SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – The University of San Francisco beach volleyball team earned its first dual match win of the season, defeating Sacramento State 3-2 in the middle match of a three-match day.  USF (1-7) opened the day falling to CSUN 3-2 and finished the day falling to Cal State Bakersfield 4-1. 
 
"We took a step forward earning our first match win of the season and nearly getting a second win," said head coach Frank Lavrisha. "We've made huge strides in these two weeks with much room for improvement. Dalla Vecchia/McGrath have hit a great stride winning four of their last five matches."
 
Playing in their familiar spot in the 1s, Anna Dalla Vecchia and Laurie McGrath went 2-1 on the day – they are now 4-5 on the year and have won four of their last five matches.  On Saturday, the Dons' top pair won two matches in straight sets, and fell in the third in three sets.  They set the tone capturing a dominating win in straight sets against the Hornets.
 
USF's second pair, Emily Zinger and Lauren Speckman secured their first win of the season going to a third set against CSUN in the morning set.  For Speckman, this was her win on the beach.  The pair finished the day 1-2 falling to their opponents from Sacramento State and Cal State Bakersfield.
 
The three, four, five pairs went a combined 3-6 on the day.  The 4s pair of Shannon Levinson and Katie Wagstaff went 2-1 with wins against Sacramento State and CSUN.  The win against the Matadors went to three sets and was Katie Wagstaff's first collegiate beach win.  
 
The Dons will return to action on Friday, Mar. 13 when they travel across the Bay Bridge to take on California in Berkeley.  The match is slated for a Noon start time.