa Robles/Kapri Espinosa (ACU) 21-14, 21-19
MATCH TWO RESULTS
1. Haley Brown/Riley Brown (ACU) def. Megan Dennis/Emma Bischoff (CORB) 22-20, 22-20
2. Cammie Masanda/Danae Stokes (CORB) def. Brianna Boeckman/Eliana Cho (ACU) 21-12, 21-9
3. Emmi Marks/Jessica McMillian (CORB) def. Abigail Nelson/Emee Fellens (ACU) 21-12, 21-15
4. Alexis Adebodun/Gabi Engels (CORB) def. Emily Katzer/Jaiden Zeis (ACU) 23-25, 21-18, 16-14
5. Rebecca Wilber/Erin Scott (CORB) vs. Alyssa Robles/Kapri Espinosa (ACU) 21-11, 20-22, 14-8, unfinished
NEXT FOR THE FIRESTORM
The Firestorm season comes to an end.
