SAN FRANCISCO – The Dons enjoyed their first taste of action on their home sand on a beautiful Sunday afternoon as they hosted Utah and Pacific in the USF Invitational at Ocean Beach. USF (0-5) dropped both matches on the day but turned in some strong showings throughout the lineup.

"It was our best day of competition yet this season," co-head coach Simone Ortega said. "All pairs made some major strides in their development as beach volleyball players. With our first event ever at our new home court of Ocean Beach, we had some great support from our student body as well the SF community. By 12 p.m. we were surrounded by hundreds of volleyball fans, some of which were playing on their own nets surrounding us. It was a great vibe and made for some outstanding comradery." 

In their first matchup of the morning against the Utes, USF's No. 5 pair of Trish Koutsoukos and Montana Green captured the opening frame and battled to a three-set finish, but ultimately couldn't pull out the victory, falling 17-21, 21-17, 15-6.  
   
The Dons followed that up with an afternoon contest against West Coast Conference foe Pacific where Emily Reed and Carly Lowry bounced back from a first-set loss to take the second set 21-12 at the No. 2 spot. However, Reed and Lowry were defeated in the final set by a 15-7 tally.
 
The Dons travel south to compete in the Monterey Invitational at the Monterey Beach House on Friday where they will meet San Jose State, Portland and UCLA.
   


Match Results
Utah 5, San Francisco 0
Mar 12, 2017 at San Francisco, Calif. (Ocean Beach) 
1. Adora Anae/Dani Barton (UTAH) def. Nora Buvarp Lavik/Camille Araujo (USF) 21-19, 21-11
2. Bailey Choy/Eliza Ratoa (UTAH) def. Emily Reed/Carly Lowry (USF) 21-17, 21-14
3. Carly Trueman/Torre Glasker (UTAH) def. Dane Miller/Marjolijn Oskam (USF) 21-18, 21-12
4. Brianna Doehrmann/Tawnee Luafalemana (UTAH) def. Shannon Levinson/Kate Ashman (USF) 21-15, 21-11
5. Lauren Sprou/Beckley Oblad (UTAH) def. Trish Koutsoukos/Montana Green (USF) 17-21, 21-17, 15-6
 
Pacific 5, San Francisco 0
Mar 12, 2017 at San Francisco, Calif. (Ocean Beach) 
1. Lexi Elman/Andie Shelton (PAC) def. Nora Buvarp Lavik/Camille Araujo (USF) 21-13, 21-17
2. Katrina Gotterba/Maycie Labass (PAC) def. Emily Reed/Carly Lowry (USF) 21-11, 12-21, 15-7
3. Janie Feldsher/Taylor Poncetta (PAC) def. Dane Miller/Marjolijn Oskam (USF) 21-18, 23-21
4. Alex Holt/Emily Baptista (PAC) def. Shannon Levinson/Kate Ashman (USF) 21-13, 21-13
5. Ashlyn Fleming/Skylar Wine (PAC) def. Montana Green/Trish Koutsoukos (USF) 21-13, 21-12