SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — The final day of the annual West Coast Challenge took place on Sunday on the beaches of Santa Cruz, and the Gaels made a splash against some of the best teams in the WCC. Saint Mary's beach volleyball scored a massive upset victory over #18 Pepperdine in their first match of the day, putting them in the championship match of the West Coast Challenge against #7 LMU, where they eventually lost. Still, SMC finished in second place in the event, out of seven teams in the conference.
Match 1: Saint Mary's 3, #18 Pepperdine 2
Sunday marked just the second time in program history that Saint Mary's took down Pepperdine, with the other win coming on April 17, 2021.