2021 Beach Volleyball Year-in-Review
PHOENIX ---
The South Mountain Community College women's beach volleyball team celebrated the Cougars' inaugural season on the sand with five matches, including a 4-0 victory over Trinidad State Junior College on April 30 for the program's first dual victory. Head coach Melissa Hess and the Cougars also squared off with Mesa CC in four duals and set the stage for more exciting beach volleyball action in the years to come.
The program began its first season against Mesa CC on April 16 at Kiwanis Park in Tempe, Ariz., the location for all subsequent 2021 contests. On that first game day, Marlayna Stapleton and Mckenna Androsky posted a 22-20, 21-12 victory on the No. 1 court to give the Cougars their first dual point in program history. The duo finished 4-1 on the season, including a 3-0 mark on the second court.
On April 30, the Cougars swept the Trojans and posted a 2-2 draw with the Thunderbirds. Mikaila Williams and Alyssa McDowell recorded their first win as a duo, claiming the No. 1 court in three sets: 21-13, 19-21 and 15-13. The tandem finished 3-2 on the season and was 2-1 in the top draw. Stapleton and Androsky won in three sets on the second court, Claire Burford and Mackenzie Cumbie swept the third draw (21-9, 21-17), and Lizzie Hall and Gracie Henderson won in three sets on the No. 4 court (19-21, 21-11, 15-7).
Later that day, Williams and McDowell won the No. 1 dual (21-19, 20-22, 15-10), and Stapleton and Androsky won the second draw (23-21, 19-21, 15-10) against Mesa CC.
In two matches against the Thunderbirds in May, Stapleton and Androsky scored a point with a straight-set victory in the second draw on May 7. Williams and McDowell then won on the second court in three sets (18-21, 23-21, 15-8) in the season finale on May 14.