MESA, Ariz. - No. 6 New College of Florida pulled off a 3-2 upset over No. 2 The Master’s (Calif.) on April 23 in an NAIA Beach Volleyball Invitational pool play matchup, clinching the dual in a finish that stayed unsettled until the final court was decided. 

The Master’s struck first on Pair 2, where Ashlan VanGronigen and Isabela Rodriguez set the tone with a straight-set victory over New College’s Kayla Gentry and Jayden Ponsford. VanGronigen and Rodriguez controlled the match from the start, taking the opening set 21-16 and following with a 21-18 second set to give TMU the first point of the dual.

New College answered quickly on Pair 4 to level the score at 1-1. Camilla Vaerini and Soroya Nacero dropped the first set 21-14 to Macy Gebhards and Krista Brady, but the NCF pair flipped the match with a 21-16 second set and then surged through the tiebreaker 15-4. The decisive third set swing not only evened the dual, but it also set up the back half of the match on even ground.

When the second wave of matches began, The Master’s regained the lead on Pair 5 as Kayla Goodwin and Arianna DeRaffaele delivered a two-set win over Mariana Saba and Malu Barreis. Goodwin and DeRaffaele earned a 21-15 first set and then held off a late push in a tight 22-20 second set, putting TMU up 2-1 with two courts still competing.

New College responded again on Pair 3, where Alba Romanos Gracia and Jayleen Santiago recovered from a first-set loss to beat Ashlyn Unruh and Addy Brock in three. After dropping the opener 21-12, Romanos Gracia and Santiago steadied in the second set to win 21-18, then closed the dual’s fourth finished match with a 15-9 tiebreaker to tie the overall score at 2-2.

That left the entire contest riding on Pair 1, the last match to finish. New College’s Cassidy Casey and Olivia Fenstermaker opened with a 21-16 first set over Zoe Yates and Emma Winter, but The Master’s answered with a 21-16 second set to force a deciding third. In the final set, Casey and Fenstermaker edged ahead and secured the clinching point, completing the comeback with a 15-9 tiebreaker and sealing the 3-2 dual victory for New College of Florida.