Beach volleyball is a challenging game. Conditions vary from week to week and sometimes hour to hour. Variables on the sand include the weather: wind, sun, rain, cold, heat, etc. Additionally, contrary to the structure of indoor, the playing surface itself and the net height can also vary across facilities. 

Friday, March 27th, American River College Beach Volleyball headed to College of Marin, a pit stop the program hadn't made in over a year. College of Marin has a beautiful facility that features white beach sand that is fun to dive in and hard to jump out of. It was sunny and 78 with shockingly little wind.. we've seen some things wind-wise at College of Marin. The blue-bird sky framed the lush green hills; a truly beautiful day to play in the sand. 

ARC opened the day playing Cosumnes River College. In the 1st round of conference play, CRC and ARC finished 4-1 with ARC edging the Hawks in a close contest that showcased multiple 3rd sets. 

This time around, 2 of the matches once again went the distance. Gwendolyn Hansen and Kaylee Astacio brought the action in their first round match at the 4s. The duo started out extremely hot winning the first set 21-6. CRC took the second 22-20 and the pairs went to a third to 15. Astacio/Hansen showed a poise and grit to arrive at a match point, 14-12, opening the door for Astacio to seal the deal with a cheeky set over to win and earn the second point in the dual for the Beavs. 

Maddy Seabury and Lillie Miranda met up with Amen/Snow in the first round at the 2 slot. After eeking out a closely contested first set (21-19), Miranda/Seabury won the second set 21-12 and earned the first dual point for ARC. 

Addy Tagala and Chloe Lester completed the first wave sweep winning their match at the 6s in straight sets. 

Aurora Meneghetti/Maddy Rossman, Anabelle Gomez/Gillian Rossi, and Margaret O'Brien/Maya Mishchuk all played in the second wave. CRC 1s pair, Hoffman/Patterson, have had a strong conference showing. Mishchuk/O'Brien delivered a strong, confident performance to win at the ever challenging slot in 2 sets. Meneghetti/Rossman extended their win streak at the 3s, also winning in straight sets. 

The final match of the dual was at the 5s. Anabelle Gomez and Gillian Rossi won the first set 21-18 and CRC responded, winning the second 21-15. Gomez/Rossi dug deep in their response and scored ARC's final point with the 15-5 win in the 3rd set. 

With the first dual complete, the Beavers reset to meet COM for the second time this season. First wave pairs for ARC were Maddy Seabury/Lillie Miranda, Kaylee Astacio/Gwendolyn Hansen, and Addison Tagala/Jayda Moran. Seabury/Miranda had to find some clutch plays in the 20s to narrowly win their match with Cruz/Sigaran, 23-21, 21-18. After a draining first match that went to 3, Astacio/Hansen brought efficient energy to their COM match and won 21-9, 21-6. Jayda Moran/Addy Tagala paired up for the 1st time of the day at the 6s slot and got a lot of bang for their buck. Moran/Tagala lost the first set before completing the comeback in 3. The push it took to get there was felt across the courts when the final point was scored. 

The Beavers continued to play controlled, clean volleyball in the second wave. O'Brien/Mishchuk put up scores of 21-7, 21-8 at the 1 slot and Rossman/Meneghetti won 21-9, 21-4 at the 3s. Rossi/Gomez who, like Astacio/Hansen, had gone to 3 sets with CRC, won their second match of the day in 2 sets, 21-14, 21-16. Injured player, Aria Woltz, served as the Beaver's 3rd coach on the day and played a pivitol role providing support and feedback for multiple pairs. 

The Beavers play next Friday, April 3rd, at Folsom Lake College's home courts at Livermore Park.