Friday, April 3rd, the Beavers, Mustangs, and Falcons met for the 2nd time this season in week 6 of Big 8 Conference play. All three programs are having standout seasons and the bouncy Livermore courts were the perfect place for the trio to meet again. 

FLC and AR met first. The last time these two teams played the dual was a close 3-2 contest in favor of the Beavers. This time the day started with an exchange of flowers. This was FLC's sohpomore day celebration and Falcons recognized AR's 5 sophomores with a gifted tulip. 

The first wave of play showcased Addy Tagala/Chloe Lester in the 6s slot, Kaylee Astacio/Gwendolyn Hansen at the 4s, and Maddy Seabury/Lillie Miranda at the 2s. Astacio/Hansen scored the first point for the Beavers winning their match in 2 sets. Both Court 6 and Court 2 went the 3 set distance. Tagala/Lester stayed in the game until the last point, eventually falling to the Falcons in 3. Seabury/Miranda found themselves in a precarious position when they went down 1-8 in the 3rd set to 15. It took a tremendous effort and mental resilience to come back and win that same set 15-10, outscoreing the Falcons 14-2 on the way to victory. With that 3rd set win, Seabury/Miranda scored AR's second point of the dual. 

The second wave also saw two matches go to 3 sets. The first match of the second wave to finish was an important one. Gillian Rossi/Anabelle Gomez won in 2 at the 5s, scoring the 3rd point for the Beavers and clinching the dual. With the outcome of the dual decided, two matches remained on Court 1 and Court 3. Maddy Rossman/Aurora Meneghetti and Maya Mishchuk/Margaret O'Brien both experienced exciting matches that would both go the way of FLC. The scores of the Mishchuk/O'Brien match show just how close it was: 21-18, 20-22, 13-15. With one dual down, the Beavers refocused to meet the Mustangs. 

In the first round of conference play, AR and SJDC also had a very closely contested dual. The Mustangs of Delta College eventually took the dual 3-2 after staging a strong 2nd wave comeback. 

Astacio/Hansen and Seabury/Miranda kicked off the 1st wave of play. Astacio/Hansen kept their strong day going, once again scoring the first point for the Beavs with a 2 set victory. By the time Seabury/Miranda made it into their 3rd set, Court 5 and Court 3 had also begun. Seabury/Miranda rode the waves through an up and down match and eventually lost the contest in 3. Rossi/Gomez and Rossman/Meneghetti both won first sets on Court 5 and Court 3 respectively. Then the Mustangs started to stage comebacks on both courts as both pairs found themselves down big in the second sets. Huge service runs from Gillian Rossi and Aurora Meneghetti along with strong defensive efforts from Anabelle Gomez and Maddy Rossman helped bring both pairs back in their respecive matches. Rossi/Gomez scored the second point for the Beavs and when Meneghetti/Rossman won their match, the Beavers clinched the re-match. 

With the Beavers up 3-1 and the dual decided, Court 1 was still playing. O'Brien/Mishchuk, a still new partnership for AR found a flow state and rode that wave to a decisive 2 set win over the exceptionally physical Delta 1s pair. 

Two weeks of Big 8 play remain. ARC will celebrate their sophomore day next Friday, April 10th at their home facility, Sacramento Softball Complex with Santa Rosa and Sierra.