Broncos open season 1-2 at Canyon Classic, beat Arizona State

Friday, February 25

Phoenix, Ariz.

10:30 a.m. MT

Boise State

Grand Canyon

Broncos open season 1-2 at Canyon Classic, beat Arizona State

2/25/2022 8:13:00 PM | Women's Beach Volleyball

Boise State falls to nationally-ranked Grand Canyon and Arizona, and defeats Arizona State.

By: Courtesy: Boise State Athletics

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Boise State beach volleyball opened the 2022 campaign going 1-2 Friday afternoon at the Canyon Classic in Phoenix. After a shaky start in the opener, a 5-0 defeat at the hands of ninth-ranked Grand Canyon, the Broncos regrouped with two impressive outings recording a 3-2 victory over Arizona State before coming up short against 12th-ranked Arizona by a 4-1 score.

"I'm really proud of the way the team battled today against three really good teams, Grand Canyon who is ranked ninth, Arizona State, and No. 12 Arizona," said Boise State Head Coach Allison Voigt. "For the first day of the season, I thought everyone played hard and did a solid job, we were in a lot of those matches we lost. It was great to beat Arizona State and we pushed Arizona to the end. Our team gained a lot of experience against a tough schedule today and we will learn from it."

The Blue and Orange were led by its No. 4 pair of Kaylee Mejia and Sharli O'Neil who swept their matches against Arizona State and Arizona to finish the day 2-1; both victories were in straight sets.

Boise State finished the Canyon Classic team competition at 1-2, while Grand Canyon went undefeated at 3-0, Arizona finished 1-1, and Arizona State 0-2. The four teams will compete in a pairs tournament all day on Saturday, where the student-athletes will compete as pairs in three different flights/tournaments with no team results factoring in.

The Broncos raced out to a 2-0 lead against the Arizona State Sun Devils powered by a victory by Sierra Land and Rori Chartier, who won in two sets on court two 22-20, 21-18 to claim the first team point. They were followed closely in the win column by Mejia and O'Neil at No. 4 pair who took their match 21-18, 21-16.

The Sun Devils battled back to tie the team score up at 2-2 with wins on courts one and three. Boise State's Joey Benson and Emilia Guerra-Acuna brought the victory home, outlasting ASU's duo of Cambria Hall and Maddy Salazar on court five 23-21, 26-24 to clinch the first Bronco win of the season.

In the third and final match of the day against No. 12 Arizona, Boise State went toe-to-toe with the Wildcats. The Broncos claimed the early lead when Mejia and O'Neil battled to a straight-set 21-16, 21-19 win at No. 4 pair.

Arizona then rallied to take a 2-1 advantage with tightly contested wins at No. 2 and 3 pairs. Chartier and Land rallied from a set down on court two to take the second 21-19, forcing the contest to a decisive third set before they fell 21-17, 19-21, 15-12.

The Broncos battled the Wildcats in the final two matches decided but came up short in both as Arizona put the contest away. At No. 1 pair, Boise State's tandem of Erin Martin and Yasmin Tan battled through three sets before getting edged in the fifth, 21-19, 16-21, 15-13, it was their second three-set defeat of the day. The final match was decided by a combined five points as Benson and Guerra-Acuna fell 21-19, 21-18 on court five.

Match Box Scores

#9 Grand Canyon (1-0) def. Boise State (0-1) 5-0
Canyon Classic at Phoenix, Ariz.
Feb. 25, 2022

Anaya Evans/Jess Vastine (GCU) vs. Erin Martin/Yasmin Tan (BSU) 21-13, 21-18
Allison Hansen/Allanis Navas (GCU) def. Sierra Land/Rori Chartier (BSU) 21-12, 21-14
Teagan DeFalco/Samaya Morin (GCU) def. Danielle Boss/Madison Nichols (BSU) 21-16, 21-19
Abbie Hughes/Krista Rowan (GCU) def. Kaylee Mejia/Sharli O'Neil (BSU) 21-15, 21-15
Madi Relaz/Cami Sanchez (GCU) def. Alli O'Harra/Katie Martin (BSU) 21-13, 21-17
Alyssa Garber/Dana Roskic (GCU) def. Joey Benson/Emilia Guerra-Acuna (BSU) 21-17, 21-14 (exhibition)
Order of finish: 4,2,5,3,1

Boise State (1-1) def. Arizona State (0-1) 3-2

Cierra Flood/Lexi Sweeney (ASU) def. Erin Martin/Yasmin Tan (BSU) 13-21, 21-11, 15-11
Sierra Land/Rori Chartier (BSU) def. Rylie Kael/Anya Pemberton (ASU) 22-20, 21-18
Lila Bordis/Sarah Waters (ASU)def. Danielle Boss/Madison Nichols (BSU) 21-17, 22-20
Kaylee Mejia/Sharli O'Neil (BSU) def. Taryn Ames/Kate Fitzgerald (ASU) 21-18, 21-16
Joey Benson/Emilia Guerra-Acuna (BSU) def. Cambria Hall/Maddy Salazar (ASU) 23-21, 26-24
Order of finish: 2,4,3,1,5*

#12 Arizona (2-1) def. Boise State (1-2) 4-1

Alex Parkhurst/Alana Rennie (UA) def. Erin Martin/Yasmin Tan (BSU) 21-19, 16-21, 15-13
Sarah Blacker/Maja Kaiser (UA) def. Rori Chartier/Sierra Land (BSU) 21-17, 19-21, 15-12
Jasmine Safar/Dana Parker (UA) def. Dani Boss/Madison Nichols (BSU) 21-18, 21-13
Kaylee Mejia/Sharli O'Neil (BSU) def. Abby Russell/Diara Gedikoglu (UA) 21-16, 21-19
Hope Shannon/Kali Ohl (UA) def. Joey Benson/Emilia Guerra-Azuna (BSU) 21-19, 21-18
Order of finish: 4,2,3,5,1*